Functional Testing

These are some of the tests that Dr. Leu performs are called functional tests. These tests can help us individualize your treatment program. How many times have you taken a supplement and wondered if you really even needed it or not? Our approach removes that doubt, and provides you with a scientifically based approach to determine which and how much of a supplement your body requires. Every person has a biochemistry which is unique, there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to your health.

Whether it is fatigue, fibromyalgia, thyroid disorder, weight gain, intestinal challenges, PMS, perimenopause, arthritis, acne, food allergies, cardiovascular disease, or male andropause, there is an underlying cause that we will work on identifying and correcting. This common sense, science based approach will put you on your pathway to wellness.

Wellness Panel: A blood profile which measures blood sugar, kidney and liver function, sodium, potassium, magnesium, cholesterol's, triglycerides, proteins, thyroid hormones (including free T3), CBC (including red and white blood cell count, hemoglobin, different types of white blood cells to determine allergies, bacterial versus viral infections), and ferritin (the most accurate assessment of iron stores in your body). This is just a good baseline assessment of your overall health.

Free T3: The free T3 is the most active thyroid hormone that your body makes. When measured in conjunction with the old fashioned T4 and TSH tests, it has proven to be a more accurate assessment of overall thyroid function. These levels can be measured with blood or saliva testing. Ideal test if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms: fatigue, constipation, unexplained weight gain or difficulty losing weight, dry skin, hair loss (even thinning of eyebrows), and/or cold hands/feet.

Female Hormone Test: Why would anyone want to take hormone therapy without first measuring the need? This simple to perform, very accurate salivary hormone test measures the 6 most important sex hormones relating to most women’s concerns. Your DHEA (anti-aging, bone health, memory, immune strength), testosterone (muscle mass, bone and heart strength, sex drive), the 3 estrogens you make (estrone, estradiol, estriol), and progesterone (bone, uterine, breast, and mental health) are all measured with this simple salivary test.

Once we receive the report from the lab, we build you a formula based on the test results, and then will retest your levels at an appropriate time to make sure the formula is perfect or if it needs to be fine-tuned. Ideal test for women dealing with PMS, depression, perimenopause, menopause, and those with or wanting to prevent breast or uterine cancer.

Estrogen Metabolism Test: Some women preferentially convert their estrogens into a potentially toxic and inflammatory hormone called 16-hydroxyestrone. This hormone has been associated with an increased incidence of breast and uterine cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. This is a simple urine test you collect in the privacy of your home and send to our reference lab. This is a critical test to run if you have breast or uterine cancer, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or even a family history of these.

NeuroRegulatory Hormones: This is probably one of the most exciting new tests available to date. Have you ever wondered why Americans lead the planet in antidepressant use? What’s going on here? Is everybody really that deficient of serotonin? Well, now there is a test available to take the guesswork out of brain hormone treatment. This salivary hormone test measures serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine levels, which are the key neurochemicals in the brain. If you are experiencing depression, unexplained weight gain, extreme fatigue, extreme food cravings, or panic/anxiety disorders, you should have this test done. It allows us to design a program to correct any potential imbalance of these critical brain hormones.

Bone Resorption Test: Bone is made of more than just minerals like calcium. As a matter of fact, a large portion of its strength is due to the collagen type protein found only in bone. Bone is a dynamic organ, breaking down daily and being reformed daily. As bone is broken down, some of this bone specific collagen will show up in the urine. The more your bone is breaking down, the more collagen that appears in the urine. Therefore, they have developed a urine test (again, collected in the privacy of your home) which measures this bone specific collagen. This is a great tool for both men and women with a family history of osteoporosis, or who already have been diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis to determine effectiveness of therapy.

Male Hormone Test: Like the female hormone test, it makes perfect sense for men to measure their hormone status. Men with low testosterone levels tend to have the following: high cholesterol and/or triglycerides, high blood pressure, high blood glucose, abdominal obesity, higher levels of blood clotting factors, inability to concentrate, tend to be more moody and emotional, fatigue, and diminished sex drive. This is a simple salivary test which measures the following: DHEA, androstenedione, progesterone, estrone, testosterone, and the inflammatory dihydrotestosterone.

Cardiovascular Health: Since over 50% of the people who have heart attacks have NORMAL cholesterol levels, it has led researchers to search for more potential risk factors than just these lipids. So far, the following have shown to be the most important, which are blood tests:

Homocysteine: a caustic chemical your body makes which damages the usually smooth lining of your blood vessels, causing enough damage to form calcium, cholesterol, and fibrin clots to adhere to your blood vessel walls affecting blood flow. C-Reactive Protein: a protein that becomes elevated in the blood due to infection or inflammation. If elevated, one has an increased incidence of heart attacks and stroke.

Fibrinogen: a precursor to clot material. Some people make more than others, and if high, are predisposed to forming blood clots

Oxidative Stress Test: How do you know if you are taking enough antioxidants to neutralize those damaging free radicals we are all being exposed to? An oxidative stress test is the perfect test to determine if you have adequate antioxidant coverage. This is a urine test, which measures lipid peroxides, which are cholesterol molecules that have been damaged by free radicals.

If you have an excessive free radical load on your system, your lipid peroxide level will be high. Antioxidants can then be prescribed, then we will retest to make sure the dosage and type of antioxidant if effective. High oxidative stress causes your cholesterol to become very sticky and increases its tendency to adhere to your blood vessel walls. Excessive free radicals have also been associated with causing cancer, arthritis, pain and inflammation, and alzheimer’s. Everyone should have this test done.

Food Allergy Testing: Have you every wondered if what you are eating is affecting your health? We have found that food allergies have been the underlying cause of a multitude of symptoms people are experiencing such as: headaches, migraines, arthritis, asthma, colitis, sleep disorders, eczema, bedwetting, fluid retention, and even depression. Also, why waste your immune system on your last meal?

Did you realize that the majority of food reactions are delayed reactions, meaning they may not present for up to 3 to 4 days after consumption? In other words, the reaction you are having today may be due to something you ate 3 to 4 days ago. This is a blood test which measures your antibody (immune) response to 96 different foods.

Genetic Testing: Did you know that with the genome project’s discoveries, we can use some of that information to help you determine what genetic potential you have to certain health challenges? The value of knowing this is so that you can modify your lifestyle, diet, and supplement regimine to decrease the likelihood of an extreme early occurrence of certain conditions. For example, we can now test for your genetic programming for cardiovascular health, osteoporosis, liver detoxification, and immune tendencies.

Your genes will respond differently if in a healthy environment than if in a toxic environment, so your formula for health is your gene makeup plus environmental exposure. Think about it, if you know that your liver has challenges detoxifying certain chemicals, you can avoid them, and actually take supplements to help your liver function better. These are once in a lifetime tests. Expensive but valuable.

Fecal Microbiology: We all have billions of healthy bacteria in our intestinal tract, however these can become imbalanced and actually cause chronic inflammatory conditions such as: headaches, eczema, colitis, irritable bowel, and arthritis. Why put yourself on a strenuous anti-parasite or yeast treatment if you don’t need to? It makes sense to me to test first. There are several stool culture tests available which can check for parasites, yeast, and pathogenic bacteria. If the lab does find a pathogenic bacteria or yeast, they run a culture and sensitivity on it, using prescription drugs and herbs, to see what is the most effective agent needed to eradicate the bug.

If you would like to have any of these tests performed, please feel free to call our office. We can mail you saliva and urine test kits, and you collect the appropriate specimen in the privacy of your home. The lab will send the results to my office. We will contact you to set up an in-office or phone consult to go over your test results and help you develop a treatment plan.

We have supplements available that may be recommended based on your test results. For your convenience, we will bill you for the labs, so you won’t have to pay each individual lab. The blood tests can be handled in one of two ways. The first is to come in to the office for the blood draw. The second is for us to send you the kit, you arrange with your local physician or lab to draw the blood and appropriately prepare the specimen for transport, and you arrange for it to be shipped. Most of these are shipped via Airborne, FedEx or US Mail, and have the shipping material included in the kit we send you.

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