Blog — Saliva Testing

By Dr. Alison McAllister, ZRT Laboratory This article tackles some frequent questions providers might have regarding the purpose of the testing and who the ideal patient is. TESTING SPECIFICS Why urine testing instead of saliva? Saliva testing is what ZRT was founded on, and we have tested over 1.8 million individuals at this point. We are celebrating 20 years of hormone testing this year! Hurray! We love saliva testing. But, what we don’t love is having you collect every other day for 15 samples. Urine testing has the benefit of a super easy collection – wake up and pee on the strip!...

By Dr. Tracy Tranchitella, ND (ZRT Laboratory) For anyone who has dealt with issues that are related to chronic fatigue has likely evaluated their hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis performance through a multi-point salivary test. The hormone Cortisol is measured in saliva when the samples are collected through predetermined intervals throughout a single day reveal one’s physiological resilience and metabolic reserve in response to daily stressors. HPA axis testing is a mainstay in the world of integrative, naturopathic, and functional medicine. For the past 2 years, the world has existed under the constant shadow of COVID-19. To say that we have been “stressed” is an...

  Tracy Tranchitella, ND, ZRT Laboratory If you have ever experienced a near-miss collision or other accident, you have likely felt the rush of adrenaline coursing through your veins almost instantly. In that moment, your heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate increased, your pupils dilated, and your brain felt immediately more alert. These are the effects of adrenaline, otherwise known as epinephrine, which is produced in the adrenal medulla when we encounter a significant stressor.  In a “life or death” situation, the stress response can literally save our lives by readying us to act and facilitating a physiological response...

By Tracy Tranchitella, ND ZRT Laboratory SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating in the global population for over a year. According to Worldometer, at the time of this writing on March 2, 2021, 115 million people have been infected with the virus, 2.5 million have died, and 90 million have survived the infection to go on to have possible immunity. The immune response to the virus can range from asymptomatic to severe illness and death and has aroused fear and uncertainty around the world. For those who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and survived, some experience prolonged symptoms beyond recovery from the acute illness....

Saliva testing is used for measuring hormones like cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, DHAES and testosterone, and its non-invasive collection asks patients to spit into a plastic tube. This sampling method allows patients to collect saliva at home at specific times, which is important for accurately measuring hormone levels. Why do we test hormones in saliva? Steroid hormones in the bloodstream are 95-99% bound to carrier proteins, and in this form are unavailable to target tissues. Saliva testing measures the amount of hormone available to target tissues – the bioavailable amount. For this reason, saliva testing better relates to specific symptoms of excess...