Saliva Testing of Hormones
Advantages of saliva vs blood testing are:
- Saliva collection is easy
- Saliva testing can be done anywhere, any time
- Blood has to be drawn at a lab or doctor's office
- Saliva testing is much more accurate when testing hormones than blood testing
- Hormones in saliva are exceptionally stable, allowing samples to be easily handled and shipped
- Saliva testing can be done at home, allowing men and women both to take more control over their health and monitor the effects of treatments
Why Not Get a Blood Test from Your Doctor?
Many doctors rely on blood tests. Unfortunately blood tests measure the serum (the liquid between the blood cells) and it is very difficult to get an accurate measure.
How Can Saliva Hormone Testing Help You?
It can identify possible causes of health problems. For example: if there is an imbalance of estrogens and progesterone, it can cause depression and hormone problems.
Saliva testing can be used to guide supplementation, to determine if your dosage of progesterone cream is correct. Too much estrogen, relative to progesterone, leads to excessive tissue proliferation, whereas too much progesterone in the absence of adequate estrogen can exacerbate estrogen deficiency problems.
Hormone supplementation is an important aspect of anti-aging; restoration and maintenance of hormone parameters at youthful levels is one strategy that may extend your healthspan (span of healthy, productive years). Hormone testing is crucial for this approach as it is imperative not to exceed levels that might lead to adverse side effects.