Don’t feel as well as you should, but you’ve been told repeatedly that your labs are all normal? Have you ever gone to a doctor or nutritionist and filled out a questionnaire and then gone home with a bag full of supplements? There is a better way! Take the guess-work out of knowing what you really need to be healthy by using the Metabolic Profile. This state-of-the-art laboratory assessment allows your healthcare provider to select — from both diet and supplementation — the most effective combination of nutrition for you, based on your individual results. The Metabolic Profile reveals imbalances of nutrients like carnitine, NAC, lipoic acid, CoQ10, and antioxidants. You will discover how efficiently B-vitamins function in your body, how well your body handles toxins, and how well your brain’s neurotransmitters are functioning. Fatty acid intake can be optimized based on the results of the test to reduce overall inflammation, the root cause of chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease. The Metabolic Profile will even uncover hidden digestive abnormalities and food sensitivities that have been implicated in everything from skin disorders to autoimmune disease.

Designs for Health, Inc. has teamed with Metametrix Clinical Laboratory to bring you the  Comprehensive Metabolic Profile. The profile give your nutritional healthcare provider the tools they need to evaluate your complete nutritional and metabolic health with no blood draw required! Combining organic acid, lipid peroxide, fatty acid, and IgG food antibody testing, this profile helps your provider target your individual needs. Specific supplement recommendations based on individual test results help you understand the most efficient combination of nutritional products to meet your unique needs.

The Comprehensive Metabolic Profile consists of:

Organix™ Profile

Integrative nutritional providers often begin with an Organix™ Profile to establish the nutritional and metabolic basis of patient symptoms, just as traditional practitioners might use a serum blood chemistry to establish a diagnostic baseline. With the Metabolic Profile a single urine specimen provides important information about:

• Insufficiencies of carnitine and NAC
• Specific markers of bacterial dysbiosis
• Lipoic acid and CoQ10 sufficiency
• Functional status of B-vitamins
• Neurotransmitter metabolism
• Mitochondrial energy production
• Methylation sufficiency status
• Detoxification adequacy
• Oxidative stress and antioxidant sufficiency

Urine Lipid Peroxides

In its efforts to produce the chemical energy to power cells and fight infection, the body produces harmful free radicals. Antioxidant supplements can help protect cells from free radical damage that can result in oxidation of cell membranes, forming lipid peroxides. High levels of lipid peroxides are associated with cancer, heart disease, stroke, and aging.

Bloodspot™ Fatty Acid Profile (not available in NY)

From a simple finger stick, this unique test measures the ratio of the principle omega-6 (AA) and omega-3 (EPA) fatty acids. The AA/EPA ratio is a measure of the body’s eicosanoid balance, detecting “silent” inflammation that can lead to heart disease and other chronic and inflammatory processes. Also included is an Index of Omega-3 Fatty Acids: the sum of EPA and DHA as a percent of total fatty acids. Studies have shown that this index can be used to estimate a person’s risk of dying from coronary heart disease (CHD). A bloodspot Index of Omega-3 Fatty Acids greater than 1.6 is associated with the greatest cardioprotection, whereas an index less than 0.75 is associated with the least cardioprotection. With many consumers loading up indiscriminately on fish oils, this profile can also detect omega-3 dominant patterns which can lead to increased peroxidation and immune suppression.

Bloodspot™ IgG Food Antibody Profile (not available in NY)

Researchers estimate that at least 60% of the U.S. population suffers from unsuspected food reactions that can cause or complicate health problems. These reactions are difficult to identify since they can occur hours or even days after consumption of an offending food. In some cases, a person may eat a food for several days before developing a reaction to it, so they may not realize the link between the food and their symptoms. Symptoms can be extraordinarily diverse, ranging from arthritis to eczema to migraines. For that reason, many health professionals routinely consider food allergies or intolerances when evaluating a patient’s health problems. The Bloodspot™ IgG Food Antibody Profile tests for sensitivity to 30 of the most commonly positive food antigens, all from a single finger stick.

To find a local healthcare provider using the Metabolic Profile please contact Metametrix Clinical Labs at FindADoc@metametrix.com or 1-800-22104640 and ask specifically for a provider near you who is using the Designs for Health Metabolic Profile. If there is no provider currently using the Metabolic Profile in your area please contact Designs for Health (DFH) at 1-800-847-8302 or info@designsforhealth.com and ask for a DFH provider in your area and request that they perform the DFH Metabolic Profile on you.