In part one of this series on lab testing, I talked about 3 ways that test helped me address the root causes of my health and accelerate my healing journey.
Because of my great experiences with this, I took sought further education that taught me how to order specific tests, read the results, and create a clear plan for my own Nutritional Therapy clients.
This new information and ability has completely changed how I work with people and has opened up a whole new world of information to me and my clients.
Here are more specifics on how the process works!
Step one: A new client may come to me seeking help for their constant fatigue, mood swings, and irritating gas, and bloating. They are confused about how to eat, they’ve tried everything but nothing makes their stomach feel better and they are too tired and worn out to figure out what to do next.
Before I even see this client for our first consultation together she’s already filled out a complete health history form and an extensive questionnaire that goes over all the symptoms that she may be dealing with. This makes sure I get all the information and at the same time frees up valuable time so we can talk about the important issues.
I review this client’s health history, listen to her story and what she has tried up to this point. I then consider if this particular client would be best helped by starting off with some general diet and lifestyle guidance, maybe some particular supplements, or lab testing. For the sake of this blog post, let’s say we went ahead and decided to start with some lab test right off the bat.
Step 2: I may give the client some dietary recommendations to help her start transitioning to a more optimal way of eating and relieve some of the symptoms she’s experiencing. She receives test kits for the main two tests I start with. These tests are the MRT food sensitivity test and the GI map stool tests. Here’s how they work…
MRT test - This test checks for sensitivities to 170 different foods. Food sensitivity is caused when the body is having an immune response to a food that has been eaten. The underlying cause of this is leaking of the gut lining that lets food particles into the bloodstream. The goal is to remove the stressors (certain foods) from the body as we work on strengthening the defenses (the immune system).
You could spend a lot of time and energy doing elimination diets which involve taking out common food triggers for a period of time and then adding those foods back in, to see what might be affecting you but with that approach, it is impossible to find all the foods that your body is reacting to. There are countless seemingly insignificant and normally healthy foods like black pepper or even coconuts that may be triggering your immune system to go into stress mode.
GI map - This is a stool test that checks for normal bacteria, opportunistic bacteria (bacteria that can get out of control and cause problems), h. pylori (a bacteria that hides in the stomach and causes digestive issues), parasites, worms, digestive function, and immune system function. The goal is to eradicate the bacteria or parasites causing issues (removing more stressors from the body) while we use certain nutrients to heal leaky gut and support the immune system and digestive process (strengthening the defenses).
This test allows us to know exactly what bacteria is out of balance so we can use the right herbs and nutrients to address it. You might suspect that you have a yeast overgrowth and start making dietary and supplement changes to address it but what if you really have an overgrowth of h.pylori or some other bacteria and not actually yeast? There isn’t any way to know what is at the root of the issue without some form of testing.
Step 3: The client goes to a lab, hospital, or doctor’s office to have a blood draw done for the MRT test. The stool test is done quickly and easily at home and sent off.
Step 4: Once the test results are returned to me I create a customized 3-6 month protocol for the client to follow. This includes dietary recommendations, lifestyle recommendations, and a supplement protocol that is targeted at eradicating bad bacteria, building up good bacteria, and strengthening the gut. The gut is our foundation for health so even if the client seems to primarily struggle with hormonal issues we still address what is going on in the gut first!
Step 5: I monitor the client’s symptoms and progress as she starts to avoid her list of food triggers and adds in specific supplements. She may start feeling better within a few weeks of the protocol. She may even feel so good that she starts to wonder why she’s still doing all the work of the protocol but she needs to remember that stopping in the middle will not accomplish the goal. Some bacteria may regrow even stronger if they aren’t eradicated completely. We follow this plan for 3 months and then retest the GI map to make sure we have brought the bacteria back into balance.
Depending on the client’s unique needs we may be completely done with our therapy plan and switch to following a health maintenance plan or we may do another lighter 3-month protocol if her health issues are not completely resolved.
Addressing the foundational issues in this way has been exponentially more accurate in my own health journey which is why I’m always so excited to start this process with each new client. We can spend countless hours looking for what diet or supplement makes us feel better or put a band-aid on the problem (such as taking antibiotics), but getting the lab test done will skip all this hassle and get us to the root so much faster!
If this has sparked an interest for you and you are curious to know more you can book an initial consultation with me where we can find out what path is right for your unique needs.
