Tennee | January 11, 2016
My personal quest and question for the past 8 years has been:
“How can I master my own health?”
After resurfacing from the dark depths of imbalance I find myself constantly striving to meet a new standard for radiant health that continues to awaken in me higher and higher levels of energy and stamina.
Ultimately, I believe that we are wired for mastery and there are tools available for us that can help us at every turn. One such tool that I feel compelled to share was brought to my attention while I was participating in the Functional Diagnostic Nutrition program. At that time, I had the opportunity to run and study markers as well as the results of the spectracell micronutrient test to get a thorough assessment of my nutritional status.
Its relevant to note that I had been looking into a few different tests to assess nutrient status in the body and had read “Nutritional Balancing and hair mineral analysis” by Lawrence Wilson, M.D. I also received a hair mineral analysis at a health convention a few months back through Nutri-Spectrum that used biofeedback to analyze the DNA of the hair. However, there are some controversial elements that are often debated in the functional nutrition community regarding HTMA, and there were some discrepancies as to how some labs were “handling” the hair samples. When I discussed these questions with one of the teachers in the FDN program I was directed to look into the Spectracell micronutrient test and after researching the test and listening to well respected health care providers like Chris Kressor’s experiences with this test, I decided to run the test on myself.
Here is how it works
This test is a blood draw that looks at lympocytes to see the intracellular nutrients at play. This is not a serum test that merely looks at a snapshot of a moment in time. Lympocytes live 4- 6 months, so the test looks at a longer window of time. Spectracell looks at all B vitamins, Vitamin A,C,E,D,K, Calcium, Copper, Magnesium, Zinc, Amino Acids, glucose metabolism and insulin. It also looks at antioxidants as well as various metabolites.
These markers provide information pertaining to nutritional deficiencies that provide barriers to metabolic function. It is worth noting that most all high use by endocrinologists.
My experience with this test.
This test had a series of markers that provided valuable clues that helped me assess where I was ahead of the game and where I was falling short. Markers that related to my G.I. health such as Vitamin A and B2 were very low and a month after adding in the nutrients I was falling short on, I experienced my first pain free menstrual cycle in over 4 years!
Its important to note that in functional nutrition, genetic predisposition, medication, age, etc, all play a role in the nutrient availability in the body. So when working with results it is important to remember that many systems are at play that will influence how your body is functioning from a nutrient status. For me this test was able to convey a bigger picture that correlated with other factors that I have been working on to better my health.
I find that these nutritional markers help my navigation skills
as I continue to course correct on my journey into radiant health.
May your reality be radiant!
Tennee
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