I’m a firm believer that actually knowing what is going on inside your body can help you connect the dots with your symptoms and drive action with your health. This helps you and your practitioner get to the root cause, as opposed to surface level “band aid” approaches. This can ultimately drive informed action. Routine lab work from your primary care physician is a good habit to get into, and a dietitian can even help interpret these blood labs and request additional markers (I will do a separate post on this). Today, I’m digging into my two flagship functional labs: The GI Map Test and The Dutch Complete. Both dive into two topics that are complex, individualized, and treatment plans are widely dependent on results: gut health and hormones. Both have at home kits and results are sent in via USPS for your own ease, and then you can leave the interpretation and action plan up to me. 

The GI Map

Overwhelming research suggests that gut health impacts whole body health, and the GI Map is a great solution to see what’s actually going on with your gut environment. Through this, it looks at patterns of dysbiosis and certain pathogens. What makes this test different is it is more quantitative, and looks at the actual clinical significance of each of these areas to determine your action plan priorities. This test also looks at the “good bugs”, and many tests that I’ve found (especially recently) have been pretty low in the beneficial bacteria. It’s important to note that the lack of these good bugs can also take a toll of your health, not just the opportunistic bacteria. I recommend this test for overt gut symptoms (gas, bloating, irregular BM’s), autoimmune diseases, and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety to help reduce overall inflammation and increase awareness of the mind gut connection. 

The Dutch Complete

The Dutch Complete deep dives into hormones, an area that most of us know is an issue, are intrigued by, but are often at a loss with how to balance them. This test goes into sex and adrenal hormones and their metabolites, really painting a picture of how these influence each other. I often recommend this test for those with symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, depression, motivation, libido, suspected estrogen dominance, and stress. Hormones can be finicky, but this can really tee up an appropriate action plan for you to feel knowledgeable and in control with your body’s natural rhythms and cycles, feeling in balance. 

Putting it all together
Again, clearly I am a fan of lab testing based on what I have seen working with clients. It generally validates how they are feeling, helps us get to the root cause, and helps us prioritize and tailor habits based on results. Curious about what test would be best for you? You can fill out the my symptom questionnaire here and I will reach out to discuss further!