Functional testing
Your symptoms are only one part of the picture. Bloating, digestive discomfort, fatigue, skin problems, hormonal symptoms, or simply feeling that something isn’t quite right, can all have many contributing factors.
Rather than guessing, functional testing can sometimes give us more information about what may be happening within the body.
Where appropriate, I use specialist testing from Genova Diagnostics, GutID and CNSLab, alongside a detailed health history, a nutrition assessment and your individual symptoms.
Testing is never about chasing numbers. It’s about gathering useful information that helps me create a more personalised nutrition, lifestyle and wellbeing plan for you.
Hormones, stress & nutrition
Genova Diagnostics
Hormones rarely work in isolation. They interact with our stress response, metabolism, nutrition, sleep and many other systems within the body.
I use Genova Diagnostics because they offer a wide range of advanced functional tests that let us explore health beyond standard testing. This includes specialist female hormone testing, such as comprehensive urinary hormone profiles looking at oestrogens, progesterone and androgens, and at how certain hormones are metabolised within the body.
Depending on your symptoms and health history, Genova testing can also help us explore adrenal and stress hormone patterns, nutritional status, metabolic health, digestive function and the gut microbiome.
For women experiencing PMS, changes around perimenopause or menopause, irregular cycles, low energy, mood changes or other hormone-related symptoms, these tests may provide another useful layer of information.
I use these results alongside your health history, symptoms, diet and lifestyle to build a more personalised picture of what may be influencing how you feel.
Because when it comes to hormones, it’s rarely about one number. It’s about understanding the bigger picture.
The gut microbiome
GutID
Your microbiome is incredibly individual, and understanding who is living in your gut can help us see your health from a completely different perspective.
GutID uses advanced microbiome sequencing to analyse the bacterial ecosystem within a stool sample, identifying organisms right down to strain level. Depending on the test, reports can show microbial diversity, beneficial organisms, potential pathogens and the functional relationships between the gut microbiome and the rest of the body.
This is particularly useful when I want a detailed picture of the microbiome itself, so I can use those findings alongside your diet, symptoms and health history to guide personalised nutritional strategies.
Food sensitivity
CNSLab
Sometimes food may be part of the puzzle.
CNSLab specialises in laboratory-based IgG food sensitivity testing, with panels covering different numbers and types of foods. The test uses a small blood sample to measure food-specific IgG antibodies.
Where appropriate, I may use CNSLab testing as an extra tool when exploring the relationship between your diet and ongoing symptoms.
Importantly, I never use a test result in isolation. Your results are considered alongside your symptoms, food diary, health history and overall nutritional picture before we decide whether any dietary changes are appropriate.
My approach
Why I use functional testing
I don’t believe in testing for the sake of testing.
I recommend a test when I feel the information could genuinely help us understand your health better, or give us another piece of the puzzle.
The aim is to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and towards something much more personal.
Your results can help us identify areas that deserve attention, and let me build a targeted nutrition and lifestyle plan around you, your body, your symptoms and your goals.
No unnecessary testing. No generic protocols. Just a more personalised way of understanding your body.
Not sure whether you need testing?
You don’t need to decide before your appointment. In your consultation we’ll talk through your symptoms, health history and goals first. If I feel functional testing could add useful information, I’ll explain the options and why a particular test may suit you.