Vitamin, Mineral and Nutrient Assessment

Overwhelming scientific evidence confirms that vitamin and mineral deficiencies are associated with disease processes and the overall condition of one’s health. Vitamin, mineral and antioxidant deficiencies have been shown to suppress immune function and contribute to chronic degenerative processes such as arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This body of research has been reaffirmed by the Journal of the American Medical Association (June 19, 2002-Vol 287, No 23).

I use the Micronutrient testing provided by SpectraCell Laboratories.  This patented process resulted from 18 years of research at the University of Texas. The micronutrient tests measures how vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are actually functioning within your white blood cells. These tests allow me to provide an objective nutritional assessment for a broad variety of clinical conditions including arthritis, cancer, cardiovascular risk, diabetes, various immunological disorders, metabolic disorders and micronutrient deficiencies. Through SpectraCell we can also assess one’s Lipoprotein Particle Profile, a specialized profile of homocysteine, lipids and proteins to assess cardiovascular risk. .

Before the introduction of intracellular testing, many diagnosis and risk assessments were based on clinical observation and measurements of static levels of certain nutrients in serum. Static serum levels are commonly not representative indicators for assessing cell metabolism and utilization.  A functional evaluation of nutrients, like that offered by Spectracell, offers a unique means to scientifically assess the intracellular requirements of our nutrients that play an important role in our overall health and wellness. These tests measure the biochemical function of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants, providing a powerful clinical assessment tool that provides you with very specific information regarding any deficiency of nutrients that you may have.  This assessment of your vitamins, minerals and other nutrients is designed to provide you with the most objective nutritional analysis available. .

The test also provides each patient a total antioxidant evaluation (SPECTROX™), which assesses the ability of cells to resist damage caused by free radicals and other forms of oxidative stress. Due to the considerable number of cellular antioxidants with extensive interactions, redundancies, repair and recharging capabilities, measuring total function is the most accurate and clinically useful way to assess your body’s capacity to resist oxidative damage.  Given that we are continually exposed to a huge variety of oxidants – toxic metals, chemicals, pesticides, biological agents etc – our need to protect ourselves from this onslaught is critical.  This part of the test will evaluate exactly how well your body is able to do just that..

The Nutrients tested in the Vitamin, Mineral and Nutrient Assessment: