Functional Testing
Conventional medicine is the medicine of WHAT – what disease, what symptoms, what pill.
Functional medicine is the medicine of WHY — why is this symptom occurring and what is the root cause.
Specific Testing enables us to explore the 'Why"
Autoimmunity occurs when a combination of nutrition, lifestyle, genetics and environmental triggers causes our immune system, mistakenly, to attack our own tissues.
It is possible to investigate these factors and the effect they have on our body using Functional Testing .
How can Functional Testing help ?
Functional Testing is different to conventional testing in that it looks deep into the physiological functioning of our bodies and cells. Explores biochemical pathways, specific nutrients needed for our bodily systems to functional. They can not only identify toxins, pathogens, bacterial infections but how these are affecting you and your immune system. A good functioning digestive system is vital for our immune systems to operate well and testing can show if we are absorbing the food we eat and if there are any food intolerances and allergies and how these may be playing a role in your autoimmune process. There are many environmental factors that impact our health too; like stress, sleep, toxins, heavy metals pollution that can be tested for and then specifically addressed.
Functional Testing can Investigate
Nutrigenomic Testing
Specialist nutrigenomic DNA test panels can provide information on inherited health risks and how these can be mitigated through personalised nutrition and lifestyle change. Genotype results are presented in the context of nutrition and other environmental factors, such as sleep, stress, physical activity and chemicals, that can influence them.
I use an excellent company called Lifecode Gx.
How can Nutrigenomics help ?Inherited genetic variance PLUS environmental / life experiences means that autoimmune disease often runs in families, whose members may experience the same or different diseases. "The genes are the loaded gun but it is the environment that pulls the trigger."
These environmental factors can either work against, making it more likely for the autoimmune genes to be expressed...or work with them, potentially preventing expression of that gene.