Get to the Root Cause with Functional Lab Testing
As a registered dietician, I am credentialed to order functional lab tests for my clients without needing a doctor's prescription. If you don't already know, I hope you are asking, "What is the difference between normal conventional testing done in a doctor's office vs functional lab testing?"
Great question!!
Conventional lab testing like routine bloodwork, is often a narrow scope testing only a few markers that may relate to a specific symptom or health concern. It generally does not take into factor the context of the health of the whole body. All to often a person doesn't feel well, they go to the doctor, bloodwork is drawn, everything comes back fine, and that person leaves the office with a good bill of health. But with no answers as to why he/she is not feeling well. That's where functional lab testing and comprehensive blood work come into the bigger picture.
Functional lab testing goes beyond what 'normal' tests do. These tests may include samples of blood, urine, saliva, hair, or stool to give providers insights into a variety of body systems. It allows the provider to get a better picture of how the body is running as a whole as each bodily system is so intricately affected by another. These tests provide answers to root causes of health problems as the information received tests a wide variety of bodily systems including metabolic, nutritional, endocrine, hormonal, gastrointestinal, immune, detoxification, genetic, and more!
Below are a some examples of lab companies Serenity Nutrition works with:
Diagnostic Solutions is a lab company offering a stool test called GI MAP that primarily focuses on gastrointestinal health, digestion, and your microbiome and also an OMX test, which can determine biochemical dysfunctions happening in your body. This metabolic analysis can help evaluate the function of key pathways to better target support.
Precision Analytical provides the DUTCH test, which is a urine test that primarily focuses on analyzing hormones including cortisol levels, sex hormones, and adrenal hormones.
Vibrant Wellness is a lab company that offers a multitude of options including more expansive blood work options, stool testing, and urine testing.
Trace Elements provides a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis which can determine long-term deviations of mineral retention or losses. Unlike blood, hair is less susceptible to the homeostatic mechanisms that quickly affect trace minerals in the body.
Oxford Biomedical is a lab company that offers the future of food sensitivity testing. All food-induced inflammatory reactions involve mediator release, which leads to all the negative effects food sensitivity patients suffer from.
Click on the photos below to learn more about some of the options available.
Book a free discovery call and we can discuss your symptoms and health to determine if a test is necessary to assist in finding the root cause to your symptoms.
Unfortunately, these tests are often not covered by insurance. Conventional medicine is built on a model of labeling a patient with a diagnosis, each one having a specific code that dictates reimbursement levels and is matched by a specific treatment. Whereas, functional medicine looks at a person individually factoring in a large matrix of integrated body systems. These diagnostic codes are not well-suited for functional care.
Another option that could be possible is using FSA or HSA plans to pay for functional labs.
Office:
Manitowoc, WI 54220
Call
920-717-1776
Email: Jennifer@SerenityNutritionRD.com
Site: www.SerenityNutritionRD.com
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