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Functional Testing

Testing can be a great tool when you are no longer getting results from conventional medicine.

 

We undertake a number of different functional testing services via certified laboratories to promote optimal health and wellbeing.

 

Below are some of the test which are available at the clinic.

Adrenocortex Stress Test

The Adrenocortex hormone profile is a non-invasive saliva test that serves as a reliable marker of stress response and a critical tool for revealing adrenal imbalances.

Lifestyle, physical and psychological stresses put constant demands on the adrenal glands. If they become depleted adrenal fatigue or insufficiency may be experienced.

Each person has two adrenal glands both located on top of each of the body’s two kidneys. These glands are important to the body’s endocrine (hormonal) system.

 

Adrenal fatigue is a very common condition in today’s society through the physical and physiological demands we put on our adrenal glands. Each gland is composed of two distinct zones, the large outer cortex and the inner medulla.

Salivary cortisol testing is the most accurate and powerful non-invasive salivary hormone test that evaluates bioactive levels of the body’s important stress hormones, cortisol and DHEA. This hormone test (stress test) serves as a critical tool for uncovering biochemical imbalances underlying anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, obesity, dysglycemia, and a host of other clinical conditions that may affect our day to day lives.

 

This hormone test examines 4 saliva samples over a 12-hour period for levels of cortisol and DHEA.

 

The Adrenocortex test should be used as a general screening test as it plays such an important role for a healthy life.

Common Conditions:

  • Anxiety

  • Headaches

  • Poor concentration, ‘brain fog’

  • Energy levels

  • Fatigue, lethargy

  • Salt cravings

  • Mild depression

  • Lack of stamina

  • Sexual dysfunction

  • Irregular sleeping patterns

  • Thyroid dysfunction

  • Blood Pressure

  • Depression

  • Impaired Immune System

  • Insomnia

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Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA)

BIA is a science that was originally developed for monitoring patients after surgery in a hospital setting. You will have leads connected to your hands and feet and pass a low voltage electrical current through your body. This is safe and painless, and provides information with insight into aspects of your health such as how much fat and muscle that you have in your body. BIA can also help to monitor your cellular health and energy levels.

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Comprehenisive Stool Analysis

Gastrointestinal complaints are among the most common reasons that patients seek medical care.

Symptoms associated with GI disorders include persistent diarrhea, constipation, bloating, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome and malabsorption.

 

The Comprehensive Stool Analysis can help assess digestive and absorptive functions, the presence of opportunistic pathogens and to monitor the efficacy of therapeutic remediation of GI disorders. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing to prescriptive and natural agents is also performed for appropriate bacterial and fungal species at no additional charge.

Diagnostic Assessment

The Comprehensive Stool Analysis is an invaluable non-invasive diagnostic assessment that permits me to objectively evaluate the status of beneficial and imbalanced commensal bacteria including Clostridium species, pathogenic bacteria and yeast/fungus. Precise identification of pathogenic species and susceptibility testing greatly facilitates selection of the most appropriate pharmaceutical or natural treatment agents.

Important information regarding the efficiency of digestion and absorption can be gleaned from the measurement of the fecal levels of elastase (pancreatic exocrine sufficiency), fat, muscle and vegetable fibers, and carbohydrates.

Inflammation can significantly increase intestinal permeability and compromise assimilation of nutrients. The extent of inflammation, whether caused by pathogens or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), can be assessed and monitored by examination of the levels of biomarkers such as lysozyme, lactoferrin, white blood cells and mucus. These markers can be used to differentiate between inflammation associated with potentially life-threatening inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which requires lifelong treatment, and less severe inflammation that can be associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which is frequently due to the presence of enteroinvasive pathogens. Lactoferrin is only markedly elevated prior to and during the active phases of IBD, but not with IBS.

Monitoring fecal lactoferrin levels in patients with IBD can therefore facilitate timely treatment of IBD, and the test can be ordered separately. Since the vast majority of secretory IgA (sIgA) is normally present in the GI tract, where it prevents binding of pathogens and antigens to the mucosal membrane, it is essential to know the status of sIgA in the gut. sIgA is the only bona fide marker of humoral immune status in the GI tract.

 

Cornerstones of good health include proper digestion of food, assimilation of nutrients, exclusion of pathogens and timely elimination of waste. To obtain benefits from food that is consumed, nutrients must be appropriately digested and then efficiently absorbed into portal circulation. Microbes, larger-sized particles of fiber, and undigested foodstuffs should remain within the intestinal lumen. Poor digestion and malabsorption of vital nutrients can contribute to degenerative diseases, compromised immune status and nutritional deficiencies. Impairment of the highly specific nutrient uptake processes, or compromised GI barrier function, as in “leaky gut syndrome,” can result from a number of causes including:

  • Low gastric acid production

  • Chronic maldigestion

  • Food allergen impact on bowel absorptive surfaces

  • Bacterial overgrowth or imbalances (dysbiosis)

  • Pathogenic bacteria, yeast or parasites and related toxic irritants

  • The use of NSAIDs and antibiotics

Impairment of intestinal functions can contribute to the development of food allergies, systemic illnesses, autoimmune disease, and toxic overload from substances that are usually kept in the confines of the bowel for elimination. Efficient remediation of GI dysfunctions incorporates a comprehensive guided approach that should include consideration of elimination of pathogens and exposure to irritants, supplementation of hydrochloric acid, pancreatic enzymes and pre- and probiotics, and repair of the mucosal barrier.

The Comprehensive Stool Analysis does not include analysis for parasites.  

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DNA Testing - Fitgenes Health & Wellbeing Profile

It's true you can't change your genes but you can affect their expression and influence with the right nutritional, exercise and lifestyle choices.

Fitgenes personalised profile reports identify your genetic footprint by analysing a range of genes related to health and wellbeing, fitness, and nutrition. This information is used in conjunction with lifestyle factors to design a personalised and manageable health plan.

Fitgenes focus is on the philosophy that your overall health, wellbeing and performance are primarily determined by the basic building blocks of your body and the messages that your genes within these cells send. This is unique to you, that is why I will deliver you personalised and targeted healthcare programs that can unlock your health potential.

Fitgenes incorporates published scientific literature that has identified different nutrigenomic outcomes based on genetics, into concise reports. These reports support practitioners in their practice to develop personalised programs to improve a patient’s health.

The Health & Wellbeing Report will outline gene variations, and whether peer-reviewed science suggests they’re beneficial or not. Remember, many genetic variations can be managed or compensated for; I can step you through this process.

Fitgenes Health and Wellbeing Report will explain the effects of your genetic variants, with reference to the following physiological groupings.

  1. Inflammation – your body’s reaction to injury or disease

  2. Cell Defence – the systems that respond to invading pathogens

  3. Vitamin D Receptors – the protein that processes your Vitamin D

  4. Methylation

  5. Homocysteine Metabolism – the proper functioning of metabolic pathways and efficient enzyme activity.

  6. Cardiovascular Health – what role your genes play in heart health

  7. Fat Metabolism and Cholesterol – how well your genes help you process fatty foods

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DNA Testing - CarbChoice

The dieting merry-go-round is an exhausting, deflating, despairing experience when the results you so desperately seek just aren’t forthcoming.

Generic diets are often accompanied by generic advice, but with the Fitgenes CarbChoice, it’s all about you.

 

CarbChoice is the one test that could set you up for life.

By helping to remove the trial and error of determining your best diet and exercise regime, this simple DNA test could be a fast-track to achieving your nutrition, weight loss and fitness goals.

And you don’t have to undertake this journey alone.

 

I am trained to help interpret your personalised genetic report and guide you through your CarbChoice journey.

CarbChoice gives you a simple score between 1 and 14, contained in a comprehensive report that guides your dietary, exercise and lifestyle choices according to your DNA.

In the report you’ll find:

  • An easy to understand visual classification of your ability to process 
    starchy carbohydrates

  • Data on typical carbohydrate content of many common foods

  • Menu suggestions and meal plans

  • Exercises to upregulate or improve your amylase activity, an enzyme that breaks down and processes starchy carbohydrates in the body.

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DNA Testing - FoodChoice

Diet-related health issues can be frustrating and debilitating, often involving multiple visits to clinicians and specialists.

Symptoms of food sensitivity can manifest in many forms, from low-level intolerance to certain foods, up to chronic responses like Coeliac Disease.

Fitgenes FoodChoice applies the expertise in genetics to provide personalised advice and interventions to prevent diet-related health complaints, using nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics.

Nutrigentics: the study of the impact of genetic variation on dietary responses

Nutrigenomics: the scientific discipline that studies how nutrients affect gene expression

Put simply, your genes are not your destiny: you can modify your genetic predisposition to certain conditions by making the right dietary and lifestyle choices.

The reports are easy to understand, but if you need a little bit of extra help, I'm here for you to help you interpret your personalised genetic report and guide you through your FoodChoice journey.

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