I want to express my gratitude to Wray Whyte for sharing valuable insights on hormone testing; a significant amount of research has been dedicated to uncovering accurate information. Frequently, individuals claim their hormone levels are ‘normal’—but what does normal truly mean? Be sure to request your results; you deserve to see them since you’ve invested in this process. I trust that this page will prove useful to everyone. It's essential to explore the links and research papers provided.

Consider this when you're getting your estrogen levels tested: there are three primary forms of naturally occurring estrogens.

• Estrone (E1)
• Estradiol (2)
• Estriol (E3)

During menopause, our E2 levels are expected to decrease while E1 levels increase. However, many doctors remain overly focused on E2, regardless of whether a woman is menopausal. E3, which is associated with pregnancy, is another important estrogen. Notably, tests for the numerous estrogen mimics present in everyone’s bloodstream are seldom conducted. There are more than 100 of these mimics, as highlighted on the website Our Stolen Future. The presence of these estrogen mimics poses a significant concern. Therefore, relying solely on E2 testing is inadequate; ideally, all three estrogen types should be evaluated. If possible, advocate for testing of all three. However, few doctors or laboratories will accommodate this request, and their reasons remain unclear. It may be that they seek low E2 levels as justification for prescribing hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which should generally be avoided, while neglecting to consider the other two estrogens. Ultimately, the decision lies with you.

There are 2 forms of testing:

1. Saliva
2. Serum or blood

Advantages of saliva hormone testing:

• stress free
• noninvasive - no needles
• less expensive - more convenient for health care provider and patient
• optimized for collection any time of day/month, any place
• no special processing - eg: centrifugation, ice-packs prior to shipment
• hormones stable in saliva for prolonged period of time
• convenient shipment by regular US mail
• more representative than serum of total bio available steroid hormone levels

Disadvantages of saliva hormone testing:

• technically more challenging
• interfering substances - food, beverages etc
• saliva easily contaminated with topical hormones on lips and hands
• inacurrate results with peridontal disease - more problems with chewing gum
• lack of familiarity - serum is gold standard
• sublingual (under the tongue) use of hormones often leads to inaccurate (high) results
• no proficiency testing - CAP, AAB that reflects saliva hormone levels
• topical application of hormones results in saliva levels higher than serum

Progesterone - blood/serum

• Female (follicular) <1 ng/ml or <3.18 nmol/L
• Female (luteal) 5 to 20 ng/ml or 15.9 to 63.6 nmol/L
• Postmenopausal <1 ng/l or <3.18 nmol/L
• Male <1 ng/ml or <3.18 nmol/L

• 1st trimester 11.2 to 90.0 ng/ml or 35.6 to 286.2 nmol/L
• 2nd trimester 25.6 to 89.4 ng/ml or 81.4 to 284.29 nmol/L
• 3rd trimester 48.4 to 425 ng/ml or 153.9 to 1351.5 nmol/L
• Medline Progesterone

• Menopause 30 pg/ml or 111 pmol/L
• Medscape Estrone

• Female - premenopausal 30 to 400 pg/ml or 110.13 to 1468.4 pmol/L
• Female - postmenopausal 0 to 30 pg/ml or 0 to 110.13 pmol/L
• Male 10 to 50 pg/ml or 36.71 to 183.55 pmol/L
• Medline Estradiol

• Male - 300 to 1200 ng/dl or 10.41 to 41.64 nmol/L
• Female - 30 to 95 ng/dl or 1.041 to 3.29 nmol/L
• Medline Testosterone

• Female ages - 20 to 40 years 0.6 to 3.1 pg/ml or 20.8 to 107.5 pmol/L
• Female ages - 41 to 60 years 0.4 to 2.5 pg/ml or 13.9 to 86.7 pmol/L
• Female ages - 61 to 80 years 0.2 to 2.0 pg/ml or 6.9 to 69.3 pmol/L
• Keratin.com

• Male ages - 20 to 40 years 15.0 to 40.0 pg/ml or 520 to 1387 pmol/L
• Male ages - 41 to 60 years 13.0 to 35.0 pg/ml or 451 to 1213 pmol/L
• Male ages - 61 to 80 years 12.0 to 28.0 pg/ml or 416 to 971 pmol/L
• Rochester.edu

Progesterone - saliva

• Female (follicular) 12 to 100 pg/ml or 38.16 to 318.00 pmol/L
• Female (luteal) 75 to 270 pg/ml or 238.5 to 858.6 pmol/L
• Postmenopausal 12 to 100 pg/ml or 38.16 to 318.00 pmol/L
• Male 15 to 100 pg/ml or 47.70 to 318.00 pmol/L

• Female - premenopausal 1.3 to 3.3 pg/ml or 4.7 to 12.11 pmol/L
• Female - postmenopausal 0.5 to 1.7 pg/ml or 1.84 to 6.24 pmol/L
• Male 0.82 pg/ml or 2.94 to 8.08 pmol/L

• Female all ages 16 to 55 pg/ml or 0.56 to 1.91 pmol/L
• Female ages 16 - 30 18 to 55 pg/ml or 0.62 to 1.91 pmol/L
• Female ages >30 16 to 47 pg/ml or 0.56 to 1.63 pmol/L
• Male all ages 44 to 148 pg/ml or 1.53 to 5.14 pmol/L
  Male ages 16 - 30 72 to 148 pg/ml or 2.50 to 5.14 pmol/L
• Male ages 31 - 50 58 to 120 pg/ml or 2.01 to 4.16 pmol/L
• Male ages 51 - 70 44.94 pg/ml or 1.53 to 3.26 pmol/L
• Males ages >70 30 to 77 pg/ml or 104 to 2.67 pmol/L

ZRT Labs

GA (gestational age) occasionally given as LMP (last menstrual period). NOTE: this is not taken from time of conception, but from the last menstrual period. If the date of conception is known, take off the days for the follicular phase.

• non-pregnant females or negative test: <5.0 mIU/ml or <5.0 IU/L
• 3 weeks GA - 5 to 50 mIU/ml or 5 to 50 IU/L
• 4 weeks GA - 5 to 426 mIU/ml or 5 to 426 IU/L
• 5 weeks GA - 18 to 7,340 mIU/ml or 17 to 7340 IU/L
• 6 weeks GA - 1,080 to 56,500 mIU/ml or 1,080 to 56,500 IU/L
• 7-8 weeks GA - 7,650 to 229,000 mIU/ml or 7.650 to 229,000 IU/L
• 9-12 weeks GA - 25,700 to 288,000 mIU/ml or 25,700 to 288,000 IU/L
• 13-16 weeks GA - 13,300 to 254,000 mIU/ml or 13,300 to 254,000 IU/L
• 17-24 weeks GA - 4,060 to 165,400 mIU/L or 4,060 to 165,400 IU/L
• 25-40 weeks GA - 3,640 to 117,000 mIU/ml or 3,640 or 117,000 IU/L
• American Pregnancy Association hCG levels ???

Iodine

Median Population Urinary Iodine Values (g/L)

• severe deficiency <20
• moderate deficiency 20 to 49
• mild deficiency 50 to 99
• optimal 100 to 199
• more than adequate 200 to 299
• possible excess >299
• ATA

The level of CRP rises when there is inflammation throughout the body, normally none should be found

• levels if found, vary from <1.0 mg/L to >3.0 mg/L
• Medline CRP

And

• late pregnant women, mild inflammation and viral infections 1040 mg/L
• active inflammation, bacterial infection 40200 mg/L
• severe bacterial infections and burns >200 mg/L
• Wiki CRP

• 12 to 19 years >/= 60 years cut off for high levels
• male 4.3 to 9.9 umol/L 5.9 to 15.3 umol/L >/=11.4umol?l
• female 3.3 to 7.2 umol/L 4.0 to 11.6 umol/L >/=10.4 umol/L
• The Doctor's Doctor

• Standard range 1.0 to 4.0 mM
• Northwest Life Science Specialties

Cholesterol

Total cholesterol

• desirable <200 mg/dL or <5.2 mmol/L
• borderline high 200 to 239 mg/dL or 5.2 mmol/L to 6.2 mmol/L
• high risk 240 mg/dL and higher or 6.2 mmol/L

HDL cholesterol

• levels should be >40 mg/dL or >1.04 mmol/L
• men are at risk if their HDL is below 37 mg/dL or 0.96 mmol/L
• women are at risk if their HDL is below 47 mg/dL or 0.96 mmol/L

LDL cholesterol

• optimal <100 mg/dL or <2.59 mmol/L - 3.34 mmol/L
• near optimal 100 to 129 mg/dL or 2.59 mmol/L to 3.34 mmol/L
• borderline high 130 to 159 mg/dL or 3.38 mmol/L to 4.12 mmol/L
• high 160 to 189 mg/dL or 4.14 mmol/L to 4.90 mmol/L
• very high 190 mg/dL and higher or 4.92 mmol/L
• Medline Cholesterol

• normal <150 mg.dL or <1.79 mmol/L
• borderline high 150 - 199 mg/dL or 1.79 mmol/L to 2.25 mmol/L
• high 200 to 499 mg/dL or 2.26 mmol/L to 5.64 mmol/L
• very high 500 mg/dL and above or 5.65 mmol/L
• Medline Triglycerides

• ages 18 - 19 145 to 395 ug/dL or 503.2 to 1370.7 nmol/L
• ages 20 - 29 65 to 380 ug/dL or 225.6 to 1318.6 nmol/L
• ages 30 - 39 45 to 270 ug/dL or 156.2 to 036.0 nmol/L
• ages 40 - 49 32 to 240 ug/dL or 111.0 to 832.8 nmol/L
• Medline DHEA-S

Cortisol

• normal values for a blood sample taken at 8am are 6 to 23 ug/dL or 165 to 635 nmoll/L
• during the afternoon they are 3 to 16 mcg/dL or 83-441 nmol/L
• Medline Cortisol
• WebMD

Normally cortisol levels rise and fall during the day, repeating on a 24 hour cycle (diurnal variation). Highest levels are at about 6 - 8am and lowest levels are around midnight.

Physical and emotional stress can increase cortisol levels, because during the normal stress response, the pituitary gland increases its release of ACTH.

Higher than normal cortisol levels are expected in women who take estrogen (HRT)or birth control pills.

• normal levels <100 mg/dL or <5.5 mmol/L
• levels between 100 to 125 mg/dL or 5.5 to 6.9 mmol/L may indicate impaired fasting glucose or insulin resistance
• diabetes >126 mg/dL or >6.9 mmol/L
• insulinoma (a pancreatic tumour which causes excessive secretion of insulin)
• women <40 mg/dL or <2.2 mmol/L
• men <50 mg/dL or <2.8 mmol/L
• WebMD
• Medline Glucose

The following are often tested:

• blood pressure equal to or higher than 130/85 mmHg
• fasting blood glucose equal to or higher than 100 mg/dL or 5.55mmol/L
• insulin levels >20 IU/mL or 140 pmol/L
• normal range 2.0 to 20 IU/mL or 14 to 140 pmol/L - many believe it should be <10 IU/mL or 70 pmol/L
• elevated CRP - see above for info
• large waist circumference 35 inches or 87.5cm or more
• low HDL cholesterol under 50 mg/dL or 1.32 mmol/L
• triglycerides equal to or higher than 150 mg/dL 
• Medline Insulin Resistance
• NDIC
• Lab Test Online - Understanding Insulin Resistance
• Glycated or glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c or A1C)
• Normal 20 to 40 mmol/mol or 4% to 5.8%
• WebMD
• Wiki

• Wikipedia - scroll through the contents and click on Liver Function
• Medline - scroll through the list to the desired test