Our new column, Living The Method™, addresses components of Amie’s method associated with the Physical layer of healing the body. The physical layers of healing include anti-inflammatory food, movement, epigenetics and detoxification. This is a formula inspired by Amie’s personal health journey from the past 12 years of healing a myriad of chronic illnesses to address healing on three layers: physical, emotional and energetic. Let’s begin with the discussing alternative medicine testing and how it can help you get to the root cause of any chronic health issues or mysterious symptoms you may be experiencing.
Let’s face it, western medical doctors typically perform only standard blood and urine tests. These don’t detect toxins that accumulate over time and may be hurting you, nor do they take a deeper look into potential deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Sadly I spent a decade going in circles because no one was testing me for the right tests- the doctors had no idea these tests existed!
I recommend you work with a Functional + Integrative medical doctor to get to your root cause of any symptoms you may be experiencing. Here is more information on Functional + Integrative Medicine and how to find one of these doctors in your area. These tests do not take the place of a thorough medical evaluation. Other tests may need to be ordered that are not listed below. The language below may seem confusing, but don’t let it discourage you. Bring this list to your Integrative MD and they will know what tests to run for you.
The Complete List of Tests
The complete comprehensive list of tests that helped me get to the root cause of my chronic health issues are all listed in three full pages in my best-selling book, Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation and Reset Your Body. These pages alone are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars that I spent trying to research + discover these tests that my Western MD’s never addressed.
The 5 Tests You Need
ORGANIC ACIDS TEST // This test was incredibly helpful for me throughout the last 12 years of chronic health issues. It’s incredibly comprehensive and gives you an incredible amount of information that you will not get from a basic blood test. This test helps you design a supplement regimen tailored for your needs, so you’re not having to blindly take every vitamin or supplement that happens to be making the news. It will also help define pathophysiological areas of concern.
It’s designed to show the breakdown products of metabolism. High or low levels can give a wide variety of information, including whether there is an imbalance in producing mitochondrial ATP or an imbalance in intestinal bacteria or yeast. Once you have the results, you can use them to replenish any nutritional deficiencies that showed up. Review the results with your integrative MD, who will be able to make recommendations based on your particular situation. Available through Genova Diagnostics.
Genova Diagnostics gdx.net // 800-522-4762
FULL THYROID PANNEL // I have yet to find a Western MD who actually understands the full thyroid pannel. This is incredibly sad and scary at the same time because I cannot even begin to tell you how many patients walk into my office with a failing thyroid and their doctor only tested them for their TSH. It’s unacceptable, which is why I created The Thyroid Series to help you navigate your thyroid health and get the appropriate testing. You can read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. The full thyroid test run by Functional + Integrative medical doctors looks at markers like TSH, free T3, free T4, and Reverse T3, as well as anti-TPO antibodies and antithyroglobulin antibodies. In essence, it shows you how well your thyroid is working, and whether or not it is overproducing or underproducing hormones leading to Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, and Hashimotos.
HEAVY METALS // Too much tuna and other high mercury fish, mercury dental fillings, and other environmental sources can cause heavy metal accumulation. I see this in EVERY client that comes to me because their liver detoxification is stalled and their body cannot process toxins, including heavy metals, therefore they accumulate in the body and wreak havoc on the immune system, the gut, the endocrine system, the brain and more. My heavy metals were off the charts for years and I had to use many different methods to release them from my body. The only reliable test is a 24-hour Urine Challenge Test with a chelating agent like DMSA. Genova Diagnostics and Doctors Data can both perform this test. See the chapter on detoxification in my book, Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation and Reset Your Body, for a chart of heavy metals and possible sources of exposure. Read my tips on Heavy Metal Detox and How to Detox Your Body from Heavy Metals Making You Sick for more information on heavy metals.
URINE OXIDATIVE STRESS // This test tells you if you need more antioxidants in your diet + is helpful if you have cancer or autoimmune disease. Antioxidants are key in fighting free radicals and should be taken seriously when you’re looking to support your immune system and other chronic health issues. This test is performed by Genova Diagnostics.
Genova Diagnostics gdx.net // 800-522-4762
LYMES DISEASE // Lyme disease is the hardest to test for because the majority of labs will give off false positives or false negatives. I had to do the research myself throughout my 12 years of chronic health issues and I discovered there are two labs in California, which are listed below and they are the only two labs that will give an accurate reading for Lyme disease. So, if you’re not getting the answers you need from Quest, Labcore or other basic labs and you’re not feeling better, I suggest you find one of these two labs to get tested. You can read about my journey with Lyme Disease and my extensive Lyme Disease Treatment. These are the tests that measure for exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease) and the associated coinfections, through antibody production. They include IGenex or SUNY Stony Brook Lyme Western Blot IgG, IgM; Babesia antibody IgG, IgM; Bartonella antibody IgG, IgM; Babesia antibody IgG, IgM; Bartonella antibody IgG, IgM; Ehrlichia antibody IgG, IgM.
POST- TESTING // When you receive your test results back from your doctor, you can schedule a private session with Amie to help you navigate the healing process because addressing the physical symptoms is only one part of the healing puzzle.
The complete full list of testing is located in my best-selling book, Eating Clean: The 21-Day Plan to Detox, Fight Inflammation and Reset Your Body.
What tests have you found to be helpful? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and share if you’ve had these tests and how they helped.
