I get this question a lot… What is functional lab testing? I’m going to break down the difference between conventional doctors and functional practitioners. I’m also going to go over some great functional labs to start with to get to the root cause of your health issues.
Possible Root Causes of Disease
There are 5 main causes of all diseases:
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Stressors
- Microbes
- Allergens
- Toxins
Conventional Medicine and Addressing The Root Cause of Disease
Convetional Blood Tests
Conventional medicine often addresses only very few pieces of this at times, if any. When I say conventional medicine, I mean your typical allopathic doctor or MD. They use blood panels like a CBC (complete blood count), basic metabolic panel, thyroid panel, lipid panel, etc. These tests are great if used properly. If you get a check-up more than once per year, you may be able to catch some of your blood markers trending in the wrong direction and course correct. However, professionals and the public don’t encourage checkups to an extent that is enough.
Normal Ranges May Not Be “Normal” After All…
The other issue is that conventional doctors use standard or “normal” ranges when interpreting results. This range was determined by a standard population of people, which can include tons of sick people and some healthy, therefore widening the range of each marker. These ranges aren’t always “optimal,” or the best way to live a healthy life. Some standard ranges that can be misleading include various thyroid markers such as TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone), Free T3, and Free T4.
Function Lab Testing Is Based on The Fact That Your Hormones Fluctuate Throughout The Day
Another issue is that most conventional doctors don’t run all of the necessary thyroid tests. Another great example is cortisol testing. Doctors will take 1 sample of your blood to test your cortisol. This is just a snapshot of your stress hormone. Your cortisol fluctuates throughout the day. Your functional practitioner should measure a sum of your cortisol to assess adrenal function. Therefore, a 24-hour adrenal stress test should be run instead, which is something that I use with my clients.
Functional Lab Testing
How Does Functional Lab Testing Help you?
This kind of testing that I do is called “functional” lab testing. Functional lab testing is an approach to get to the root cause of disease or malfunction in the body. Remember that the 5 main causes of disease (or dis-ease) include nutritional deficiencies, stressors, microbes, allergens, and toxins. Functional lab testing can dig into each of these categories and discover how the body is working in terms of neurotransmitters, the immune system, detoxification capabilities, hormones, digestion, and more. This way, all of the systems in the body can be explored. Not only does functional testing dig deep, but as an FDN-P, we use optimal lab ranges. This means instead of using standard ranges coming from a normal population, the ranges are tweaked to show optimal health.
How Is Functional Lab Testing Different From Conventional Medicine?
Conventional medicine looks for a “diagnosis” and prescribes drugs in order to suppress symptoms, while a functional practitioner will investigate as far as possible to uncover where the root of dis-ease is coming from. Functional practitioners, and specifically FDN-Ps like myself, will use nutrition, sleep, movement, toxin elimination, stress management, and natural supplementation were necessary to approach dis-ease and help people truly heal.
Unfortunately, functional labs are usually an out-of-pocket expense. This is why our medical system is a sick care system and not a system of wellness and prevention. A single functional lab test may range anywhere from approximately $100-$500. If you have a health savings account (HSA) or a health reimbursement account (HRA) then you can usually use that money to cover lab costs.
Functional Lab Tests to Run to Get to The Root Cause of Disease
Here’s a few main tests that are great to run to look for root causes of dis-ease:
Stress and Sex Hormone Panel
Dysfunction of the adrenal glands can show up as fatigue, anxiety, blood sugar imbalances, brain fog, weight gain, low libido, insomnia, depression, anxiety, irritability, inability to handle stress, PMS and more. A 24-hour saliva test for cortisol and sex hormones is a great way to get a good assessment of how your HPA-axis is functioning. Your HPA-axis is the communication between your brain and adrenal glands. This testing will provide information about cortisol, DHEA, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and other markers. A DUTCH test, which is a urine sample test, is another great way to get an extensive picture of your sex hormones.
Gut Pathogen and Permeability Test
Many autoimmune diseases and chronic illnesses have some sort of connection to gastrointestinal issues. The lining of the gut can become damaged by a poor diet, stress, medications, alcohol, and other toxins. When the gut lining is damaged, food particles and toxins can slip through and into the bloodstream, leading to systemic inflammation. Pathogens, such as bad bacteria, worms, parasites and an overgrowth of candida (yeast) can also live in the gut. It’s a chicken and egg scenario where we don’t know if the pathogens or the gut permeability came first, but either way they feed into each other. Markers like zonulin and occludin are good to see how permeable the gut is, because these proteins regulate the tightness of the junctions that keep the gut lining together.
Food Sensitivities
If food particles get into the bloodstream and cause inflammation, this has to do with antibodies being developed against these foods. We can determine food sensitivities by doing an extensive elimination diet and a long, slow reintroduction phase where you watch out for symptoms to see if any specific foods still cause an immune response. A quicker way to do this is by doing a food sensitivity test. Symptoms of having food sensitivities can include brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, depression, irritability, skin rashes, acne, headaches, and digestive issues like bloating and gas.
Other Tests
Other tests I love are Organic Acids tests, comprehensive thyroid panels, mold testing, and heavy metal testing. However, the stress and hormone, gut pathogen and permeability, and food sensitivities tests are all a great starting point.
Takeaway
If you’re interested in learning more about how functional lab testing and a holistic approach to healing can help you, then go schedule a health assessment call with me now. We can unpack your health issues and see if you would be a good fit to work with me. Thanks!
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