Blog

By Dr. Kate Placzek, ZRT Laboratory. Many children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) struggle with fitting in and according to some experts, may receive as many as 20,000 negative messages by age 10 than their neurotypical peers. Little wonder then that many struggle with self-esteem and the belief that they are somehow broken. Being labeled as “different” – and this difference perceived as unacceptable to others – can impair an individual’s social development and actually exacerbate their struggles. One study found that children with ADHD whose families expressed high levels of criticism failed to experience the usual decline in...

By Dr. Beth Baldwin, ZRT Laboratory If one were to create a word cloud of our clinical consulting calls in 2020, the word “phosphatidylserine” would likely float to the center in a large, bold, brightly colored font. After a year spent coping with a global pandemic, record high unemployment, social distancing, and remote learning for students, accompanied by not only an extreme wildfire season but also a contentious presidential election in the U.S., people are stressed – and it shows. We are seeing plenty of patients with abnormal salivary cortisol profiles, absent, blunted or exaggerated cortisol awakening responses, and symptoms typical of both high...

Tracy Tranchitella, ND, ZRT Laboratory. Following on from part 1 of this 3-part blog series discussing 3 important nutrients that can enhance our immune function against viral infection as well as regulate the inflammatory response to COVID-19, this second part of the series discusses the essential mineral zinc. The Many Roles of Zinc The body uses zinc in countless ways. After iron, zinc is the most abundant trace mineral in the body and is present in every cell. Zinc is necessary for the activity of over 50 enzymes that aid in metabolism, digestion, nerve function and many other processes. We need zinc...

Saliva testing is used for measuring hormones like cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, DHAES and testosterone, and its non-invasive collection asks patients to spit into a plastic tube. This sampling method allows patients to collect saliva at home at specific times, which is important for accurately measuring hormone levels. Why do we test hormones in saliva? Steroid hormones in the bloodstream are 95-99% bound to carrier proteins, and in this form are unavailable to target tissues. Saliva testing measures the amount of hormone available to target tissues – the bioavailable amount. For this reason, saliva testing better relates to specific symptoms of excess...

    The balance of hormones is essential for all aspects of human health and the same plays true for athletes. Whether you are a beginner working on getting into shape and losing weight, or a seasoned veteran with many competitions under your belt, understanding your hormones and how they change with intense exercise is essential to getting as much as possible out of your training. Laboratory is launching 2 new kits that will enable athletes to track their hormones and help them better understand the changes happening to their body. I spoke about why laboratory testing is important for...