Hormone Health Hub: Expert Insights on Testing, Balance & Better Living — hormone testing

By Dr. Tracy Tranchitella, ND    Important: Palpitations should not automatically be attributed to menopause or a hormone imbalance. If palpitations are happening with chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting or feeling faint, seek emergency medical help rather than waiting for a home test. New, recurrent or worsening palpitations need clinical assessment; an ECG or heart-rhythm monitoring may be needed. There it is again! That distinct flutter in your chest that kicks up your heart rate and leaves you feeling a bit breathless. It might feel as though your heart just skipped a beat or flip-flopped in your chest and...

  By Dr. Tracy Tranchitella, ND (ZRT Laboratory) For anyone who has dealt with issues that are related to chronic fatigue has likely evaluated their hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis performance through a multi-point salivary test. The hormone Cortisol is measured in saliva when the samples are collected through predetermined intervals throughout a single day reveal one’s physiological resilience and metabolic reserve in response to daily stressors. HPA axis testing is a mainstay in the world of integrative, naturopathic, and functional medicine. For the past 2 years, the world has existed under the constant shadow of COVID-19. To say that we have been “stressed” is...

By Dr.David Zava, ZRT Laboratory   COVID-19 is Making Blood Draw Clinics a Scary Place to Be In today’s scary world of rapidly spreading COVID-19 infections, most individuals are hesitant to have their health care provider, or worse, a stranger at a blood draw clinic, violate their mandated social space of 6 feet to allow them to stick a needle in their vein and draw blood for testing hormones. It is understandable why during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic both the physician and staff would rather limit physical contact as much as possible with a potentially infectious COVID-19 patient, and vice versa....

By Margaret Groves, ZRT Laboratory Low testosterone in older men, often referred to as “male menopause” or even “andropause” is fairly well known — and testosterone replacement therapy in this age group has not been without its share of controversy, particularly with respect to heart health. Proper testing and dosing are all-important, as well as understanding a man’s physiology and all the factors that affect testosterone levels. For example, when giving testosterone transdermally it is critical to use testing methods such as dried blood spot or saliva to properly assess absorption of testosterone into the body, avoiding the problem of overdosing to achieve “normal”...

By Dr. Allison Smith, ZRT Laboratory Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) is one of the most overlooked variables in hormone health. It directly controls how much testosterone is biologically active in your body — yet it rarely appears on standard blood panels. Whether you're dealing with symptoms of low testosterone, androgen excess, or unexplained hormonal imbalance, understanding SHBG is essential to getting the full picture. What is SHBG? SHBG is a protein produced primarily in the liver that binds tightly to testosterone — and to a lesser degree, Estradiol (E2) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) — and carries them through the bloodstream....