Why do we have so many bio-markers available these days? As the world of diagnostics continues to expand and the level of testing deepened, we are able to learn more information from various fluids.
Blood or biochemistry has long been the “gold standard” for the healthcare practitioners and is there a lot to be learned! As we looked at last month, results in normal ranges are not necessarily optimal ranges.
This month, we wanted to expand biomarker testing into other body fluids including urine, saliva, and stool.
Each body fluid has a story of their own and has much insight to provide. Let’s dig into just a few tidbits of information for each.
Urine – another long-standing fluid for testing and very common for shading insight into the health of our kidneys and bladder. Is there blood present? Are there more proteins showing up than optimal? If our detox and digestion systems are functioning optimally, then we know what to expect to see in urine. When there are other markers high or low, we know there are clues to our patient/client’s overall health.
Saliva – the use of saliva for testing has increased as testing has become more complex. One of my favorite ways to use saliva is for DNA testing. Oh what a wealth of valuable information that can be gleaned from discovering our DNA! Another important test utilizing saliva is for hormones, specifically cortisol levels throughout the day.
Stool – most commonly used in conventional healthcare for blood or parasites; but when we use stool testing in the functional space, pages of key information can be unearthed on the health of the gut. We now realize that gut health is key to overall health, brain health, mental health, immune health, and so much more. We can learn of the presence of parasites, good and bad “gut bugs” (as I call them), unwanted viruses and fungal aggressors. We can even discover the presence of unwanted proteins like gluten and lactose; while understanding the body’s ability to digest, utilize, absorb, and metabolize a list of nutrients.
Because there is so much valuable information in all of our fluids, that’s why Virtual Clinic offers key tests from a wide array of lab partners who are leaders in their areas.