Sometimes, when we endeavor to understand and describe complicated medical topics, there is a temptation to find a simple explanation to cut through the complexity. These explanations can help bridge the knowledge gap for a while, but as our knowledge grows, they lose some of their original usefulness (e.g., the notion of “good” and “bad” cholesterol). In some cases, those over-simplified…
Tags: Stress, HPA Axis, Hormone Balance, Adrenal and Cortisol
Providers routinely call ZRT for support in addressing low libido for their patients during the menopausal transition. Busy lifestyles, everyday stress, not enough or poor quality sleep and many other factors can all contribute to putting sex at the bottom of the to-do list, well after laundry, scrubbing the floor, and taking the dog to the vet. Low libido is a multidimensional issue that can have a…
After beating cancer, Dr. Zembroski strives to prevent chronic disease in his patients. Hear his story."You have a 5-inch tumor in your chest" were the words spoken from a friend and radiologist as we both stared bewildered at my chest X-ray, following a host of side effects I'd been having for weeks. As I looked at the X-ray film in amazement, my thoughts quickly changed to frustration and anger…
Tags: Stress, Cancer, Adrenal and Cortisol
I wanted to share a few of the studies using saliva testing that were published in the literature in 2016. Just a hint, if you want to search for articles on saliva testing, use pubmed.gov and search saliva estradiol (or progesterone, testosterone etc.). Be aware that saliva hormone testing is so standard in the research world that rarely is it mentioned in the titles of the papers. Over 310…
Tags: Saliva Testing, Research, Estrogen, Testosterone, Progesterone, DHEA, Adrenal and Cortisol
The adaptogens represent a category of herbs that is almost commonplace for those individuals seeking to be healthier in today’s stressful environment. These remarkable herbs focus on helping the body resist the complex biological reactions that arise from the stressful events we daily encounter. Adaptogens work to increase the body’s resistance to physical, biological, emotional, and environmental…
Tags: Herbs, Stress, Adrenal and Cortisol
Treatment TakeawayOn awakening cortisol should increase about 50% in the first 30 minutes then begin to progressively drop the remainder of the day. Three, rather than one, early morning collections are what is needed to accurately assess the CAR; one immediately on waking, one 30 minutes later, and another at 1 hour. Thirty minutes after awakening from a good…
Tags: Stress, Cortisol Awakening Response, Saliva Testing, HPA Axis, Adrenal and Cortisol
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this book covers everything you need to know about the stress response system and how it affects our health. Dr. Guilliams reminds us that only 80 years ago the concept of stress as a biological process, and how the stress response is regulated by the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, was yet to be elucidated. He takes us back to the pioneering…
Tags: Stress, HPA Axis, Adrenal and Cortisol
Practice Takeaway: Providers should be aware that three different body fluids – saliva, blood or urine – can be used to assess adrenal gland function, and should know each method’s advantages and disadvantages, when deciding how to test patients. Inadequate or excessive production or disrupted circadian patterns of cortisol synthesis by the adrenal glands in response to stressors can eventually…
Tags: Dried Urine Testing, Saliva Testing, Blood Spot Testing, Stress, Adrenal and Cortisol
Practical Takeaway: When adrenal glands become fatigued – typically as a result of prolonged, repetitive stress – the output of key regulatory hormones, like 'master stress hormone' cortisol, is diminished. Following my recent re-reading of Dr. James Wilson’s 2001 pioneering book, Adrenal Fatigue: the 21st Century Stress Syndrome, I took his advice and for the first time in months slept in on a…
Tags: Hormone Balance, Patient Education, Stress, Adrenal and Cortisol
There’s a famous quote that strikes me as particularly appropriate for a conversation about stress. It speaks to what is most surprising about humanity: “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present…
Tags: Hormone Balance, Weight Management, HPA Axis, Metabolic Health, Adrenal and Cortisol
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