Salivary hormone analysis

Everyone is familiar with checking thyroid hormones in blood tests.

Cortisol, progesterone, estradiol, testosterone, DHEA, estriol can be determined in saliva. There they are present in their free, biologically active form.

Some of these hormones are produced in different amounts throughout the day. Saliva samples collected at different times enable a meaningful daily profile.

The blood test is usually used to detect deficiencies, disorders or diseases. For some hormones, however, the information provided by a saliva analysis is much stronger than a normal blood test.

There are many hormones bound to proteins in the blood. These proteins are used to transport hormones. In this form, i.e. bound, hormones are always inactive.

These inactive hormones make up about 95% of the hormones in the blood. These inactive hormones are always measured in a blood test.

Even if the hormone concentration in a blood test is within the normal range, the proportion of actually active and therefore effective hormones may actually be deficient.

Only the high concentration of inactive and therefore ineffective hormones disguises the actual hormone deficiency!

The saliva test is therefore the actual detection of biologically active hormones.

A saliva test, on the other hand, only measures the biologically active and therefore effective hormones. The inactive hormones bound to proteins do not pass through the channels in the salivary glands and therefore cannot lead to an incorrect result.

For this reason, we recommend additionally analyzing certain hormones from saliva! Our partner laboratory in Germany takes care of these services for you.

The so-called steroid hormones are determined in saliva. These include, among others:

• Cortisol
• DHEA
• Estrogen
• Progesterone
• Testosterone
• et al.

Steroid hormones

Steroid hormones are produced in the adrenal gland and gonads. The formation process is controlled by various complex regulatory mechanisms of the individual biosynthetic processes as well as by feedback.

An example of this is that when cortisone is taken, the body’s own cortisol is no longer released until the active ingredient has been eliminated from the body. The synthesis of all steroid hormones comes from cholesterol. The gluco- and mineralocorticoids as well as the sex hormones are formed via pregnenolone and progesterone.

Hormones as metabolites of cholesterol

Metabolites are substances that arise as intermediate stages or as breakdown products of the organism’s metabolic processes.

Cortisol plays an important role in glucose supply and in mobilizing energy reserves. It is the stress hormone and prepares the body for stressful situations. It intervenes in the metabolism and has both an anti-inflammatory and an immunosuppressive effect. It is also bronchodilatory, diabetogenic and antiproliferative.

Indication:

• Stress monitoring
• Suspicion of Cushing’s syndrome (level determination for this indication at midnight)
• Adrenal fatigue
• Sleep disorders (here, determination of other hormones)
• Aggression and tantrums (here, determination of other hormones)
• Depression (here, determination of other hormones)

Sex hormones

A distinction is made between male and female sex hormones, with both women and men having both. The decisive factor for positive and negative effects is the respective concentration and interaction of the individual hormones.

The measurement of sex hormones can be used for the following questions:

• Unfulfilled desire to have children
• Cycle problems
• Loss of libido (man/woman)
• Erectile dysfunction in men
• Monitoring the progress of the pregnancy
• Personal hormone profile: – determination of the performance profile – Menopausal symptoms
• Sleep disorders
• Weight problems
• Skin problems
• Therapeutic drug monitoring for hormone substitution/therapy monitoring

During pregnancy, progesterone prevents the mother from rejecting her child, so the effect here is a kind of immune suppression. Since the growing child consists of parts not only of the mother, but also of the father. For the mother’s womb it is initially a foreign body that the body wants to reject. To prevent this from happening, the body regulates this naturally by increasing progesterone.

This should drop again immediately after pregnancy. If this is not the case, our immune system can continue to be suppressed. This can trigger autoimmune processes. This is one of the reasons why women suffer more from autoimmune diseases than men. Women often develop rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune diseases after giving birth.

From the perspective of alternative medicine, it is therefore recommended to determine these hormones in saliva for all autoimmune processes.

Interested? Arrange an appointment today.

Your NMC team Krk