Functional Medicine Testing

Functional Medicine Testing

This testing is not traditional laboratory data. This testing is focused on the metabolic function of specific systems.

I work with all of the major Functional Labs, but like anyone I have my ‘favorite’ companies and testing.  
All of these tests are take home kits that you perform at home. The samples are one or a combination of: saliva, dried blood spot, stool, urine, or dried urine. 

ZRT LABS:

Salivary Adrenal Test: 

  • The adrenal glands, otherwise known as the “stress glands,” enable our bodies to cope with stress and survive. Shaped like two tiny pyramids, they sit atop the kidneys and from this central location mobilize the response to changes in our environment.
  • Whether stress comes from outside in the form of a natural disaster, or from within like the anxiety we experience before public speaking, it’s the adrenals’ job to help us adapt to the situation.

Neurotransmitters:

  • Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers used by the nervous system to relay information from one nerve to another.
  • Optimal neurotransmitter balance is required to maintain proper health. Imbalances can cause the brain and the body to be over- or under-stimulated, producing neurological or psychological symptoms.
  • ZRT’s dried urine method offers a discreet, at-home testing alternative and eliminates the hassles of all-day jug urine collection. Patients collect urine on a filter strip up to four times during the day. Dried strips are shelf-stable for 30 days and easy to mail back to the lab for analysis.

Blood Spot: Female/Male Blood Profile I – E2, Pg, T, DS, C & SHBG:

  • Most hormones are produced by a group of glands known collectively as the endocrine system. Even though these glands are located in various parts of the body, they are considered one system because of their similar functions and relationship to each other.
  • Hormones are secreted into the bloodstream by these glands. From there, they travel to all parts of the body playing the role of chemical messengers turning specific target tissues on or off. Because they can’t be stored in the cells, hormones do their work as they pass through and then they’re gone. As a result, hormones must be made and released at the precise time they’re needed. To keep things functioning at their best, the body must constantly fine-tune hormone release to keep levels within proper limits.
  • Because of the complexity of these interactions, a hormonal imbalance rarely stems from only one type of hormone. More often, the problem involves a series of hormones that are out of balance. In addition, a disruption in the balance of hormones produced by one gland or set of glands can cause other glands or systems to dysfunction. Before you know it, you’re feeling miserable on multiple fronts.

DIAGNOSTIC SOLUTIONS LAB:

GI MAPPING:

  • The Gastrointestinal Microbial Assay Plus (GI-MAP) is an innovative clinical tool that measures gastrointestinal microbiota DNA from a single stool sample with state of the art, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology.
  • The GI-MAP was designed to detect microbes that may be disturbing normal microbial balance or contributing to illness as well as indicators of digestion, absorption, inflammation, and immune function.

GREAT PLAINS LABS:

Organic Acids:

  • The Organic Acids Test (OAT) offers a comprehensive metabolic snapshot of a patient’s overall health with 76 markers. It provides an accurate evaluation of intestinal yeast and bacteria. Abnormally high levels of these microorganisms can cause or worsen behavior disorders, hyperactivity, movement disorders, fatigue and immune function. Many people with chronic illnesses and neurological disorders often excrete several abnormal organic acids in their urine. The cause of these high levels could include oral antibiotic use, high sugar diets, immune deficiencies, acquired infections, as well as genetic factors.
  • Our Organic Acids Test also includes markers for vitamin and mineral levels, oxidative stress, neurotransmitter levels, and is the only OAT to include markers for oxalates, which are highly correlated with many chronic illnesses.

MYCOTOX PROFILE:

  • Mycotoxins (toxins from mold) are some of the most prevalent toxins in the environment. Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by fungi like mold, which can infest buildings, vehicles, and foodstuffs. Most mycotoxin exposures in North America, Europe, and Australia are through airborne exposure. Food may be a major source of mycotoxins in third-world nations that lack government inspection of foods, especially the grains such as rice, corn, wheat, rye, and barley. Many grains that are harvested have been found to be contaminated with mycotoxins but little of such harvests are discarded and are frequently sold for animal feeds such as dog food or feed for cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and horses.
  • MycoTOX screens for eleven different mycotoxins, from 40 species of mold, in one urine sample.
  • MycoTOX is the most comprehensive and competitively priced mycotoxin test available.

GPL-TOX Profile (Toxic Non-Metal Chemicals):

  • GPL-TOX screens for 173 different environmental pollutants using 18 different metabolites, all from a single urine sample.
  • GPL-TOX uses the power of advanced mass spectrometry (MS/MS), which is necessary to detect lower levels of certain genetic, mitochondrial, and toxic chemical markers that conventional mass spectrometry often misses.
  • GPL-TOX also includes Tiglylglycine, a marker for mitochondrial damage, which is often seen in chronic toxic chemical exposure.