Functional Nutrition Testing is a personalised nutritional assessment to find out whether you are getting the right nutrients from your diet. Using a urine sample we measure your functional need for antioxidants, B-vitamins, minerals, digestive support, fatty acids, and amino acids i.e. the levels required for your body to function optimally.
In many cases I find that people believe they are eating well, but they are still experiencing health problems. This is usually for one of two reasons: either you the food you are eating does not have the nutritional value in the first place (which we can find out from this test), or for some reason your body is not able to break those nutrients down into a usable form (which we can find out from the full GI Profile which is a 3-day stool test).
This test is particularly useful for people who spend a lot of money on supplements at the health food store. it is very easy to be taken in by the marketing about which supplements help with various symptoms, but at Barefoot Medicine, Simone believes in a ‘test, don’t guess’ approach so you can find out exactly which supplements your body needs and what we can do to reintroduce them naturally.
Who is Functional Nutrition Testing for?
Nutrition is powerful! A few simple tweaks can make a big difference in your body and how you feel. Nutritional testing can help you identify your unique nutritional needs.
Nutrition is important for every body system. Poor nutrition contributes to many chronic diseases. If you struggle with any of the following conditions or are curious about your nutritional status, nutritional testing may be able to help identify the root cause of your ailments:
- Depression
- Heart disease
- Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes
- Fatigue
- Weight issues
- General dietary guidance
- Malnutrition (often observed in the elderly)
- Maldigestion/Malabsorption related to the gut
- Athletic performance
- Physical trauma/healing
Functional Nutrition Testing Report Summary
- Personalised Nutrient Requirement
- Functional Imbalance Score in areas of methylation, toxic exposure, mitochondrial dysfunction, fatty acid imbalances, and oxidative stress
- Nutrient Need Overview with recommendations for antioxidants, B-vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, GI support, and amino acids
- Interpretation-At-A-Glance pages provide nutritional educational support for you to implement highlighting the function of each nutrient, cause of deficiency, complications of deficiency and food sources of the nutrient
- Organic Acids
- Malabsorption and Bacterial/ Yeast Dysbiosis Markers are metabolites produced by the gastrointestinal microbiome
- Cellular Energy & Mitochondrial Metabolites are biomarkers of carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism, and the citric acid (Kreb’s) cycle
- Neurotransmitter Metabolites are downstream byproducts of epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine
- Vitamin Markers are specific analytes used to assess functional levels of vitamin cofactors
- Toxin & Detoxification Markers relate to certain toxic metabolites and the body’s detoxification capacity
- Oxalate Markers relate to kidney stone formation, oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction
- Amino Acids
- Essential Amino Acids must be derived from dietary sources
- Nonessential Amino Acids are synthesised by the body
- Intermediary Metabolites are byproducts of amino acid metabolism
- Dietary Peptide Related Markers can indicate incomplete protein breakdown and meat intake
- Oxidative Stress Markers include the oxidative damage markers i.e. the ageing process
