As an Naturopathic Doctor, I requisition blood work that is similar to the lab work your family doctor would requisition. The tests that I order are often more comprehensive than what are ordinarily incorporated into a general practitioner’s services. Testing provides me with objective data that I can integrate into your individualized treatment plan. Following the Comprehensive Health Assessment, I might order specific tests for you in order to rule out or identify the underlying causes of your symptoms. Lab work helps me asses nutritional status of essential vitamins and minerals. Testing is used to track changes over time, is focused on prevention, and can identify potential health conditions before they become issues.
Common Blood Tests:
Ferritin:
Measures your iron stores. Low iron can contribute to fatigue and brain fog and is common in menstruating women.
B12:
B12 is a vitamin that is involved in numerous processes in the body. It is a common deficiency in plant-based diets.
Complete Blood Count (CBC):
Give an overview of the quality and quantity of red and while blood cells and can help identify nutritional deficiencies and changes in the immune system.
Vitamin D:
Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced by your body in response to your skin being exposed to sunlight. Testing helps determine a deficiency and levels can be increased through diet and supplements.
Thyroid Panel:
Thyroid function tests are a series of blood tests used to measure how well your thyroid gland is working. If the results come back abnormal, I might order further tests to pinpoint the reason for the problem.
Other routine labwork may include:
- Liver Function Tests
- Kidney Function tests
- Blood sugars – fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMO-IR, HbA1c
- Serum hormones – DHEA-S, free testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, FSH, LH, prolactin
- Cardiovascular risk screening – Cholesterol Panel, Homocysteine, hs-CRP
Specialized Diagnostic Tests are more dynamic than the routine blood tests that you might be familiar with. These include:
Hormone Panels
Balanced interactions between hormones are essential to good health. Hormone panels provide an objective overview of the relevant elevations or deficiencies that could contribute to your symptoms. Hormone imbalances can impact your life significantly, but with the right information, these imbalances can often be corrected through Targeted Nutritional Supplementation or changes to your diet and lifestyle. There are a number of different hormone panels that I can order to address mood swings, anxiety, infertility, premenstrual syndrome, depression, fatigue, weight gain, prostate enlargement, memory loss, sagging skin, increased belly fat, vaginal dryness and hot flashes (among others).
Some hormone panels are done via blood work. However, in certain cases, I may recommend the DUTCH test: a Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones is a testing model for people considering bio-idenetical hormone therapy. It offers a more accurate measure of cortisol patterns and the most complete overview of sex hormones, including metabolites, (which can’t be measured in blood or saliva).
Food Reactions and Sensitivity Testing
If you have digestive issues or stomach pain that could be related to your diet, I might order the relevant tests to assess how your body reacts to specific foods. Food sensitivities and allergies can manifest in eczema, acne, rashes, fatigue, weight gain, joint pain, diarrhea and vomiting (among others) and can range from mild to severe in intensity. Food reaction tests offer me a breakdown of different foods and how your immune system responds when in contact with them. IgG Food Sensitivity Testing is done with the collection of a blood sample at a local Lifelabs.
Environmental-Nutritional Toxins
In today’s world, our bodies have to process more environmental and nutritional pollutants than at any other point in our evolutionary history. Toxic chemicals and pollutants are found in everything from makeup and toys to water, food and the air. Regular exposure to key chemicals can cause accumulation in the body and lead to headaches, irritation of the nose and eyes, or affect the central nervous system (i.e. impaired movement or thinking) and cause mental health issues. By identifying these main exposures, we’ll work together to reduce or eliminate them from your day-to-day life in order to alleviate your symptoms.
A heavy metals panel measures the quantity of specific, potentially toxic metals in your body. The most common types of metals tested for include lead, mercury, and arsenic.
SIBO (small intestinal bacteria overgrowth) Testing
Many people who have IBS likely have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). SIBO occurs when bacteria in the small intestine have proliferated beyond what is normal, or when bacteria from the large bowel have migrated further up the gastrointestinal tract. Using a SIBO Breath Test is a non-invasive and simple way to diagnose SIBO. This test measures the production and quantity of hydrogen and methane gases produced in the small intestine allowing for accurate assessment and diagnosis of SIBO.
I only work with reputable labs: Dynacare, LifeLabs, In-Common Laboratories and Rocky Mountain Analytical.
