When we are not feeling ourselves, and conventional medicine leads us to believe that “there is nothing wrong”, it creates the space for some investigation. When something is amiss with our physiology, the goal is to understand why the body is giving us a symptom. The symptom is not necessarily the issue, but a clue that can shed light on the root cause of the issue. From a clinical perspective, these four advanced diagnostic tests can shed light on someone’s underlying physiology so that an individual can embark upon a tailored treatment plan.

DUTCH Test

Most hormonal tests are snapshots in time and miss information that could be helpful in giving insight into the hormonal and adrenal system. The Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones was built around the premise of capturing all of the information that could be helpful for targeted and precise treatment plans.

Patients will submit four dried urine samples that will be analyzed. Samples are analyzed for amounts of free cortisol. This will give the practitioner the ability to gain insight into the function or dysregulation of the HPA (Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal) axis.

Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis

The Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis offers a comprehensive look at the overall health of the gastrointestinal tract. The CDSA evaluates gastrointestinal function by assessing a select set of stool biomarkers.

This stool analysis evaluates:

1. Digestion/Absorption Markers
2. Gut Metabolic Markers
3. Gut Microbiology Markers

This diagnostic stool analysis provides immediate, actionable, and clinical information for the estimated 50% of patients seen by primary care practitioners who have gastrointestinal complaints.

Evidence suggests that both local and systemic health issues may begin as imbalances in gastrointestinal function. Some of the consequences from imbalanced gastrointestinal health are:

• Maldigestion
• Malabsorption
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Altered GI immune function
• Bacterial/fungal overgrowth
• Chronic dysbiosis

A CDSA can also have a parasitology aspect of the testing to assess whether there is a parasitic infection. The information gained by the patient and practitioner will lead to the ability for a targeted and precise plan of action as well as the ability to have a repeatable test and retest process.

Toxic and Essential Elements Hair Test

Hair Elements analysis provides information regarding recent and ongoing exposure to potentially toxic metals, especially methylmercury and arsenic, and the time-averaged status of specific nutrient elements. This non-invasive screening test requires only .25 grams of hair.    

This test is useful for assessing:

• Toxic Element Exposure
• Excessive Fish Consumption
• Alopecia
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Malabsorption
• Hypertension
• Impaired Glucose Tolerance
• Kidney Function
• Parkinson's-like Symptoms
• Sexual Impotence or Decreased Testosterone Production
• Vision Problems

Toxic elements may be 200 to 300 times more highly concentrated in hair than in blood or urine. Therefore, hair is the tissue of choice for the detection of recent exposure to elements such as arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, lead, antimony, and mercury. The CDC acknowledges the value of hair mercury levels as a maternal and infant marker for exposure to neurotoxic methylmercury from fish.

Hair, however, is vulnerable to external elemental contamination by means of certain shampoos, bleaches, dyes, and curling or straightening treatments. Therefore, the first step in the interpretation of a hair element report is to rule out sources of external contamination.

Hair element analysis is a valuable and inexpensive screen for physiological excess, deficiency, or maldistribution of elements. It should not be considered a stand-alone diagnostic test for essential element function and should be used in conjunction with patient symptoms and other laboratory tests.

NutrEval

The NutrEval is both a blood and urine test that evaluates over 125 biomarkers and assesses the body's functional need for 40 antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, amino acids, digestive support, and other select nutrients. Personalized recommendations for nutrients are determined by using an algorithm based on the patient's test findings.

This test gives the patient and practitioner the ability to assess the functional nutritional needs of the patient as well as the ability to provide a test/retest model for assessing the efficacy of a treatment plan.

People fall into two camps, they either want to see how much they can get away with before their health begins to decline, or people want to maximize their health. These four tests will help people understand their physiological expression at a given moment in time and help them determine the root cause of their issue.

Taking ownership of the decisions you have made or not made is not for everyone, yet if you are looking for a professional coach to guide you towards health and optimization so that you can live a fulfilling life, schedule a STRATEGY SESSION with a Central Athlete coach.

‍