Testing

Naturopaths sometimes have a bad rap when it comes to ordering expensive testing and I get it, nobody wants to spend money if they don’t have to.

Whether I use pathology testing, and to what degree, depends entirely on the patient in front of me.  In many case I issue a referral letter for them to take to their GP, suggesting the blood tests I think would be helpful for us to see in best managing the patient.  On other occasions, I work with Nutripath, RN Labs and Interclinical Laboratories to access testing that simply isn’t available to the public medical system.

Whilst further testing can be expensive, in difficult cases it can actually end up saving money to the patient when treatment becomes more targeted and greatly expediting results.  Sometimes it can even save further damage to the body, as proceeding with aggressive treatment based on a practitioner’s best guess can end up doing more harm than good, and deterring progress.

Here are some of the testing I most commonly use and circumstances I use them in:

DUTCH Testing 

Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones

This method of testing is non-invasive and gives us some great information on both sex hormones and adrenal hormones, as well as their metabolites.  This testing can be ideal for people suffering hormonal imbalances, reflected in problems such as menopausal symptoms, fatigue, premenstrual symptoms, mood swings, depression, or weight gain.

The article linked here gives good information concerning the accuracy of such testing.

GI360

The GI360 is extremely comprehensive stool analysis, using evidence-based DNA mapping technology alongside growth-based culture and ID. This is one the ultimate diagnostic tools to detect and assess pathogens, viruses, parasites and bacteria that may be contributing to gastrointestinal symptoms and disease.  The microbiome analysis also measures the abundance and diversity of key bacterial populations of the gastrointestinal microbiome.

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

Hair tissue mineral analysis measures the mineral composition of hair tissue, giving insight both into levels of nutritive minerals, and toxic minerals.  When toxic minerals are present in the body in significant amounts, or even when nutritive minerals are present in inappropriate ratios, there can be significant impact on mental health, nervous system, liver and kidney stress, diabetes and insulin resistance, energy levels and fatigue, cardiovascular health (such as cholesterol and blood pressure), and adrenal and thyroid function.  Migraines and hyperactivity can also present.  

Genetic testing

Whilst SO much of health can be influenced by our lifestyle choices, allowing us to take so much control of our gene expression, gene testing can still be very useful.  Genetic testing shows us genetic variances that can influence key processes in the body such as methylation, detoxication can oxidation, that can have far-reaching impacts on disease processes.

Aside from the more universal genetic variances, we also have access to ones specifically pertinent to mental health, sports performance, skin and ageing, oestrogen metabolism, and weight loss (such as lipolysis and fat absorption) 

Methylation profile

Methylation is a process critical to cardiovascular disease, cancer risk, detoxification impairment, immune dysfunction, neurodegenerative diseases, nutritional deficiencies, psychiatric disorders and oxidative stress and inflammation.

A methylation profile gives us insight into dysfunction within the methylation process and allows us to correct this with appropriate nutraceutical treatment.

SIBO breath testing

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth is considered to be the leading pathology driving IBS symptoms (constipation, diarrhoea or alternating constipation and diarrhoea).  Symptoms of SIBO can be as varied though as abdominal cramping, bloating, flatulence, burping, reflux, food sensitivities, joint pain, skin rash, respiratory symptoms such as asthma, and even iron and B12 deficiency.

Whilst many people believe that to fix SIBO, an animal protein-rich diet is required, I am experienced in assisting people to treat SIBO whilst following a vegan diet.  Suffering with SIBO I believe is one of the main reasons why people struggle with a vegan diet, and I’m very passionate at assisting people to rectify this problem so that they may enjoy a varied plant-based diet, minus the symptoms. 

I hope you have found this informative. If you have any questions at all about particular testing you’ve heard about or are interested in taking, please don’t hesitate to email me on Camilla@CamillaClare.com