Lab testing to establish a baseline

[hlat]

I was thinking that maybe the best approach to health and diet is to get lab tests and figure out what problems I may have. I recently read one member who was shocked to see lab results indicating candida after being keto for many years.

I see many tests mentioned. There's IgG food intolerance panel test. There a test by Genova Diagnostics called GI Effects. For someone at square one, what lab tests should I get? I suspect the answer is both, and other tests as well.

This image should give an idea of what this test covers (look for IgG):

On the subject of feeding and enabling a healthy microbiota, my take on it is that proper testing is pretty crucial. I think for many of us, taking probiotics can be useless if there are parasites occupying the gut and there is ongoing dysbiosis. In some cases, it can be equivalent to throwing money down the toilet. And in real severe cases of imbalance/parasite, even enemas may not do the trick. I have decided to bite the bullet and fork out the money for some proper testing from a company called Genova Diagnostics, because I feel like I am wasting my money on supplements and completely shooting in the dark with no direction. The particular test is called "GI Effects" and measures fat ,protein + carb digestion and ab/malabsorption along with parasitology and bacteriology which measures the levels of beneficial/pathogenic bacterial flora, and inflammation/leaky gut markers.

 

[Cosmos]

I guess it also depends if you already have something you want to find an answer for. If that is the case, the approach might be different. If not, the test mentioned above could be a good start. You can also test for heavy metals. Here is information about it.

 

[Keyhole]

This is a wise idea if you can afford it, hlat. Just for some background information, what are your presenting symptoms?

If there is no specific area which you would like to focus on, but would like a general baseline, then I would opt for the "NutrEval" by Genova. It is pricey, but massively comprehensive. I know of many people who have gained a lot of insight from that particular test. It includes heavy metal toxicity, antioxidant status, cellular respuration intermediate status, dysbiosis markers, organic acids etc.

So if you could pinpoint which area you would like to focus on, then I (and hopefully others) might be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[hlat]

I do think a general baseline would be good. Here are some symptoms that seem minor to me, though maybe they won't seem minor to you.

There are two spots that I think is some kind of eczema. They are small, dry, and occasionally itchy. One is on the side of my hip near where the underwear band, shorts band, and pants band are. Another is near the middle of my back where my back makes contact with chairs. I think frequent contact of my body against other surfaces is the reason why they have appeared at these two locations. They have only appeared recently, in the last couple months. I'm not too concerned about them. As for reasons why they have appeared, I think increased stress in the last couple months is the main reason. In thinking of possible food sources, I started eating more onions earlier in the year, and stopped eating onions a couple weeks ago to see if it might be related to these spots.

I was thinking about putting some hydrocortisone cream on the 2 spots, as an attempt at a temporary solution to break the cycle of whatever is going on.

I used to have a lot more of spots that I regarded as eczema, which would also appear on finger knuckles, wrists, and scalp, especially during increased stress. It all went away when I changed to a gluten free, dairy free, lower carb diet several years ago, which resulted in a general increase in health.

On my gums, there's one small spot that is pale and a little bit tender to brushing. It is at the gumline where one tooth enters the jaw, on the lower left jaw, either a cuspid or bicuspid. I noticed it a couple weeks ago. I think it is a bigger deal than the eczema, though I'm not too concerned about it either. As for changes in routine, I stopped brushing with xylitol a couple weeks or months ago, because I became concerned that the xylitol might be killing good bacteria. But I still swish with Lugols (2%, 10 drops) for a couple seconds every day.

I'm often somewhat tired, probably from being woken up by children in the middle of the night. That happens the majority of nights.

 

[3DStudent]

On my gums, there's one small spot that is pale and a little bit tender to brushing. It is at the gumline where one tooth enters the jaw, on the lower left jaw, either a cuspid or bicuspid. I noticed it a couple weeks ago. I think it is a bigger deal than the eczema, though I'm not too concerned about it either.

FWIW, I've had a small "bump" on an upper canine that is pale and high up the tooth gumline. It's been there for over 10 years and it's never bothered me. I used to get white sores on the lower part of my lip when I was an adolescent and young adult and they would eventually go away. When I first noticed it I thought it was one of those, but I guess not.

 

[Keyhole]

I do think a general baseline would be good. Here are some symptoms that seem minor to me, though maybe they won't seem minor to you.

There are two spots that I think is some kind of eczema. They are small, dry, and occasionally itchy. One is on the side of my hip near where the underwear band, shorts band, and pants band are. Another is near the middle of my back where my back makes contact with chairs. I think frequent contact of my body against other surfaces is the reason why they have appeared at these two locations. They have only appeared recently, in the last couple months. I'm not too concerned about them. As for reasons why they have appeared, I think increased stress in the last couple months is the main reason. In thinking of possible food sources, I started eating more onions earlier in the year, and stopped eating onions a couple weeks ago to see if it might be related to these spots.

I was thinking about putting some hydrocortisone cream on the 2 spots, as an attempt at a temporary solution to break the cycle of whatever is going on.

I used to have a lot more of spots that I regarded as eczema, which would also appear on finger knuckles, wrists, and scalp, especially during increased stress. It all went away when I changed to a gluten free, dairy free, lower carb diet several years ago, which resulted in a general increase in health.

On my gums, there's one small spot that is pale and a little bit tender to brushing. It is at the gumline where one tooth enters the jaw, on the lower left jaw, either a cuspid or bicuspid. I noticed it a couple weeks ago. I think it is a bigger deal than the eczema, though I'm not too concerned about it either. As for changes in routine, I stopped brushing with xylitol a couple weeks or months ago, because I became concerned that the xylitol might be killing good bacteria. But I still swish with Lugols (2%, 10 drops) for a couple seconds every day.

I'm often somewhat tired, probably from being woken up by children in the middle of the night. That happens the majority of nights.

Not sure what to say about that, hlat. It doesn't seem to be too much of an issue, but then again I don't know much about this kind of stuff.

For a baseline test, it really depends on how much money you are willing to spend.

As I said, the NutrEval test covers a lot, without going into too much detail. If there is no specific area you aim to investigate, then this is a good one to go with (though it is very expensive). I have attached the sample report to this post so you can see.

If that one is too expensive, you could go for a ONE test, which includes most of the analyses found in the NutrEval bar heavy metal toxicity and a few others.