Lab Testing
Test, don’t guess!
Take the fastest route to feeling good!
If you’ve been doing all the “right” things but still not getting results, functional lab testing could provide the missing links… I’m sure you’d agree that throwing things at the wall to see what sticks with little or no improvement can become very tiring, very quickly!
I’m personally passionate about investing in lab work as this was a game changer my own health journey.
Functional lab testing can highlight patterns of imbalance in the body and give us clues as to how to bring it back into balance. The purpose of this type of testing is not to treat or diagnose any specific condition, but to get a big picture view of how the body is functioning. With this knowledge, we can then figure out how to best support your body with personalized protocols and lifestyle upgrades, tailored to your unique situation.
Symptoms:
Symptoms, while common, are not normal. They are usually a sign from the body that there are hidden imbalances inside. Sometimes we deal with symptoms even if we are active and eat healthy. If you deal with one or more of the following symptoms and what you’ve tried so far hasn’t worked, then lab testing may be the missing clue:
Acne & skin issues
Bloating
Insomnia
Constipation
Migraines or headaches
Weepiness
Irritability
Irregular periods
Brain fog
Caffeine dependency
Night sweats
Waking in the middle of the night
Mood swings
Anxiety and/or depression
Diarrhea
Digestive issues
Labs:
There are a number of core labs that I like to run on clients that get to the heart of the symptoms listed above. While are all valuable, you don’t have to run every lab at once. However, the more labs you run, the more clues we get into healing opportunities in the body.
Below is a list of core labs available to run on clients. To learn more about what the lab tests for and key indicators that it might be a good lab for you, click on its name.
Note that this is not an exhaustive list, this is just what I typically focus on. If you have a question about a specific type of lab, reach out!
If you’d like to have a chat about labs, how I work with my clients, or your existing symptoms, then I encourage you to either email me or book a free consult.
HTMA - testing for mineral imbalances & heavy metals
The hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) is the best first step in figuring your personal biochemistry. Minerals are at the base of our health: they influence our hormones, can impact our neurotransmitters, play a huge role in our genetic expressions, and more. HTMA gives us insight on how your body reacts to stress as well as what minerals you are deficient or toxic in as well as heavy metals that you are carrying around.
The HTMA tests for crucial minerals like magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, zinc and copper. It also tests for toxic metals like mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and aluminum- all of which can create massive health issues. HTMA’s main focus is on the ratios of the main minerals. The ratios show us metabolism, thyroid health, adrenal health, hormonal balance, blood sugar balance, and cardiovascular health.
HTMA testing can be particularly helpful in cases of chronic fatigue, migraines, mental health issues and situations where you feel you’ve tried it all but are still missing a piece of the puzzle!
If you could only run one lab, this is the one that I recommend because it provides a ton of insight as to what is going on inside the body.
DUTCH - assess hormone imbalances
The DUTCH test stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones— it’s the most extensive profile of sex and adrenal hormones to assess hormone imbalances. The DUTCH test gives you the full picture of your reproductive and adrenal hormones AND includes values for melatonin and oxidative stress.
The DUTCH tests for the following so you get the complete picture: core sex hormones, cortisol metabolites, estrogen metabolites, androgen metabolites, free cortisol pattern, melatonin, 8-OHdG (oxidative stress), and neurotransmitter metabolites.
Cycle Mapping - assess fertility
Are your periods infrequent or MIA? Or cycle more unpredictable than the weather? Are you concerned about the current status of your fertility? The DUTCH (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) Cycle Mapping is helpful to map out exactly what’s happening each day of your cycle, giving us an important overview of your female hormones and how they’re acting over the month. Estrogen and progesterone levels have a particular pattern they “should” be following for regular cycles and optimal fertility.
This test maps out exactly what your hormone pattern looks like and how/if it’s deviating from what’s optimal, which then gives us clues on how to start to support it back to a more “normal” pattern.
WHEN IS DUTCH CYCLE MAPPING™ RECOMMENDED?
• Women struggling with infertility
• Women with cycling hormones and no menses
• Partial hysterectomy (ovaries intact but no uterus)
• Ablations
• Mirena IUD (no actual menstrual bleeding due to IUD but still has hormonal symptoms)
• Women with irregular cycles
• PCOS
• If the luteal phase shifts from month-to-month
• Not sure when to test due to long or short cycles
• Women whose hormonal symptoms tend to fluctuate throughout the cycle
• PMS, mid-cycle spotting, migraines, etc.
Pathogen Screen - looks for parasites, bacteria, fungus, & yeast
Many experts are calling the gut the second brain because so much of what happens in our guts affects the rest of our bodies.
A comprehensive pathogen screen can identify potential parasites, bad bacteria, yeast, and fungi that are living in the gut.
These invaders correlate to issues with digestion, hormone imbalance, inflammation in the body, poor immunity and more.
Removing these gut invaders can be helpful to restore balance back to the entire body.
If you deal with digestive issues, bloating, gas, mood issues, sleep issues, hormone imbalance, PMS, migraines, fatigue, brain fog, and more – this is definteily a test to consider.
Organic Acids Test (OAT) - assess cellular metabolic processes
This test provides insight into the body’s cellular metabolic processes. Organic acids are metabolic intermediates that are produced in pathways of central energy production, detoxification, neurotransmitter breakdown, or intestinal microbial activity. Marked accumulation of specific organic acids detected in urine often signals a metabolic inhibition or block. The metabolic block may be due to a nutrient deficiency, an inherited enzyme deficit, toxic build-up or drug effect. Several of the biomarkers are markers of intestinal bacterial or yeast overgrowth.
Specifically, this test looks at:
- Fatty acid metabolism
- Energy production
- B-complex vitamin markers
- Methylation cofactor markers
- Neurotransmitter metabolism markers
- Oxidative damage and antioxidant markers
- Detoxification indicators
- Bacteria and yeast markers
Food Sensitivities
Food sensitivities are complex non-allergic, non-celiac inflammatory reactions that can involve both innate and adaptive immune pathways. Just because a food is marked as “healthy” does not mean that it’s healthy for you. If you have a sensitivity to it, it can cause just as much of a problem in the body as a pathogen can.
Knowing the foods that you’re sensitive to clues you in to what foods cause inflammation in the body when you eat them. Food sensitivities ultimately result in subclinical and clinical inflammatory effects manifesting in a variety of clinical conditions and symptoms.
Using functional lab tests and a series of self-assessments, we get detailed data that looks at the whole picture rather than just a piece or two of the puzzle so that we can connect the dots so you can fix what’s going on with your body once and for all.
Based on your lab results and information you provide via comprehensive questionnaires, I am able to put together a customized recommendations plan for you to get on your way to eliminating your symptoms and improving your overall health.
Run Labs
Want to run labs and get data on yourself so you know exactly what to do to heal and feel better? I have several ways you can work with me with varying levels of support.
ACTIVATE
Includes a lab, consult, customized
plan, and 30 days of support.
TRANSFORMED
A 3 or 6-month experience which includes several labs, a customized plan based on your results, and an accountability partner.