Nutritional and Metabolic Testing
Nutritional and metabolic health can affect energy, mood, brain function, inflammation, athletic performance, detoxification, gut health, hormone balance, and overall wellness. When symptoms are persistent or complex, functional testing may help provide a deeper look at nutritional deficiencies, metabolic imbalances, and other factors that may be contributing to your health concerns.
When appropriate, I may use the Metabolomix+ at-home test to evaluate more than 125 nutritional biomarkers, including vitamins, minerals, organic acids, amino acids, fatty acids, oxidative stress markers, and metabolic indicators.
Because functional medicine is a systems biology-based approach, testing is not ordered as a standalone service. I need to understand your full story before determining whether gut testing is the right next step.
All new patients begin with a Discovery Session. This first appointment allows me to better understand your health history, symptoms, lifestyle, labs, and goals before recommending a care path or any functional testing.
What Metabolomix+ Checks For
Organic acids: Assess how your body uses food for fuel, processes brain chemicals, supports detoxification, regulates tissue damage, and metabolizes gut bacteria.
Amino acids: Evaluate protein building blocks that are essential for organs, tissues, neurotransmitters, and overall function.
Fatty acids, optional add-on: Measure omega-3, omega-6, and saturated fats, including C15:0, and assess their impact on inflammation and overall health.
Elements, optional add-on: Provide insight into toxic heavy metals that may negatively affect health, as well as minerals that are essential for cellular function.
SNPs, optional add-on: Analyze single nucleotide polymorphisms such as MTHFR, COMT, TNF-a, and APOE through a buccal swab, offering insight into methylation, inflammation, and cholesterol regulation.
Who This Testing May Be For
Nutritional and metabolic testing may be considered for individuals struggling with:
Fatigue
Depression
Anxiety
Athletic performance concerns
Heart disease
Diabetes
Obesity
Nutritional planning
Gut problems
Wound healing
Autoimmune diseases
Brain health concerns
Skin problems
Joint aches and pains
General wellness or optimal health goals
Not every patient needs advanced nutritional or metabolic testing. If testing is recommended, it will be based on your unique symptoms, history, goals, and overall care plan.
How Testing Works if Recommended
If nutritional and metabolic testing is appropriate for you, a Metabolomix+ test kit may be shipped to your home.
Depending on the testing ordered, collection may include a urine sample, bloodspot finger stick, or buccal swab. You will receive instructions for preparing and collecting your samples at home, including any fasting or fluid intake guidelines.
Once your samples are collected, you’ll use the prepaid shipping materials to return them to the lab. Results are typically available in about two weeks after the lab receives your samples.
Once results are available, we will review what the test is showing as it relates to your symptoms, health history, and overall care plan.
Things to Consider
If Metabolomix+ testing is recommended, there are several important collection guidelines and timing considerations:
Some collection packs contain materials that expire, so testing should be completed and returned before the expiration date or within the recommended collection window.
You may need to discuss whether to stop certain medications or supplements prior to collection.
Abnormal kidney function or use of diuretics may influence test results.
You should not collect if there is blood in your urine, including menstrual or other blood.
Certain substances, including valproic acid, acetaminophen, and berberine HCl, may interfere with specific test markers.
Any specific preparation instructions will be reviewed if this testing is recommended for you.
Start With a Discovery Session
Functional medicine looks at the whole person, not one symptom or one lab result in isolation. During your Discovery Session, we will look at your full health picture and determine whether nutritional and metabolic testing is appropriate for your care plan.