Studies have found toxic heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, mercury and other toxins deemed hazardous by the CDC in a random sampling of lip products used by women of all ages. For millions of women the world over, this casts a pall on the transformative promise of cosmetics to make us look and feel more beautiful.…
Tags: Patient Education, Heavy Metals, Toxins, Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, Mercury
Reliable contraception is a monumental achievement of the last century. Very effective at preventing pregnancy, oral contraceptives, generally referred to as "the Pill," are commonly prescribed to women of reproductive age. Aside from contraceptive purposes, the Pill can also be used to treat gynecological disorders such as irregular or excessive bleeding, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), severe…
Tags: Fertility, Neurotransmitters, HPA Axis, Contraceptives
Urine, serum, plasma, whole blood, red blood cells, feces, hair, fingernails…the list goes on. How do you decide what biological sample(s) to use for element analysis? Can results be compared to scientific literature or do they have clinical significance? Is it possible for values to be elevated or low in one sample type and normal in another? Do test results indicate recent intake, body burden,…
Tags: Elements Testing, Heavy Metals, Dried Urine Testing, Blood Spot Testing, Iodine, Selenium, Bromine, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, Magnesium
It may come as a surprise to most people that each year, the last full week of April is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating laboratory professionals. This year Medical Laboratory Professionals Week falls on April 24-30. Setting aside one week a year to acknowledge these experts is a perfect opportunity to increase public awareness of, and appreciation for, clinical laboratory personnel. Just…
Tags: Laboratory Quality, Saliva Testing, Dried Urine Testing, Blood Spot Testing
In this engaging and wide-ranging discussion of Fertility, Infertility and the Role of Hormone Testing, Dr. Alison McAllister, lead clinical consultant at ZRT, shares her considerable knowledge about the challenges of infertility and the heartbreak of those struggling to have a baby of their own. Sadly, it is a growing problem that affects 1 in 8 couples and millions of people around the world. As…
Tags: Fertility, Hormone Balance, Toxins, Xenoestrogens, PCOS
I have to admit, I believe that "research" is one of those words that I think is often misused today. I started my own career in a cancer research lab, continued it in a pharmaceutical company research lab, and then got into medical information research and scientific writing, which meant using a range of medical literature databases and complex searching strategies. My early research career was…
Tags: Research, Laboratory Quality
From time to time, we have practitioners ask for advice on how to find and (most importantly) motivate patients. As a marketing team, we spend lots of time thinking about this, and we're happy to share our pearls of wisdom. In a series of blogs, we'll outline our favorite ideas for reaching more – and connecting more with – patients. Pearl #1 – Content Marketing. One of my favorite ideas is content…
Tags: Marketing Tips
Every year in March, National Nutrition Month focuses our attention on how and what we eat, exhorting us with awareness-raising campaign slogans to "bite into a healthy lifestyle," or as in this year’s theme, to "savor the flavor of eating right." Appealing and important as the messaging is, it does beg the question that what tastes good to us, may not necessarily be good for us. Too many of the…
On March 13th, a number of ZRT employees, together with friends and family, participated in Portland's annual Shamrock Run - the largest walking and running event in Oregon. Our decision to participate in this event was motivated by ZRT's mission to promote wellness. After all, the concept of wellness encompasses both physical and social dimensions. So what better way to spend a fresh, beautiful,…
Tags: Patient Education
Interpretation of hormone testing using saliva, dried blood spot, or serum can be tricky when women are using oral, patch, or other hormonal contraception methods. The types of hormones in these contraceptives are synthetic, and although they may be close to the molecular structure of our body's own estradiol or progesterone, they are not bioidentical. While bioidentical hormones used as…
Tags: Fertility, Hormone Balance, Contraceptives, Bioidentical Hormones
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