Every successful journey needs a good map, so your road to good health needs accurate data to ensure you will reach your destination. Think of it this way: you need to know the underlying cause of an issue to determine the most appropriate starting point and course of action. A comprehensive evaluation of your physical and mental well-being is critical to mapping a successful path forward.
Conventional medicine often overlooks the bigger picture of our medical journey. Testing is limited in scope and focuses on a specific symptom, so any treatment plan needs more data for a holistic approach to healing.
In contrast, functional lab testing can look at the entire body. That’s because our health isn’t a collection of siloed processes but a complex network. As a naturopath in the Alpharetta area, Dr. PND can examine your overall health which will allow him – and yourself – to take a step back and look at the big picture. A treatment plan is, therefore, comprehensive instead of merely focusing on getting rid of one symptom.
What Is Functional Lab Testing?
Just as the name implies, functional lab testing aims to determine how your body functions as a unit. Most common tests could involve:
- Blood tests
- Saliva tests
- Stool samples
- Urine samples
The data gathered through these tests help determine the impact of nutrition, stress, environment, hormones, genetics and more on your body. It can also assess the state of your microbiome – the bacteria in your gut. As a result, you have more information to determine the underlying causes of any health issue.
Key Functional Tests
An integrative healthcare practitioner will determine the best tests for you since there’s no set formula for testing. Some of the most common and informative tests include:
Hormone panel
The impact of your hormone levels on your overall physical and mental health is far-reaching and often underestimated. Unbalanced levels of cortisol, DHEA, progesterone, testosterone, estrogen, androgens, insulin and thyroid hormones can all impact your well-being in ways that can be difficult to diagnose through standard tests. Debilitating symptoms like weight problems, mood issues, and fatigue can continue unnecessarily without targeted hormone testing.
A complete panel is often essential instead of focusing on one since you want to see the balance of different hormones, like estrogen and progesterone. Hormone testing can be done by blood tests or saliva tests.
Gut health assessments
This is another frequently overlooked function with broad implications for your health. In fact, science is only starting to recognize that gut health significantly impacts a wide range of common health issues, including depression, obesity, and diabetes. Even your cardiovascular health is affected by the microbiome. Modern lifestyles and diets harm your gut by disturbing the delicate balance of bacteria, leading to inflammation and malabsorption of essential nutrients. Tests to gauge your gut health include:
- Stool analysis: These tests can uncover issues with malabsorption, which could be caused by damage to the intestine or conditions like celiac, Crohn’s disease, or autoimmune disorders.
- SIBO breath test: SIBO stands for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Measuring the amount of hydrogen in your breath after consuming sugar can gauge the number of bacteria in your small intestine and your ability to digest certain sugars, such as lactose.
- Zonulin antibody testing: Zonulin is a protein that helps maintain the correct degree of permeability in your gut. Testing for zonulin antibodies can help diagnose the leaky gut syndrome. Functional lab testing for antibodies generally gives more accurate results than testing zonulin levels.
Food sensitivity assessments
Sensitivities to certain foods can have a profound impact on your overall health. Still, they’re notoriously tricky to diagnose on your own, partly because there is a wide range of possible reactions. It’s best to work with a healthcare practitioner. Tests that can hone in on potential sensitivities include elimination diets with careful records and blood tests evaluating factors such as immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies.
Tests for inflammation markers
Inflammation is often a sign that something is amiss in your body, but most standard checkups don’t evaluate for signs of inflammation. Markets to test include:
- C-reactive protein
- Homocysteine
- Ferritin
Elevated inflammation markers don’t necessarily tell you what’s causing problems, but they are a sign to do more functional lab testing – and that information can be invaluable. One study found that people with elevated levels of c-reactive protein have an increased risk of heart attack by as much as three times.
Detox testing
Exposure to toxic substances such as heavy metals, molds or pesticides is another impact on our health, particularly with regard to autoimmune disorders and digestive issues. But, despite the risks, testing for exposure is often overlooked. Methylation is a complex process that removes toxins from your body. Some people have a genetic variation that impacts this process, putting them at greater risk for high levels of toxins. MTHFR genetic testing is one test that can indicate if your body’s detox processes are working as they should.
In addition, heavy metal testing examines the levels of possibly toxic substances like mercury, lead, and cadmium.
Mold has also been a hidden cause of many “mystery illnesses” but is rarely checked in conventional medicine. Symptoms of mold exposure are not always obvious, like sneezing or itchy and watery eyes. They can include cognitive impairment, depression, sleep disturbance, brain fog, digestive complaints and more!
Nutrient levels
Deficiencies in essential nutrients can lead to many health issues. Common symptoms include unexplained fatigue, brain fog, mood disorders, and more. It’s essential to check your levels regularly since they can change quickly depending on what else is going on in your life – even if your diet remains the same, stress can affect levels of many nutrients, including magnesium and iron. It’s important to review your results with a qualified practitioner, as many holistic practitioners use different standards than conventional medicine.
Metabolic testing
No matter how good your diet is, a problem with how you metabolize nutrients can lead to health issues.
- HgA1c
- Fasting glucose
- Insulin
- Lipid panel
One important factor in these tests is that they can spot potential issues before they become problems. For example, monitoring HgA1c and glucose levels can help diagnose insulin sensitivity before you develop prediabetes or diabetes. A holistic practice will watch for trends to suggest changes before a problem develops.
Interpreting Results
Numbers can tell a story, but they need to be appropriately interpreted. Just looking at the numbers from testing and only reacting if they fall out of the “normal” range can lead to missing the story’s point. After all, the goal of testing should be to determine all of the factors influencing your health and to determine if you can improve any aspect for optimum health. Aiming for so-called normal ranges will detect the presence of disease but may not prevent the disease from developing. Looking at optimal levels, and using functional lab testing, can help ensure optimal well-being and help prevent disease.
Functional testing helps determine the underlying cause of health problems and will help you develop a roadmap to a healthier you. Ready to schedule your consultation with a naturopath in Alpharetta? Contact Dr. PND to get started!
Sources
Blottière HM, Doré J. Impact des nouveaux outils de métagénomique sur notre connaissance du microbiote intestinal et de son rôle en santé humaine – Enjeux diagnostiques et thérapeutiques [Impact of newly developed metagenomic tools on our knowledge of the gut microbiota and its role in human health: diagnostic and therapeutic issues]. Med Sci (Paris). 2016 Nov;32(11):944-951. French. doi: 10.1051/medsci/20163211009. Epub 2016 Dec 23. PMID: 28008834.
Aron-Wisnewsky J, Clément K. The gut microbiome, diet, and links to cardiometabolic and chronic disorders. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2016 Mar;12(3):169-81. doi: 10.1038/nrneph.2015.191. Epub 2015 Nov 30. PMID: 26616538.
Vojdani A, Vojdani E, Kharrazian D. Fluctuation of zonulin levels in blood vs stability of antibodies. World J Gastroenterol. 2017;23(31):5669-5679. doi:10.3748/wjg.v23.i31.5669
Ridker PM. Cardiology Patient Page. C-reactive protein: a simple test to help predict risk of heart attack and stroke. Circulation. 2003 Sep 23;108(12):e81-5. doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000093381.57779.67. PMID: 14504253.
Lopresti AL. The Effects of Psychological and Environmental Stress on Micronutrient Concentrations in the Body: A Review of the Evidence. Adv Nutr. 2020;11(1):103-112. doi:10.1093/advances/nmz082
