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As Goldilocks said of her porridge, this one’s too cold, this one’s too hot, and this one’s just right. If your body isn’t making the right amount of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), you’re likely to find yourself on either side of “just right”.   Is It Frank or Functional Hypothyroidism? Most people who suffer from thyroid issues fall into the “too cold” category of body temperature dysregulation and just don’t make enough thyroid hormones T4 and T3, referred to as hypothyroidism. T3 action in the mitochondria increases metabolism and is responsible for heat production. Mitochondria are...

By Dr. Sherry LaBeck, ZRT Laboratory The American Heart Association has designated the month of February as American Heart Month to raise awareness about heart disease and the healthy choices we can make to prevent it. Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease. And while some risk factors are out of our control, such as family history, genetics, and aging, most of the risk factors for developing heart or cardiovascular disease are more often than not within our control. For example, lifestyle habits and behaviors such as smoking cessation, physical activity, healthy food selection, and how we...

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...

Many women going through menopause start to see changes in their ability to remember things. Women can find this very worrying; such symptoms are not unlike early signs of dementia, or even Alzheimer’s Disease. However, age-related memory impairment is quite common and can be explained in part by hormonal changes, in particular loss of estrogen, and it involves a small part of the brain that resembles a seahorse.  The Hippocampus The name “hippocampus” is actually the Latin word for seahorse.  Image: László Seres The hippocampus is located in the temporal lobe of the brain and is a component of the limbic system. Although...

By Dr. Alison McAllister, ZRT Laboratory Many times when I am talking to a practitioner about a patient with PCOS and/or weight issues, I commonly get the response – "His/her blood sugar is normal." However, when we are looking at the health of PCOS and weight-challenged patients, their insulin response is of primary importance, and not just their blood sugar. When we are fasting, both blood sugar and insulin levels should be at a steady state. Blood sugar is generally between 70-90 mg/dL and insulin levels between 1-8 µIU/mL. When we eat a meal, blood sugar increases. In response, insulin...