Hormone Health Hub: Expert Insights on Testing, Balance & Better Living — Vitamin D

A melanoma diagnosis changes everything — but it can also be the catalyst for a smarter, more proactive approach to skin health. In this personal account, Lissa Gienty of ZRT Laboratory shares her melanoma story and the evidence-based steps she now takes to protect herself, including optimising vitamin D and melatonin levels and monitoring her diurnal hormone rhythms.

Did you know that low vitamin D could be disrupting your sleep? Research shows that vitamin D plays a key role in serotonin and melatonin production — the hormones that regulate your sleep-wake cycle. Dr. Kate Placzek explores the science behind the vitamin D–sleep connection, what else low vitamin D affects, and how to find out if deficiency is at the root of your sleep problems.

If you’re doing everything right — eating well, exercising, taking your vitamins — but still can’t shift the weight, a hormone imbalance may be working against you. Hormone Health Educator Candace Burch of ZRT Laboratory breaks down the 8 most common hormonal culprits behind unexplained weight gain, from estrogen dominance and high cortisol to low vitamin D, disrupted sleep and a lack of strength training.

Why does weight gain accelerate at menopause? Can estrogen dominance cause low cortisol? Is saliva testing better than blood? Hormone Health Educator Candace Burch of ZRT Laboratory answers the most common questions from women struggling with hormone-related weight gain — covering everything from adrenal fatigue and vitamin D deficiency to birth control, bioidentical progesterone and why “your hormones are fine” from a standard blood test may not tell the whole story.

Vitamin D is not just a vitamin — it is a steroid hormone that plays a critical role in fertility, conception, placental development and fetal health. From improving ovulation in women with PCOS to supporting sperm motility in men, adequate vitamin D levels matter at every stage of the journey to parenthood. Discover why testing before and during pregnancy is increasingly recommended.