Hormone Health Hub: Expert Insights on Testing, Balance & Better Living — hormonal contraception

By Dr. Alison McAllister, ZRT Laboratory This article tackles some frequent questions providers might have regarding the purpose of the testing and who the ideal patient is. TESTING SPECIFICS Why urine testing instead of saliva? Saliva testing is what ZRT was founded on, and we have tested over 1.8 million individuals at this point. We are celebrating 20 years of hormone testing this year! Hurray! We love saliva testing. But, what we don’t love is having you collect every other day for 15 samples. Urine testing has the benefit of a super easy collection – wake up and pee on the...

Birth control pills are marketed as hormonal contraception — but they contain no natural hormones whatsoever. In this candid post, OB/GYN Dr. Felice Gersh explains why she stopped prescribing the Pill, what synthetic hormones actually do to the female body, and why understanding your natural hormone rhythms matters more than ever.

The contraceptive pill is one of the most widely used medications in the world — but its effects on mood, brain chemistry and hormone balance are still poorly understood. This article explores how synthetic hormones disrupt oestrogen, progesterone, cortisol and neurotransmitters, and why some women are far more vulnerable to depression and anxiety as a result.

Hormonal contraception suppresses ovarian function, which means saliva and blood spot hormone test results will appear artificially low — but this doesn’t mean hormone levels at the tissue level are low. This guide explains how to interpret hormone test results correctly when using the pill, patch, ring or IUD, and when to collect your sample for the most meaningful data.