The ZRT Laboratory Blog

Last weekend I went whitewater rafting. A particularly turbulent patch of the rapids caught me off guard, when I tumbled off the raft into the water. It all happened so quickly. We hit a big rock, the raft turned vertical and I fell into the river. I was swept under and spat back out, my body tossed around like a tiny paper boat. I was gasping for air with the whitewater waves rising in front of me, crashing over…

Tags: Cortisol, Neurotransmitters, Brain Health, Mental Health, Heart Health, Stress

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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…

Tags: Estrogen, Heart Health, Cardiovascular Disease

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Every year in March, National Nutrition Month focuses our attention on how and what we eat, exhorting us with awareness-raising campaign slogans to "bite into a healthy lifestyle," or as in this year’s theme, to "savor the flavor of eating right." Appealing and important as the messaging is, it does beg the question that what tastes good to us, may not necessarily be good for us. Too many of the…

Tags: Patient Education, Heart Health, Hormone Balance

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We’ve been hearing a lot about heart disease over the past few weeks as awareness of risk factors is actively promoted during American Heart Month in February. There are several risk factor assessment tools available online. While some basic information is common to all of them, there are differences in the factors included in the assessment, sometimes resulting in a different assessed risk…

Tags: Heart Health, Cardiovascular Disease

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Men and testosterone therapy have been a hot topic in the news recently. Stories are filled with cautions about the use of testosterone therapy in men causing heart attacks and leading many doctors to question testosterone supplementation. A closer look at the study may provide more insight. The study released is referenced at the end of this post. This study looked at 55,593 men who started…

Tags: Heart Health, Testosterone, Hormone Balance, Cardiovascular Disease, Andropause

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Last week we discussed how shifting hormone levels can lead to fat storage. This week we continue the discussion on the link between hormones and weight gain. Chances are that many of your patients have never heard of insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. And yet this cluster of conditions and symptoms has become synonymous in the medical literature with dramatically higher risks for diabetes…

Tags: Weight Management, Hormone Balance, Heart Health, Cardiovascular Disease, Metabolic Health

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Stress and depression have both been linked with diabetes and heart disease, and if left untreated, can lead to more complications. Understanding these two contributing factors can help doctors formulate suitable treatment plans for their patients, so it is important to discuss the possibility of having either stress or depression with our health care providers even if they forget to ask. Stress…

Tags: Heart Health, Stress, Cardiovascular Disease

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and most of us know someone whom heart disease has affected in one way or another.In honor of heart health month (February) I interviewed Dr Aimee Gould Shunney medical advisor for Nordic Naturals and Naturopathic Physician. We talked about how fish oil supplementation can have a positive effect on the cardiovascular…

Tags: Saliva Testing, Heart Health, Cardiovascular Disease

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