Prevention is better than cure

Not only is functional testing effective in the treatment of health complaints, it can also be used to prevent disease. Almost all complex chronic diseases are preceded by long-term disturbances in functionality, which if detected early can be resolved before more serious symptoms occur.

How does functional testing work?

Functional testing typically involves a breath, blood, saliva, urine and/or stool sample. The majority of these can be conducted at home. If a blood test is required, we can easily arrange this for you.

In the clinic we use ‘gold standard’ functional testing such as -

Gut Integrity Testing

The health of the gut is determined by a delicate balance of bacteria (gut flora) that creates the micro-biome for your body to absorb food. If this balance becomes disrupted (dysbiosis), the ‘bad’ bacteria begins to proliferate. The bad bacteria can ferment the foods we eat and create toxic substances in our gut. This can damage the gut lining making it conducive to parasitic growth.

The good news is that with Gut Integrity Testing we can understand exactly what types of bacteria exist, if they have overgrown and where and how much damage, if any, has been caused. This knowledge enables us to select the most appropriate supplements to take and diet to consider, treating the dysbiosis and bringing the gut back to a state of health.

Small Intestinal Bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) testing

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)is a condition in which the bacteria normally present in the large intestine begins to proliferate in the small intestine. As the bacteria feed off the carbohydrates from food, they create fermentation gases such as methane and hydrogen – causing an array of health problems.

A breath test is performed to measure these gases and can be carried out in the comfort of your home.

Food Inflammation Testing

Food Inflammation Testing is a simple finger-prick test able to be conducted in your own home. After determining what foods you are sensitive to, we can help determine what your new food intake will look like. This test measures IgG antibodies, which are the most common antibody found in food intolerance. The presence of antibodies indicates that the food particles are passing through the gut lining and are causing systemic inflammation and/or auto-immune response.

What many people believe are food allergies, are actually food intolerances. An allergy is a severe almost immediate reaction to a food with symptoms that can range from difficulty breathing, rashes, swelling, runny nose and in some cases, a life-threatening anaphylactic shock.

An intolerance on the other hand, is characterised by a delayed response of normally a few hours, but in some rare cases can take up to a week. Various studies have shown that allergies only affect about 3% of the population whilst food intolerances can affect 40% of the population at some time in their life.

A person can be intolerant to multiple foods and experience a number of symptoms such as:

• Bloating, and/or constipation

• Fatigue and brain fog

• Asthma

• Sinusitis and Rhinitis

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

• Fluid retention

• Migraines and headaches

• Eczema, rashes and other skin disorders

Normally when someone has a food intolerance, the underlying poor health of the gut is the culprit. The gut lining is only a few cells thick and can be easily damaged, creating erosion that increases the ability for partially digested food particles to pass through the barrier into the bloodstream. The food particles are recognised by the immune system as foreign invaders. This condition is known as leaky gut and can be the root cause of chronic inflammation and auto-immune responses in any organ or tissue. 

A food intolerance test will allow a person to identify and eliminate key allergens so that inflammation can be reduced, and the gut lining and body can be given the opportunity to heal. 

However, it is important to understand what has caused the damage to the gut lining in the first place. This could be due to poor diet, stress, excess alcohol, antibiotics and bacterial and viral infections such as E Coli, H Pylori, SIBO, yeast and parasites. There are other tests around gut health that can help determine this. If the underlying gut health issues are not resolved, a person may become intolerant to more foods and chronic health problems will persist or become exacerbated.

There are three major antibodies that are produced in food sensitivities and food allergies – IgE, IgG and IgA.

The IgE antibodies are normally produced in an allergic reaction. These are the antibodies normally screened for by conventional medicine and will not show if you have a food intolerance.

After that stomach bug you’ve never been quite the same?

Comprehensive Stool Analysis 

Comprehensive Stool Analysis (CSA) testing with Parasitology identifies live bacteria, yeast overgrowth, parasites, mal-digestion, bacterial metabolism, inflammation and immune dysfunction. This test will determine important information regarding the efficiency of digestion and absorption.

This test might be suitable for you if you’re suffering from persistent:

• Diarrhoea

• Constipation

• Gas and or bloating

• Food sensitivities

• Nutritional deficiencies

• Skin conditions

• Bad breath

Parasites

It is very important, (as well as more cost-effective), that 3 tests are collected on 3 separate days. Parasites do not ‘shed’, and their eggs do not appear in stool specimens on a regular basis. One day’s sample may produce negative results, while the following day’s sample may be positive.