The ZRT Laboratory Blog

Have you seen the movie The Martian?  I highly recommend it. The premise is that an astronaut called Mark Watney goes with a team to Mars, gets left behind and has to survive. I love semi-disaster stories and even better when it's Matt Damon playing the main character. Now, according to the book, Watney had lots of vitamins and mineral supplements to supplement his diet. But if he hadn't had those…

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Did you know there are 5 places in the world where your odds of living to 100 are greater than anywhere else on the planet? These regions are called "Blue Zones" and include Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Loma Linda (California, Seventh-day Adventists), Nicoya (Costa Rica), and Ikaria (Greece). Based on the research and writings of Dan Buettner, people are studying these communities to try to…

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Many times when I am talking to a practitioner about a patient with PCOS and/or weight issues, I commonly get the response – "His/her blood sugar is normal." However, when we are looking at the health of PCOS and weight-challenged patients, their insulin response is of primary importance, and not just their blood sugar. When we are fasting, both blood sugar and insulin levels should be at a steady…

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Celebrities and TV stars like Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox, Jazz Jennings and Chaz Bono have helped take what was once a taboo subject and turned it into part of America’s mainstream conversation. This long-overdue discussion helps foster broader understanding and acceptance, and it also shines a light on a largely underserved area of medical need. Rising Beyond a Difficult Legacy Transgender…

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Infertility is a heart breaking condition that affects millions of people around the world or approximately 8-12% of couples. When a couple has been trying over a year (under the age of 35) or over 6 months (over the age of 35) screening for hormonal causes is one of the first recommended steps. This is because sometimes simple adjustments to thyroid and/or progesterone can result in…

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When sex hormones are tested in women either in saliva or blood spot, ZRT test reports give a ratio of progesterone (Pg) to estradiol (E2). The ratio is helpful in clinical practice when both E2 and Pg are within range, yet the patient continues to have symptoms. It is not expected to be normal or used clinically when either E2 and/or Pg are outside of their expected ranges or if the patient does…

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Over 25 million women a year worldwide will enter menopause and make a decision about hormone replacement therapy. For healthcare practitioners, what dosage and what formulation these hormones take is open to debate. After many years of teaching and talking to practitioners, I’ve learned that: there are many strategies for approaching dosages, everyone thinks that theirs is the best, most of them…

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A recent study [1] found that women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations benefit from a significantly reduced risk of ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancers by having their ovaries removed before the age of 35. For women with such a genetic predisposition to cancer, the decision to remove their ovaries and/or breasts can prevent cancer in the future; however, I thought it would be worth…

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Men and testosterone therapy have been a hot topic in the news recently. Stories are filled with cautions about the use of testosterone therapy in men causing heart attacks and leading many doctors to question testosterone supplementation. A closer look at the study may provide more insight. The study released is referenced at the end of this post. This study looked at 55,593 men who started…

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This blog explains what hormones are tested in ZRT's Fertility Profile and why each one is important.LH & FSH are pituitary hormones, which means they affect the brain. Their communication with growing egg follicles in the ovaries is one of the only positive feedback loops in the body. On day three or four of the menstrual cycle (day one is the first day of the period) LH & FSH are at their lowest…

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