Advanced Testing

Why Test?

We are all aware that these days stress is a major health issue. Many of you will feel that since we all suffer stress and that it is part of normal, modern life there is not much that can be done about it or it's effects.

However, the stress we are aware of, external stress such as financial, emotional and physical can cause or be added to by having internal stress that we are often totally unaware of. Once identified this type of stress along with your external stressors can be reduced, supported and damage repaired.

How much stress do you have?

The following diagram lists the many sources and types of stress that may affect all of us on a day to day basis.  These stressors are cumulative, big or small they all add up and at Balanced Fitness we like to look to see whether you are coping and whether you need help eliminating some of your stressors and then work towards restoring the damage done by your bodies' response to fighting these stressors.

Test dont guess!

Using laboratory testing allows us to;

• Resolve chronic stress related disorders
• Restore steroidal hormone pathways
• Restore normal immune function
• Restore normal digestive function
• Restore normal detoxification function
• Identify and eliminate hidden internal stressors

Do you suffer from any of the following:

• Allergies
• Acne and rosacea
• Blood sugar problems
• Depression and anxiety
• Emotional fragility
• Headaches and fogginess
• Indigestion and bloating
• Inflammation and pain
• Insomnia and wakefulness
• Low sex drive PMS
• Skin and hair problems
• Fatigue and lethergy
• Muscle and joint pain
• Weight gain and weight loss
• And many other consequences of the chronic stress response!

We can gain a powerful understanding of functional lab testing for underlying causal factors such as:

• Adrenal Fatigue
• Poor nutrient breakdown and absorption
• Pro-oxidative factors
• Dysbiosis and gut malfunction
• Hormone imbalances
• Inflammatory state
• Immunodeficiency
• Sluggish liver and detoxification problems
• Bacterial and yeast overgrowth
• Antigenic overload and pathogenic conditions

Advanced Testing - Laboratory Testing

To discover your hidden internal stressors that may be causing the above symptoms you can perform the following simple tests using blood, saliva, urine or hair;

Once the appropriate laboratory tests have been carried out and the results received we will work with you to provide a detailed and personalised, therapeutic supplement protocol including cleanses and detoxes, suggest lifestyle changes including exercise, rest and stress reduction.

Food Sensitivity Testing

Food sensitivities involve the immune system, but are different from true food allergies. When you have an allergy symptoms normally manifest within minutes. For this reason, a person often does not even need a test to know that they are allergic to something, their body tells them immediately by causing an outbreak of hives, difficulty breathing, and itchy/watery eyes. When you have food sensitivities you can quite often be unaware of the symptoms. Symptoms can take from as little as a few hours to as long as 3 days to manifest and include IBS, migraines, joint pain, skin problems (e.g. eczema), and many more. Because of this, food sensitivities have historically been very difficult to evaluate.

Basic - Food Detective Home Test

Our preferred food sensitivity test is the Food Detective™ Home Test it has been designed for use by individuals and health practitioners. The test is safe, simple to use and gives accurate results. The test takes 40 minutes to carry out and no specialist equipment is needed, everything is provided for you in the test kit. If after taking the Food Detective test you need help to read the results or you test positive for one or more foods, you can contact us for more help and advice.

The Food Detective™ Food List

• Cereals - Corn, Durum Wheat, Gluten, Oats, Rice, Rye, Wheat.
• Nuts & Beans - Almond, Brazil Nut, Cashew, Cocoa Bean, Peanut, Legume Mix (pea, lentil, haricot), Soya Bean, Walnut.
• Meats - Beef, Chicken, Lamb, Pork.
• Fish Freshwater Fish Mix (salmon, trout), Shellfish Mix (shrimp, prawn, crab, lobster, mussel), Tuna, White Fish Mix (haddock, cod, plaice)
• Vegetables - Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Cucumber, Leek, Peppers (red, green, yellow), Potato.
• Fruits - Apple, Blackcurrant, Grapefruit, Melon Mix (cantaloupe, water melon), Olive, Orange & Lemon, Strawberry, Tomato
• Egg (whole),
• Cow's Milk,
• Garlic,
• Ginger,
• Mushroom,
• Tea,
• Yeast.

Further information can be found on: Food Detective Home Test 

Cost: £75 (includes shipping)

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Advanced - Signet Mediator Release Testing (MRT)

If you have a medical condition or are suffering from severe symptoms that point the finger at food sensitivity as a major blocking factor for your health then we would advise taking the Mediator Release Test (MRT).

The MRT analyses your blood’s response to 27 different chemicals and 123 different foods. It is currently the most accurate test available on the market, with a sensitivity of 94.5%. MRT quantifies the level of reaction into 3 categories: green (least reactive), yellow (moderately reactive), and red (reactive). This allows an individualised diet plan to be developed in accordance with your Metabolic Typing® food list.

This test requires a blood draw from your nurse/doctor, we can advise on how to get this test submitted.

Further information can be found on: Signet Mediator Release Testing

Cost: £310 (includes 60minute consultation)

 

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Stress Hormones - Functional Adrenal Stress Profile plus V

Measure your stress hormones specifically looking at the levels and inter-related balance of cortisol, DHEA, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone and melatonin. Your body's ability to adapt to stress whether its environmental, mental, emotional or physiological is shown up through the measurement of these hormones. Stress can lead to whats known as adrenal gland dysfunction, assessing the adrenal gland allows us to learn how to find the underlying causes. And many other consequences of the chronic stress response!

4 saliva samples taken across 1 day can indicate whether you are under stress, coping with it and mounting a response to it or beginning to fatigue and your adrenals need help. If the adrenal glands that produce these hormones are fatigued then therapeutic intervention is required, they will not recover by themselves. Removing the stress is not enough if they have been stressed chronically and many of the body's systems no longer function normally and symptoms can start to arise.

Further information can be found on: Functional Adrenal Stress Profile plus V

Cost: £158 (includes 60minute consultation)

 

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Digestive and Detoxification System Stress - Metabolic Assessment Profile

Measures the levels of indican, lipid peroxides, and urinary bile acid sulfates (UBAS) in your morning urine. This involves the analysis of two urine samples easily collected at home. This profile provides an index of general digestive metabolism by assessing protein digestion, oxidative damage caused by free radical activity, and bile acid sulfates, a direct measurement of liver function. 

Conditions assessed include a wide variety of GI symptoms, persistent or recurring infection, low energy, and vague, generalised symptoms.

Further information can be found on: Metabolic Assessment Profile

Cost: £131 (includes 60minute consultation)

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Digestive and Immune System Function - Intestinal Barrier Function Screen

Uses a single saliva sample to assess the level of bodies most abundant immune protein, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA).

We can also look at your immune systems response to;

• dietary proteins (wheat/gliadin, corn, soy, cow's milk, egg);
• aerobic bacteria (Escherichia coli and E. enterococcus);
• anaerobic bacteria (Bacteroides fragilis and Clostridium perfringens);
• Candida albicans yeast.

Conditions that may be assessed include;

• an abnormal ratio of aerobic-to-anaerobic bacteria,
• pathogen or yeast overgrowth,
• intestinal mucosal immune dysfunction,
• systemic immune deficiency,
• autoimmunity,
• food allergy,
• gluten enteropathy,
• malabsorption,
• and “leaky gut.”

Further information can be found on: Intestinal Barrier Function Screen

Cost: £203 (includes 60minute consultation)

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Digestive Infections (Parasite, Bacteria, Viruses and Fungi) - GI Pathogen Screen w/ H.Pylori Antigen

This is a stool analysis to determine the presence of;

• ova and parasites such as protozoa, flatworms, or roundworms
• Cryptosporidium parvum
• Entamoeba histolytica
• Giardia lamblia
• bacteria, fungi (including yeasts)
• occult blood
• Clostridium difficile
• colitis toxins A and B

Five stool samples and one smear are taken over a four-day period, providing a highly reliable comprehensive analysis of intestinal microflora. Causes for concern are both an overgrowth of microorganisms that are normally present in the intestines and the presence of microorganisms that are NOT normally present in the intestines.

Secondary infections, often involving so-called "opportunistic" organisms, can provide evidence of a more deeply rooted, insidious process. One such organism is the yeast Candida albicans, which is implicated in a variety of disorders and has a predilection for virtually any mucous membrane.

The functions of digestion and absorption are so fundamental to the maintenance of healthy metabolism that every physiological process is ultimately dependent upon digestive function and process. Conditions that may be assessed include suspected parasitic or pathogen infection, maldigestion, malabsorption and pathologies caused by infectious agents. Maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients can produce longer-term dysfunction. This condition can persist subclinically for years, even decades. By the time signs and symptoms become evident, you might be suffering severe and extensive underlying ill-health.

Cost: £214 (includes 60minute consultation)

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Vitamin D Status

Why test for Vitamin D Deficiency?

Vitamin D deficiency can be a serious problem and does not have very obvious symptoms. It increases susceptibility to other more serious conditions. Maintaining Vitamin D levels protects the body from a wide range of diseases including viruses, cardiovascular disease, bone disease including osteoporosis, rickets and osteomalcia, autoimmune disease (such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis), strokes, nervous system disorders (such as Parkinson’s Disease) and type 1 and 2 diabetes. Depression and breast, prostate and colon cancer have also been linked to Vitamin D deficiency.

Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

• Deficient production
• Decreased input due to seasonal lack of exposure to sunlight
• Anything that interferes with the penetration of solar ultraviolet radiation into the skin will diminish the cutaneous production of Vitamin D3
• Dietary intake is low
• Marked decrease in the capacity of the human skin to produce vitamin D in the elderly
• Impaired absorption due to kidney or digestive diseases

This test is unsuitable for under 18 year olds.

Cost: £85 (includes 30 minute consultation)

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Heavy Metals Testing - Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

Hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test to measure the levels of 38 minerals in the hair tissue. Hair is tested because it is a rapidly-growing tissue that can be sampled easily and safely.

Minerals tested include the electrolytes -

• calcium,
• magnesium,
• sodium,
• potassium,
• phosphorus.

Trace minerals tested include;

• copper,
• manganese,
• chromium,
• selenium,
• iron,
• molybdenum,
• lithium,
• cobalt,
• zinc and others.

Toxic metals tested include;

• lead,
• mercury,
• cadmium,
• arsenic,
• nickel,
• aluminium and others.

By interpreting the test properly, one can construct a biochemical picture of the way the body is responding to stress. Based upon this picture, deep correction can be initiated. Progress can be monitored with repeat hair mineral tests. Many physicians offer mineral analysis, but use the test symptomatically, supplementing only those minerals that read low. This is called replacement therapy and is not effective. Hair analysis provides information directly about metabolism at the level of the cells the main site of many nutritional processes.

We can use a hair analysis to;

• intepret your glucose tolerance
• detect heavy (toxic) metals
• assess the activity of glands (thyroid and adrenal glands)
• measure energy levels

All this information helps to reduce the guesswork in nutritional therapy. The precision nature of hair mineral analysis offers a method of reducing the guesswork in recommending diets and supplement dosages. For instance, very low hair calcium and magnesium levels indicate an alarm stage of stress in which the body excretes these minerals as part of the fight-or-flight response. Each different Metabolic Type® will affect the significance or explanation of the nutrient levels found in the test but also which type of nutritional supplement to take. Each Metabolic Type® will indicate whether to use the acidic or alkaline form of that nutrient. Other vitamins may be detrimental in this stage of stress. Excessive vitamin C, for example, can lower copper and worsen this stage. Amino acids, herbs and other nutrients may also be recommended based on the mineral ratios.

When you begin to properly balance body chemistry by addressing the needs of metabolic individuality through Metabolic Typing®, the negative and health damaging process of heavy metal accumulation is reversed in a normal, natural way. Now every cell's natural capacity to detoxify is activated, unleashed, restored. As a result, the cells automatically begin to mobilise the heavy metals.

Further information can be found on: heavy metal testing

Cost: £60 (includes 30 minute consultation)

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More information on the use of lab testing

The use of these tests and further information on the benefits of taking them are discussed in detail in several of our blog posts such as;

• Lose Fat, Nutrition Versus Fitness
• Stressed To Death
• Have You Got Worms?

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