Blog

By Dr. Allison Smith, ZRT Laboratory I would like to thank everyone who joined in our webinar on the Role of Hormones in Sleep Disturbances!  There were a number of questions I wasn’t able to address due to time constraints but they were all excellent questions. I thought at least someone would be interested in a follow-up as I speak to the rest of the questions just as a little wrap-up. Q: Wouldn't it be nice to include Dried Urine Melatonin in your ZRT Comprehensive Profile, to be able to evaluate Morning Cortisol when low? Maybe it is low while Melatonin...

By Theodore Zava, ZRT Laboratory  While growing your own fruits and vegetables is both challenging and rewarding. Many people plant gardens with the expectation that they can control what goes into their food. Gardening, especially in urban areas, has grown in popularity, but unfortunately, it comes with some risks. Contamination with elements present in the air, soil, or groundwater is a concern in both urban and rural gardens, and fruits and vegetables are good accumulators of heavy metals. This blog post details sources of heavy metal contamination and what you can do to help prevent soil contamination and heavy metal...

By Dr Allison Smith, ZRT Laboratory.  I've been up to my elbows in melatonin research for a week now. I always felt like I had a pretty good working knowledge of where melatonin came from in the body, roughly how it was synthesized, the signals that propagate its production, and where it acts. Like most clinicians, I tended to think of it for sleep problems in general and as an adjunct treatment for some of the comorbidities associated with different cancers. I was also vaguely aware that there was a physical reason my colitis patients usually presented with depression and...

By Dr Kate Placzek, ZRT Laboratory We love talking about the sun! We grumble about it being hidden away behind heavy rain clouds for months at a time in the winter; we delight in the first breakthrough rays in the spring, realizing our pagan longing for it, watching, as if for the first time, as everything around us wakes up from a deep slumber; we marvel at its delightful, almost intoxicating warmth in the early summer; and yes, we find it irritating when the temperature goes a dash over 80 degrees, or if stays too hot for too long into...

By Dr Sherry LaBeck, ZRT Laboratory Hello summer! Our Lab docs and staff have compiled some tasty recipes to include for your family picnics or impromptu gatherings with friends. From a refreshing herbal beverage and a cool creamy soup to a zesty, peppery corn dip and tangy, nutty quinoa salad, the foods that make up summer fare can be simple to prepare as well as delicious. The addition of spicy, savory grilled chicken thighs boosts the protein up a notch. Then top these off with a delectable mini muffin containing nut butter and chocolate chips! What more could you want?...