ZRT Wellness Suite

Wellness Testing

Now More Than Ever, The Importance Of Assessing Wellness Is Becoming Recognized As Central To Our Ability Both To Fend Off Infectious Diseases And To Protect Against Future Chronic Illnesses.

As more and more data emerge regarding the current pandemic, it’s clear there is a strong link between certain wellness parameters and susceptibility to COVID-19 and disease outcome, including risk for death, such as:

• Cardiometabolic disease (increased markers of insulin resistance, diabetes, inflammation)
• Vitamin D deficiency
• Hormonal imbalances (estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol)

Making sure we detect imbalances and address risk factors is key to staying well in the long term.

THE WELLNESS SUITE

ZRT’s Wellness suite of profiles includes the Wellness Metrics Profile for an overall hormonal and metabolic health screening, the Fitness Metrics Profile for those wanting to monitor fitness or weight loss goals, and the Elite Athlete Metrics Profile for athletes who train at a higher level. Wherever you are on your wellness journey, there is a profile to help you maximize your potential! See the table below to find out what tests are offered in each profile.

ZRT’S WELLNESS METRICS PROFILE

The adrenal, thyroid, and sex hormones work in concert with each other to maintain a state of balance in the body. When one or more hormones are outside optimal ranges, this affects the harmony of the whole system. The Wellness Metrics Profile identifies specific imbalances of one or more hormones that govern key aspects of our health, contributing to immunity, mood changes, energy, libido, altered metabolism, increased body fat deposition, and food/sugar cravings, and includes tests identifying increased risks for cardiometabolic disease and diabetes. The optional add-ons give a fuller picture when there are thyroid issues or symptoms of insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome.

The comprehensive test report is designed to help clinicians recommend effective treatments to rebalance sex hormone and adrenal hormone levels, address vitamin D and thyroid deficiencies, reduce overall risk for metabolic syndrome, and potentially avoid the onset of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases.

WHO BENEFITS FROM WELLNESS METRICS PROFILE TESTING?

Individuals with:

• Excessive fatigue
• Weight gain, especially in the waist (belly fat)
• Sugar cravings
• Chronic stress
• Low sex drive

Women with:

• Premenopausal symptoms of estrogen excess or progesterone deficiency
• Menstrual bleeding abnormalities
• Infertility
• Excessive facial/body hair
• Menopausal symptoms
• Hair loss
• PCOS

ADVANTAGES OF SALIVA AND BLOOD SPOT TESTING

• Convenient sample collection at home - no phlebotomist required
• Easy shipment of samples from home to the lab
• Samples stable for several weeks at room temperature
• Excellent correlation with serum/plasma assays

TESTS INCLUDED IN THE WELLNESS SUITE PROFILES

Estradiol (E2), the predominant, and most potent, circulating estrogen. It plays an important role in modulating immunity.

Progesterone (Pg) balances the actions of estradiol in the body and has wide-ranging physiological roles.

Testosterone (T) and DHEA-S (DS) help maintain libido and increase lean muscle mass and metabolic rate. In women, high T and DHEA are linked to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), insulin resistance, and abdominal weight gain.

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) binds steroid hormones for transport in the bloodstream. If SHBG increases while sex steroid levels decrease, this can indicate overtraining syndrome.

Cortisol imbalances can create problems with blood sugar control, sleep patterns, appetite, food cravings, and the immune system. Chronically elevated cortisol is a risk factor for pre-diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) elevations, even within the high-normal range, are linked with hypothyroidism, low metabolic rate and weight gain.

Free Triiodothyronine (fT3) and Free Thyroxine (fT4) imbalances indicate hypo- or hyperthyroidism. Imbalances in thyroid function can lead to low stamina, fatigue, depression, and low libido.

Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) antibodies at high levels are a sign of autoimmune thyroid illness.

Vitamin D (D2, D3) deficiency does not have obvious symptoms but has been linked with a wide range of diseases including susceptibility to infections like flu, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, depression, and several cancers.

Fasting Insulin (In), when elevated, is a marker of insulin resistance which precedes metabolic syndrome, PCOS, and type 2 diabetes. Increased levels, particularly in concert with cortisol lead to central obesity and increased inflammatory and other cardiovascular disease markers.

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is an indirect measure of the average circulating glucose levels over the previous three months. Normally between 4% and 5.6%, levels between 5.7% and 6.4% are indicative of poor blood sugar control and prediabetes, while 6.5% or more is indicative of type 2 diabetes and consequently high cardiovascular disease risk.

Blood lipids (triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and VLDL) are a barometer of cardiovascular disease risk that can be improved by fitness training and other lifestyle modifications such as better diet.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) gives an indication of inflammation in the body.

Luteinizing Hormone (LH) is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the production of reproductive hormones. Low levels can be caused by excessive testosterone supplementation or opioid painkiller use and are seen in exercise-induced amenorrhea in women.

Results of all lab tests are available to our patients along with a treatment alternatives. These results can be shared with you cardiologist or primary care physician. Please call our office at 321.421.7111 for further information and cost of this testing.