Did you know that naturopathic doctors can order a wide variety of tests? Ranging from conventional blood work, which is often run by medical doctors, to more involved blood testing, such as saliva, stool, and even urine.
However, when it comes to ordering conventional blood work, naturopathic doctors, such as Dr. Romi Raina, often suggest the patient go through with it only if their medical doctor has requested it. This is because, in Ontario, Canada, these tests are typically covered by OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan), which means the patient wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket.
Although, in the case that a full range of necessary blood tests cannot be obtained through the medical doctor, Dr. Romi Raina can step in to order those tests himself to ensure no stone is left unturned.
What is Naturopathic Testing?
Naturopathic testing refers to specialized diagnostic tests used by naturopathic doctors to assess underlying health issues, such as inflammation, hormonal imbalances, food sensitivities, and gut microbiome health.
Depending on your health concerns, one of these more in-depth testing approaches can be very beneficial in treating or even preventing chronic health issues. This is mainly due to the fact that they tend to provide deeper insights into the root causes of chronic conditions, allowing for personalized, holistic treatment plans.
Inflammatory Marker Testing
While inflammation is known to have a negative connotation, it can actually be considered as both good and bad.
On the one hand, it’s good since it is a part of your body’s immune response. It helps to address and heal injuries, fight infections, and repair damaged tissues.
On the other hand, inflammation can turn harmful if it gets stuck in a loop and becomes chronic. This happens when the inflammatory response doesn't shut off and persists due to factors like constant re-exposure to irritants, cellular defects, or oxidative stress.
Chronic inflammation can develop silently over many years without obvious symptoms. By the time it becomes symptomatic, it may have already contributed to the development of chronic diseases. Fortunately, there is a simple blood test that can detect that hidden inflammation and expose it before it becomes a bigger issue.
Inflammatory marker testing helps to identify inflammation early, which allows naturopathic doctors to address it before it progresses into a more serious disease. Even if the disease has already developed, targeting inflammatory markers can help effectively manage the condition.
Once the inflammation is detected, it can easily be managed using botanical and nutritional supplements. These natural approaches can significantly reduce inflammation and support overall health.
Chronic inflammation can build silently for many years
What is a Hormone Test?
Hormones are chemical substances that act like messengers in the body and brain, which is why they can immensely affect how our body functions and how we feel.
In fact, hormones can even be considered chemical messengers since they play a critical role in regulating our body’s functions. After being produced in one part of the body, they quickly travel to other parts to help control the inner workings of our cells and organs. For example, insulin is a hormone that is made by the beta cells in the pancreas and is essential in helping the body process sugar.
Plus, hormones change all the time! Being stressed, sick, eating unhealthy, sleeping poorly, and even aging are all reasons why hormones can get imbalanced. So much so that it can further lead to symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, having less mental focus as well as a low libido.
This is where hormone testing comes into play. A comprehensive hormone test offers a way to look at the inner workings of the body and see what is amiss. This is because it is hard to decipher the root cause of the problem unless a proper investigation is done.
Moreover, naturopathic doctors use hormone tests to uncover the underlying issues, which ultimately helps create a targeted treatment plan. Botanicals and nutraceuticals can also be utilized to correct hormonal issues and restore the body to its natural and healthy state.
How Do Food Sensitivity Tests Work?
Unlike allergy, which has an immediate effect on the body and can produce life-threatening symptoms, food sensitivity can cause more chronic and nagging symptoms that can take several days to develop. Ultimately, food sensitivity occurs due to a delayed onset immune response, and it is this lag effect that makes it challenging to predict which foods are behind the immune response and the resultant symptoms.
It’s also incorrect to assume that food sensitivity only results in digestive symptoms. Though this can be the case, it is more likely that food sensitivities lead to inflammatory and immune-related reactions.
Additionally, food sensitivities can result in symptoms that can affect the mind and body. This typically includes neuropsychiatric issues such as “foggy mind,” headache, fatigue, and dermatological as well as musculoskeletal symptoms.
It is important to keep in mind that the effects of food sensitivities are not only delayed but can be diverse, which is why it can be very difficult to know what exact foods a person might be sensitive to.
So, rather than continually and unknowingly subjecting your body and brain to sensitivity-based immune response and chronic symptoms, you can finally uncover the food culprit(s) that are adversely affecting your health by taking a simple test!
With food sensitivity testing, you can uncover foods that adversely affect your health
Which Test is Best for Gut Health?
A microbiome test is hands down one of the most useful tests to evaluate a person’s gut health. The microbiome refers to the community of synergistic bacteria that reside in and on our body but exist in great abundance in our gut. This bacteria, which is known as good bacteria , exerts a lot of important benefits for our health, including assisting with digestion, controlling inflammation, and regulating the immune function.
However, the microbiome is a complex thing that is subject to a lot of influences based on what we eat, our stress, the health of our immune system, and even the medications we use. Certain medications such as birth control pills, steroid medications, antibiotics, and prescribed antacids can cause major deviations in the health of the microbiome, which then has downstream effects on overall health.
Though it might be easy for a naturopathic doctor to figure out that the microbiome has been adversely impacted, it’s not easy to know exactly how it’s been affected because the devil is in the details.
Without knowing what good bugs are missing, what bad bugs are present, and what natural substance can effectively eradicate the symptom-causing bugs, patients often get stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of ineffective treatments and a lack of symptom improvement.
That is why it’s necessary to test and not guess!
Naturopathic doctors, much like Dr. Romi Raina, can use a microbiome test to identify the actual makeup of the microbiome since it has a very high level of sensitivity and specificity. What’s more, the test can also indicate what treatments are most effective when dealing with the identified problems.
Coupled with a detailed, holistic intake, gut microbiome testing is commonly used to detect the specific issues contributing to your health status. With this invaluable information, naturopathic doctors can draft a precise treatment plan designed to address your individual health needs and support your body’s natural healing processes.
Additional Naturopathic Testing Options | |
|---|---|
Test Type | Purpose |
Microbiome Testing | Identify the actual makeup of the microbiome and find out if any harmful foreign invaders are present. |
Food Sensitivity Test | Detect which food could be causing a delayed onset immune response and the resultant symptoms. |
Hormone Testing | Find out the inner workings of the body. |
Inflammatory Marker Testing | Uncover the hidden inflammation and expose it before it becomes a bigger issue. |
Closing Words
If you find yourself self-diagnosing, wondering whether your symptoms are related to inflammation, hormones, food sensitivities, or the microbiome, then it's better to not rely on guesswork but rather use the power of precise testing to uncover what’s actually happening inside your body.
Together with our experts, you can create a tailored treatment plan to support your body’s natural healing processes and delve deep into understanding your unique health issues. So, what are you waiting for? Book a virtual consultation on Aspire Natural Health with Dr. Romi Raina today. It’s time to put yourself on the path to vibrant health!
