Additional Functional Pathology Tests

In addition to the routine tests listed above, l have access to over 250 different Functional Pathology tests available through NutriPath Laboratories in Melbourne.

The majority of these tests are NOT available on Medicare.

They provide us with very useful information on various aspects of human biology including gut function and brain function that most GPs and Specialists don’t even know exist.

They can be enormously valuable in helping to plan the best treatments for your particular condition(s).

Some additional tests that we frequently order include:

ALCAT testing

This is a blood test that identifies a whole range of foods, food chemicals, herbs, moulds & pharmaceutical drugs that one may be sensitive to. This is NOT a test for food allergy (which can be tested separately), but rather is a highly validated test for foods and chemicals that cause reactions hours-days following ingestion or exposure.

Cardiovascular Risk Profiles

There are over two dozen independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but most Specialists & GPs only test for a few of them. Nutripath offer a Comprehensive Cardiovascular profile which includes testing for LDL Cholesterol sub-fractions – of vital importance in determining the advisability or otherwise of statin therapy for high cholesterol. Also included are blood tests for fibrinogen, Apolipoproteins A & B, Lipoprotein (a), homocysteine, glucose and highly sensitive CRP. HDL cholesterol sub-fractions can also be tested separately.

CDSA tests

Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analyses are amongst the most comprehensive gut tests currently available. They are by far the best tests to assess malabsorption and gut dysbiosis currently available. Many people feel as if they don’t digest their food properly – this is the best test to confirm that. The test involves the collection of two stool samples which are analysed for a wide range of different chemicals as well as quantifying & identifying both normal & abnormal bacteria, yeasts (such as Candida) and parasites.

Hormone tests

Did you know that a number of adrenal hormones including cortisol & sex hormones are best tested in saliva and in urine, but NOT in blood? Nutripath can quantify levels of free hormones that are not bound to their carrier proteins in the bloodstream, thereby identifying just how much of the hormone that you produce is biologically active. Nutripath can also measure a range of Estrogen metabolites in urine samples, a test that is of vital importance in reducing cancer risk for women in their 40s & 50s.

Methylation tests

Not only should everyone know their MTHFR status, but individual components of the folate & methylation cycles can be tested in blood samples. These analytes include 5-methylfolate, SAMe, homocysteine, methionine & folinic acid.

Thyroid testing

Medicare usually only provides rebates for one type of hormone affecting thyroid function called TSH, yet in Clinical practice, this is the least useful of all the thyroid tests available. For example, if one is suspecting a condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (the commonest form of hypothyroidism), then you need to do a Free T3, Free T4 and Thyroid antibodies as well. Reverse T3 is another thyroid hormone that is often worth testing.