Functional Testing

My practice is based on the functional medicine principles.

Functional medicine uses the patient’s story as a key tool for integrating diagnosis, signs and symptoms, and evidence of clinical imbalances into a comprehensive approach to improve both the patient’s environmental inputs and his or her physiological function.

A very useful tool to get to the bottom of how the body is currently functioning, is functional testing.

It is important to look at the body as a whole, and it may help identify the root  cause of your health issues. Functional testing can shed light on why you have certain symptoms and assess more subtle signs of imbalance or dysfunction.

Functional testing can also indicate future health problems. For example, a test could show that there are nutrient deficiencies. If nothing is done about this, this could lead to health issues.
 

What kind of tests do I use in practice?

One of the most common tests I use is the stool test. The state of the gut is extremely important for overall health and is often linked to a variety of health issues.  For example, think of the link between the gut and the immune system, or how gut health can affect your mood.                             

                               
© Image courtesy of the brilliant Iain Hamilton https://www.bewilderbeest.co.uk/

Areas of functional testing:

Digestive system

Food intolerances

Functional nutritional assessment

Cardio and metabolic testing

Hormones (sex hormones, thyroid and stress hormones)

Toxic exposure

Methylation

Neurotransmitters

DNA testing (for more specific information on this, see https://www.nutritionforyou.co.uk/resources/dna-testing)

 

Don't worry, not everyone needs testing. I only use functional testing when it is necessary and it will give me the information I need to put together a suitable protocol for my client. A nutritional therapist is a bit of a health detective, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. A test result can be a piece of that puzzle.