Amazon Affiliate Disclosure

Menopause Saliva Test Can Alert You To Hormone Changes | menopause test

August 16, 2011

in Menopause Test

menopause test

Menopause Test Kit

Menopause Test Options -Blood Tests and Saliva Testing for Menopause  Hormone Evaluation

Debate continues in the medical community regarding the saliva test and its place in menopause hormone testing and natural hormone balancing.

If you are new to the whole concept of natural HRT, you may not yet be familiar with this menopause test option.

Unfortunately, your doctor may not be aware of this testing method, either, or may not be willling to try it, even at your request. Insurance providers are sometimes reluctant to pay for this type of menopause test, so you may have to pay for this yourself. (in my opinion, it was worth the extra cost in my situation)

Saliva testing has been in use for for over thirty years. However, many doctors and other health professionals still order and rely on serum blood tests to monitor progress in natural hormone replacement.

Unlike blood tests, saliva tests can be done in the comfort and convenience of the patient’s home and the cost can be substantially less. Much scientific data exists which proves the validity of saliva testing yet many doctors–and insurance companies – still prefer to use serum blood testing.

Is Saliva Testing A Reliable Menopause Test?

So why does saliva testing provide superior diagnosic results for hormone levels? Simply put, routine blood serum and blood plasma tests show total hormone levels but do not accurately reflect ‘free hormone’ levels. In other words, serum tests cannot accurately show biologically active hormone levels.

Research shows that the circulating hormones made by the adrenal glands and ovaries are bound to proteins, held in little ‘protein envelopes’ by SHBG (sex-hormone-binding-globulin) or CBG (cortisol-binding-globulin). Because these hormones are protein-bound, they are not biologically active.

Saliva tests reveal the levels of unbound proteins in the body. Only about ten percent of circulating hormones are free (unbound) and available to the cells at any given time.

According to Marla Ahlgrimm, the founder of Women’s Health America Group, and author of the book, The HRT Solution,

…”hormone levels have traditionally been assessed indirectly by using an FSH/LH test or directly using a serum test…the interaction between the sex steroids and FSH/LH levels is complex and cannot indicate hormone levels accurately…studies demonstrate the accuracy of saliva for the measurement of free-hormone levels. Clinical trials have validated the specificity of the method by detecting increases and decreases in hormone levels following therapy.”

Ms. Ahlgrimm, R. Ph., is an expert in natural hormone replacement, having pioneered individualized low-dose natural HRT in the 1970′s.

Other professionals in the field of natural hormone replacement, who advocate saliva testing are the late Dr. John Lee, Dr.

menopause test

click - Menopause Test Kit

David Zava, Ph.D. of ZRT laboratories and John Kells, cofounder and chief executive of Aeron LifeCycles Clinical Laboratory.

For further study on this subject, you may find the web sites of several testing labs to be a good resource.

ZRT Laboratories

Gevona Diagnostics

Disclaimer: This information is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease or other medical condition. This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Please consult with your doctor should you have specific health questions or concerns.

{ 2 comments }

The Link Between Menopause and Memory Loss - It's Not Your Imagination | memory loss and menopause

August 16, 2011

in Memory Loss and Menopause

memory loss and menopause

Memory Loss Menopause

Last week I did it again—made a trip to deposit a check at our local bank only to discover once I got there, that my check was nowhere to be found. Hadn’t I tucked it inside one of the pockets of my purse? I ransacked my clutch bag, emptying every pocket onto the ledge of the ATM machine. Where did the check go?

I returned home and found the check neatly tucked inside another purse. This has been a familiar scenario with me since I turned 50. I cannot help but wonder if memory loss is an unavoidable part of menopause. Is this an irreversible condition that we can more or less resign ourselves to as we move on in years?

Much to my surprise, recent studies suggest otherwise. In one study, 803 women between the age of 42-52 were tested once each year over the course of 6 years. The results showed that memory performance improved by an average of 3% among the women, an improvement that surprised even the researchers themselves.

What do these results mean? One conclusion is that there is really no concrete evidence behind the assumption that declining estrogen levels in the brain are responsible for memory loss experienced by so many menopausal women.

Memory Loss and Menopause  –Multitasking Abilities

Other studies suggest that as women go through midlife change, their ability to multitask decreases. “Multitasking appears as an estrogen-facilitated capacity and a 60 year old woman is no longer able to multitask like a 30 year old,” writes Dr. Cheri Quincy( Sonoma Medicine Fall’05). It is not inconceivable that what I had construed as ”memory loss” is actually an instance of doing too much at once. In my hurriedness to kill 3 errands at the same time—go to the post office, get milk at the store, put my check in the bank—I had placed the check in the wrong purse without realizing it—a mistake that any one, even a younger woman, could have made.

All this is not to say that “foggy brain” does not exist. Some decline in mental sharpness is part of the aging process. However, turning foggy at 50 is not a sign that we are all heading towards the end.

On the contrary, there is a lot we can do to preserve the brain…and fight back against memory loss at menopause.

How to Help Your Brain And Protect Against Memory Loss and Menopause Problems

To help improve your memory loss and menopause problems, here are some tips to follow…

Feed it Good Fats: Intelligence is helped by smooth transition between neurons. The nerve fibers of the brain cells are coated with myelin, a kind of fatty substance which helps the cells make more synaptic connections—the basis of the thinking process. Taking fish oil( omega fatty 3 acids) regularly will definitely ensure that your brain cells will negotiate more connections.

Feed it Vitamins C and E: Prevent free radical damage in your brain by making sure that your diet is rich in antioxidants—vitamins B( including folic acid, C, E ) and selenium. Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Take a multi-vitamin supplement.

Give it Adequate Sleep: Sleep is the natural restorer of muscles and tissues. Research has shown that a rested brain works better than an “all-nighter.” In one study, 106 volunteers were shown a puzzle which they had to solve.

One group was kept awake all night; the other allowed to sleep. Those kept awake were less successful in solving the puzzle. Scientists believe that sleep allowed the brain to restructure the information from the previous day and assisted the sleepers to solve the puzzle.

Exercise Your Brain: The brain will develop new neural pathways when it is confronted with something new and unfamiliar. So get out of any rut that you are in. Do something different: take a holiday, start a business, write a book, design a website, move to a new community, do crossword puzzles, learn a new language.  Give your brain a chance to develop new modes of thinking.

It is so easy to blame menopause for a whole series of problems—weight gain, memory loss, fuzzy thinking. Far better it is to see that there are things we can do to turn these problems around. Back on top about memory loss and  menopause.

 Memory Loss and Menopause

 

 >>Natural Hormone Balance by Dr. Uzzi Reiss- Get Your Copy<<

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →