Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate a range of physiological and behavioural activities in humans and animals. Good health requires an optimal balance between members of the various groups of hormones. It follows then that many states of ill health involve hormone imbalances.

Hormones are in your blood

Hormones such as oestrogen, testosterone and cortisol travel around the body in your blood, either bound up to a "carrier" protein or in a free unbound state. The fraction that is bound to a carrier protein is less available for your body to use, unlike the unbound or free fraction of the hormone, which is more readily available. It is this 'free' hormone fraction that best reflects a person's hormonally related symptoms, rather than total or bound hormone levels.

How do you know if your hormone levels are adequate?

The standard way to assess your hormone levels is via blood testing which usually measures the overall amount of a hormone in the blood. However a less invasive and lesser-used means of testing hormone levels is saliva testing.

Saliva Hormone Testing gives the best results

Saliva testing has been used to measure hormones since the late 1960s and has some advantages over blood serum hormone testing. The most important advantage of saliva testing is that it reflects more accurately how much of the free, unbound, useable hormone is available for your body to use at a given point in time. Saliva hormone testing is a simple test, done in the comfort of your home and can provide valuable information about the impact your hormones are having on your overall health.

Peter Radi – Senior Naturopath and Nutritionist

Having completed many years of study, experienced Naturopath Peter Radi can give you specific health information on your hormone levels and once these have been assessed, he can work out a program with you to address any related health concerns and make sure your hormone levels are well balanced. Learn more about Peter here