Specific information provided by certain lab tests helps to get the big picture of an individual’s core imbalances and guide the physician to further evaluate in detail to diagnose the root cause.
While interpreting lab reports it is important to use optimal ranges rather than reference ranges for accurate interpretation. Optimal ranges of lab reports are the ranges that are necessary for optimal function of the body which are different from the normal ranges used by the lab reports. Unlike conventional practice physician who interprets lab reports per lab report ranges Functional medicine physician will interpret the reports per optimal ranges and treat accordingly.
Symptoms of Thyroid dysfunction include weight gain or weight loss, dry skin, hair loss, depression, or fatigue. A lack of proper diagnosis can occur through conventional medicine approach because usually only TSH and T4 tests are done when thyroid dysfunction is evaluated. For better diagnosis of Thyroid function thyroid panel should include testing for TSH, total T4, free T4, total T3, free T3, reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies. These tests provide a complete picture of thyroid function and treat the dysfunction appropriately.
Symptoms of adrenal dysfunction or chronic stress include fatigue, anxiety, depression, irritability, trouble sleeping, blood sugar imbalances, or weight gain, it is possible that an individual could have a cortisol imbalance as a result of adrenal gland dysfunction. Adrenal gland releases cortisol apart from other hormones. Cortisol plays an important role in stress. Having balanced hormone levels is important for overall health and having an abnormal cortisol level can imbalance other hormone in the body. Hormones are released through a network of communication between brain and adrenal glands. This communication system is called Hypothalamic pituitary Adrenal axis (HPA axis). A long-term miscommunication in the HPA-axis causes adrenal dysfunction leading to high cortisol level initially and then low if not treated. A reliable test for adrenal dysfunction is a saliva test that tracks cortisol levels over a day to measure the function of adrenal gland in response to stress.
Hormones play a key and complex role in our health. Role of hormones is key because they control and coordinate body's internal metabolism, energy level, reproduction, growth and response to injury, stress, and environmental factors Function of hormones is interlinked and an imbalance in the level of one hormone affects the function of the other hormones. Most of the time it is difficult to detect this interlinked imbalance of hormones. For example, an imbalance in the level of cortisol can affect levels of oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Symptoms of imbalance of these hormone levels include acne, hair loss, weight gain, low sex drive, infertility, anxiety, depression, mood disorders and disorder of menstrual cycle. Saliva and blood tests help the doctor look at the imbalance of these hormones.
Food sensitivity test can be used to test patient’s intolerance or sensitivity to foods that may be causing patients to have reactions. Test measures IgG antibodies which are associated with food reactions seen for up to 72 hours after ingesting the food. The benefit of this test is that it can help detect food sensitivities that may not happen immediately after eating the food. An individual may have sensitivity to a healthy food and that food needs to be recognised and avoided even though it is a healthy food since it is detrimental to individuals’ health due to reaction. may not be healthy for your individual body. Food sensitivity testing although not perfect test helps detection of most of the sensitivities.
Gut health depends on microbiome (microorganisms in the gut), gut permeability and diet. Gut health plays an important role in metabolism, immunity, brain function etc. If the gut microbiome is imbalanced, it can lead to effects on the metabolism, immunity, brain function as mentioned above. Stool analysis is used to test for gut function, including digestion, inflammation, malabsorption etc. It will be helpful for those who suffering from bowel symptoms, weight problems, autoimmune disease, diabetes etc.
Genetic testing can provide insight into patient’s genetic predisposition toward disease. A genetic predisposition or abnormality can make an individual more susceptible to allergies, food sensitivities, drug reactions, nutrient imbalances, and other diseases. An individual’s genetic status cannot be altered but detecting these abnormalities can help approach a health condition keeping in mind the predisposition and work on factors through functional medicine that along with this genetic predisposition may deteriorate an individual’s health.