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By Dr. Kate Placzek, ZRT Laboratory I was so tired. I needed a new word for tired. I felt exhausted and incapacitated, utterly drained and hollowed out. It was like my brain and body were fading. And yet, these words are still not descriptive enough to relate how I felt. Getting out of bed felt grueling, punishing. I was 24 at the time, in my 4th year of my PhD program at Purdue University. I was newly engaged and so in love with my soon-to-be husband. Really good things were happening in my life. And I could barely function. On the...

            By Margaret Groves, ZRT Laboratory Hormones are involved with processes affecting the maintenance of skin health, such as collagen content, skin lipid levels, elasticity, wound healing, glycoaminoglycan content, and facial hair patterns. A major culprit for the skin thinning, wrinkling, and dryness associated with aging is the decline in hormones such as estrogen and progesterone in women, and testosterone in men.  Therefore, it's no coincidence that the decline in hormone levels as people age parallels the decline in skin properties frequently associated with aging. And, with skin health being such a major concern especially in...

  In this blog, I want to focus mainly on how cannabis can affect your hormones, primarily through the pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands, and the reproductive system.               While cannabis is being legalized in more and more states, both the adverse and beneficial effects of its use are starting to be better understood. The active compound in cannabis, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is widely known to have effects on the brain, producing the “high” that many users are seeking. However, the other more adverse effects cannabis can have on the body are less widely known....

By Dr. Ted Zava, ZRT Laboratory. Have you considered what metals make up jewellery when shopping for jewellery.  Especially what metals make up earrings, bracelets, rings, and other shiny items? A report by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) in California detailed that cadmium was present in numerous jewellery items tested from stores [1]. The amount of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, ranged from 40-100% in the items testing positive. Is Cadmium Allowed in Jewellery? Surprisingly, there are no restrictions on the amount of cadmium allowed in adult jewellery in the United States. There is a limit of 0.03% cadmium in children’s jewellery...

By Dr.Ted Zava of ZRT Laboratory. Have you ever wondered where dietary iodine comes from? Most people are familiar with iodized salt and shellfish containing high levels of iodine, but few realize a vast assortment of food and drinks contain this essential nutrient.  What Food Products Contain the Highest Levels of Iodine? It may come as a surprise that most dietary iodine comes from dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt. Iodine is used to prevent bacteria growth in cattle feed and it can also be used as a sanitizer when milking cows. Because cows typically graze in fields...