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“With the onset of modern day laboratory technology, we find a number of tests can now be done by minimal invasive methods, requiring saliva, urine, stool, or finger prick blood collection, which can be collected by the patient at home. All these methods offer accurate assessment to help the patient and practitioner decide on a course of action. Enabling treatment with objective assessment and monitoring of the treatment in progress. I believe the NLS self assessment test kits are an excellent tool that can be used by any clinic, medical, holistic or naturopathic. Patients like the fact that a quantitative assessment is obtained that helps custom tailor supplements and medications to their exact requirements.”
Bill Anton: Senior Lecture and Consultant to Integrative Medicine and Anti-Ageing medicine at Swinburne University, Graduate School of Medicine.
Why do I need hormone testing?
One size does not fit all when it comes to hormones! For decades western medicine has prescribed HRT as if everyone needed the same thing and the same amount. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your hormones are like your fingerprints and in order to achieve optimal health, you need to know what your specific imbalances are.
To find out about your hormonal status you’ll need to have lab tests performed. But what kind? There are several ways to test (saliva, serum and urine), but the state-of-the-art testing is through saliva. This is because it measures only the active portions of your hormones and it is these portions that determine how you feel. So if you’re seeking bio-identical hormone replacement (BHRT), you’ll need to know active hormone levels. In addition, if using a topical (transdermal) hormone preparation for treatment, saliva testing is the most accurate tool to measure and monitor your hormone status.
Which hormones need testing?
The major players in the sex hormone arena are estradiol, progesterone and testosterone. The main adrenal hormones are DHEA and cortisol. These five hormones will provide crucial information about your deficiencies, excesses and daily patterns, which then results in a treatment approach specifically tailored for you and one far more beneficial than the old “shotgun” approach. Below is a brief description of each of these five hormones to refresh your memory about what each one does and how they interact.
Estrogen: there are three forms made by the body: estrone, estradiol and estriol. The form used in past hormone replacement therapies is estradiol, often in the form of concentrated pregnant mare’s urine (premarin). It is a proliferative hormone that grows the lining of the uterus. It is also a known cancer-causing hormone: breast and endometrial (uterine) in women and prostate gland in men. It will treat menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia and memory-loss. With the bio-identical formulas estriol is matched with estradiol (biest) to provide protective effects and additional estrogenic benefits. The other major protector in keeping estradiol from running amok is progesterone.
Progesterone is called the anti-estrogen because it balances estradiol’s proliferative effects. It is considered preventive for breast and prostate cancers as well as osteoporosis. In addition too little progesterone promotes depression, irritability, increased inflammation, irregular menses, breast tenderness, urinary frequency and prostate gland enlargement (BPH).
Testosterone is an anabolic hormone (builds tissue) that is essential for men and women. The proper level of testosterone is necessary for bone health, muscle strength, stamina, sex drive and performance, heart function and mental focus.
DHEA is an important adrenal gland hormone, which is essential for energy production and blood sugar balance.
DHEA is a precursor to other hormones, mainly testosterone.
Cortisol is your waking day hormone (highest in the morning and lowest at night). It is necessary for energy production, blood sugar metabolism, anti-inflammatory effects and stress response.
Some of the common imbalances identified through testing include estrogen dominance, estrogen deficiency, progesterone deficiency, androgen (testosterone and DHEA) excess or deficiencies, adrenal dysfunction and adrenal fatigue.
NLS Self Test Kits – A Naturopaths perspective
As a naturopathic physician, I strive for objectivity in all the testing I do in my clinic. Testing that gives me reliable, accurate, insightful information about the complexities of the patient. Years of clinical practice have shown me the importance of this kind of information, in shaping the outcome of my treatment strategies. Nutritional Laboratory Services (NLS) consistently delivers this kind of objective information, through a number of test kits currently available.
If I am suspicious of adverse food interactions with the immune system, particularly in conditions like IBS and digestive disorders, Autism, ADHD, migraines, eczema, etc, I frequently use the Allergy Self Test Kit. This kit is an IgG Food Allergy Panel which shows the patient clearly what foods they are reacting to, instead of using a restrictive low reactive diet over a longer period of time. The test is simple and easy to use particularly with children and compliance is so much greater.
The NLS Multi HormoneTest Kit is another tool I use frequently. The hormones available for testing include E1, E2, E3, Progesterone, Testosterone, Cortisol, DHEA and Melatonin. You can measure one or more of these hormones in any combination, depending on your patient’s condition or symptoms. All specimens are collected via saliva which is easy and convenient for the patient.
The results obtained allow me to provide nutritional support that can be specific and targeted.
Information regarding adrenal cortex function and the impact of stress hormones on disease, especially relevant to the adrenal adaptation syndrome can be obtained from the results. Results can also deliver information regarding ovarian production of hormones relevant to fertility, estrogen dominant syndromes, PCO, faulty estrogen metabolism and detoxification, ovulation abnormalities and stress syndromes, depending on which hormones have been requested. The test kit also gives valuable insight into testicular secretion of testosterone and its relationship to andropause, erectile dysfunction, aramotization to estrogen and subsequent side effects, anabolic potential and energy.
The range of NLS Self Test Kits provide practitioners with valuable information when it comes to understanding a patients health concerns and formulating strategies of wellness.
Luke Clarke
Senior Practitioner
LifeSource Centres
Melbourne
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