Diagnostic Testing
The following is an informative list of the diagnostic testing available at The Institute of Natural Health. Please call us if you have more questions regarding any of the tests available at The Institute.
EKG (Electrocardiogram)
An EKG (or electrocardiogram) is a test that checks the electrical activity of a person’s heart. The test is non-invasive, quick, and painless.
Some reasons to run an EKG include: to find the cause of unexplained chest pain, to find the cause of symptoms of heart disease such as shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, or rapid heart beats / palpitations, to find out if the walls of the heart are too thick (hypertrophy), to check if any medications may be causing side effects, and to check the health of the heart when other diseases or conditions are present such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes or a family history of early heart disease.
It is a good idea to include an EKG in your routine physical examination to establish a baseline of your heart’s normal activity.
Spirometry (Lung Function Test)
Spirometry is a test used to assess how well your lungs function. It measures how much air the lungs can hold and how well the respiratory system is able to move air into and out of the lungs. Spirometry can be used to diagnose lung disorders such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and others. A spirometer can measure the progress of the illness as well as the effectiveness of the treatment.
Your lung function is a predictor of your mortality, and spirometry is a great test to help determine your overall health.
Blood Laboratory Testing
There are many different types of blood laboratory tests utilized by The Institute of Natural Health. Most laboratory testing will be ordered and drawn utilizing Quest Laboratories. However, some specialty testing may be needed. These specialty tests will be drawn in our office for laboratories such as Alletess, Cyrex Labs, and Spectracell, just to name a few.
Micronutrient Testing
50% of people taking a multivitamin are still nutritionally deficient.* Standard testing does not measure how well a nutrient is working inside your body. Spectracell testing measures just that. Spectracell tests are unique in that they actually measure how well nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, and fatty acids) are working in your white blood cells where it matters most. Vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant deficiencies have been shown to depress the function of the immune system which can contribute to many chronic and degenerative diseases including arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes just to name a few.**
*William Shive, University of Texas, Austin
**Courtesy of SpectraCell Laboratories
Urinalysis
Routine urine testing is common at The Institute of Natural Health. Urine testing is an extremely important test that can identify many things before abnormalities may be detected in blood testing. A urinalysis can monitor a number of conditions including kidney function, pH, kidney, bladder, or urinary tract infections, urinary proteins and the presence of blood in the urine. It is non-invasive and completely painless.
Food Sensitivity Testing
Food sensitivity testing is a special type of blood testing to find out if you have sensitivities. These sensitivities can negatively impact your health, but more importantly, without the test you may be completely unaware of these offending foods.
Most people are aware of immediate reaction allergies(IgE reactions), such as an allergic reaction to eating peanuts or shellfish. Surprisingly there are a couple of different types of sensitivity reaction that people can have to foods they commonly eat. These reactions are IgG and IgA reactions. These types of reactions can be delayed up to 72 hours after eating a food and can cause numerous reactions including pain, headache, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, ear infections, malabsorption and many others.
Stool Analysis
Stool analysis is a “take-home” specialty test collected in the convenience of your home. This test is administered to determine the good bacteria balance of your large and small intestines. This test can also identify parasites, pH of your stool, intestinal yeast overgrowth, and even how well you are digesting your food such as fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.
Genetic Testing
Genetic testing is quickly becoming a hot topic in healthcare. There are several different genetic tests offered from blood lab testing, to determine if there are genetic SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) affecting your health, to saliva tests to determine your genetic profile. Even paternity testing is available. At The Institute of Natural Health we can accommodate your genetic testing needs.
Functional Laboratory Testing
Modern western medicine is a disease-oriented approach to care whereas The Institute of Natural Health utilizes a more integrative wellness model. When a physician orders a standard blood panel they are typically looking for already established disease processes such as high cholesterol, hypothyroidism, or diabetes. At The Institute of Natural Health we employ a different approach. Here, in addition to standard blood panels, we often run specific functional laboratory testing to help us identify patterns of imbalance before they become disease.