Why Functional Medicine Tests Are So Important (And How They Helped Me!)
If you’ve been part of my community for a while, chances are you’ve heard me talk about tests like the GI Map and DUTCH—Functional Medicine tests.
What IS a Functional Medicine test?
Today I'm going to break down what the term means and what types of tests I run in my practice. And most importantly, WHY I use them to help my patients heal.
These tests provide me with deep insight into your health characteristics, and they help YOU understand how these tendencies influence your daily life. I find clues that reveal the root causes behind your symptoms.
In short: it's the one sure way to get your full health picture.
Some have the tests done without consulting an experienced practitioner to interpret the results. But if you don't understand the WHY, they can be a waste of time and money.
When I work with clients we dive deep. We go beyond the numbers and talk through the impact on your unique system. I provide you with guidance to translate complex test data into a simple, clear path to better health.
Functional medicine addresses health
by looking at how your body works as a whole,
rather than focusing on a limited problem area.
State-of-the-art diagnostics tests and lab work allow me to see a complete picture of your current health, identifying any imbalances in crucial areas.
Here's a great example of what I'm talking about...
Irregular periods and stomach issues can be related to high cortisol and/or hormonal imbalance; headaches and breakouts can be related to hormonal imbalance and/or unmanaged additional stress; together we unwind the unwanted repercussions of a system out of whack.
This was me a few years back: lost in a partial picture.
Though I've been working in integrative nutrition for a decade, it wasn't until I started running functional tests that I figured out what was causing my own excruciating peri-menopausal headaches (and btw, I had never had headaches before!).
It wasn't as easy as just "a sex-hormone problem"—I was able to see that my Phase II liver detoxification of estrogen wasn't working properly (for me it was a genetic SNP). It was my gut as well. I had a hidden H. Pylori infection, along with some other dysbiosis that caused a leaky gut, which in combination with other inputs was causing me headaches. By spending a few months clearing out the infections, sealing and healing my gut, and supporting my liver, my headaches cleared right up!
No joke, the benefit to my day-to-day well-being was enormous!
Functional tests run the gamut of saliva, stool, food, and chemical sensitivity, micronutrient testing, comprehensive blood testing, and organic acid tests. I can walk you through the options to find the best choice for you.
The tests we may run in my custom progam:
Full Blood Work Analysis — I refer to this as a "Functional Test" in my practice, because often your blood work gets tested and you're told that you're in "normal" range, "you're fine"… yet you feel like absolute crap! Or that you are outside the normal range but let's just "wait and see" over the next couple of months before we take action. What are we waiting for exactly?! In my program, I do a full review of your full blood-work panel and explain to you what your results mean, and may review them along side your DUTCH and/or GI Map test for a comprehensive look at what's going on in your body.
The DUTCH test — (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) is the most comprehensive hormone panel by Precision Analytical, a diagnostic company specializing in hormones. It provides a comprehensive assessment of both sex and adrenal (stress) hormones, as well as their metabolites, which reveal how the body is breaking down and detoxifying hormones. It also includes much more — you can read about it HERE.
The GI Map Test — This test gives us a full glimpse as to what's going on inside your Gastro Intestinal (GI) Tract, and will test for bacterial, parasitic, and viral activity commonly known to cause intestinal gastroenteritis. It's also recommended if you suffer from food sensitivities, PCOS, or any level of autoimmunity.
Micronutrient testing — The NutrEval FMV test is a comprehensive test for identifying nutritional deficiencies and insufficiencies. This test evaluates a variety of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and other biomarkers to determine dietary deficiencies and imbalances. It helps to understand how nutritional imbalances may impact your health, identify the causes of dysfunction, and overcome chronic conditions.
What's more important than getting these tests done is that you are going through a practitioner that not only knows how to run the test but has the ability to break down the results and explain them to you in a way that you can a) understand and b) take action from the results.
This is something I do for you in my 3-month custom program.
When looking at your health you there's always more to it then the tests...we go deep into your lifestyle, diet, and so much more to put together a comprehensive program designed just for your unqiue body.
If you’re still unsure if this is the right fit for you, please reach out to me at stephgdalton@gmail.com so I can answer questions and set you up with a Discovery session.
Here's to becoming your own health warrior!