About Testing

At IV for Life we strongly recommend undergoing a comprehensive set of tests that allow us to look deep into your physiology so we can uncover your specific biochemical needs. Doing this helps us to pinpoint precisely what kind of support you require and personalize your IV treatments. It’s like treating an infection with “wide spectrum antibiotics” versus treating it with medication that pinpoints the exact organism causing you problems. One is a scatter shot approach that may or may not help. The other is so laser focused we can be reasonably sure it will produce rapid results.

To give you a sense for how this works, here is an example of results from a recent patient’s tests:

As you can easily see for yourself, this person was severely deficient in vitamin B9, and required high doses to replete this vital nutrient. On the other hand, her B6 and B7 levels were in the normal range. So instead of creating an IV of broad spectrum B vitamins and hope for the best, we were able to pinpoint her precise deficiencies and focus treatment in that area.

We would like to offer you the same opportunity to find out exactly which nutrients you need to achieve optimal health.

Until we receive the results of individual tests, we can give IV vitamins and nutrients based on your history and symptoms. For example, the Immunity & Wellness IV is a “wide spectrum” treatment which covers most common deficiencies and works very well in the interim.

Then when your tests arrive we can develop personalized IVs to fit your unique biochemical requirements.

The tests we use are outlined. We not only use the results to customize your IVs, but also to offer personalized guidelines for diet modifications and oral supplementation.

After the results of these tests are received, we finally glean a lot of information. Many times some of the abnormalities found will point to further investigation. For a deeper understanding we encourage you to consider a full Functional Medicine Evaluation with one of our recommended experienced practitioners.

Metabolic Tests

The two tests we use the most are the Genova Labs NutrEval and the Spectracell Micronutrient testing. These tests help us measure:

1. Vitamin levels such as all the B vitamins important in energy, metabolism, neurotransmitter creation, and DNA formation.
2. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, E, C, alpha lipoic acid and CoQ10 all of which are important in neutralizing “free radical damage” to DNA and preventing illness and aging.
3. Minerals such as zinc, magnesium, molybdenum and manganese important in cellular energy reactions.
4. Amino acid levels which are needed to make protein, such as in the creation of collagen and muscle; and perform a wide variety of other important tasks such as the synthesis of neurotransmitters in the body.
5. Absorption markers: These show how well you absorb the nutrients from your food in your intestines Do you have “malabsorption” or “leaky gut syndrome”? These tests help tease apart these questions.
6. Dysbiosis: Do you have “bad” bacteria and/or fungal overgrowth in your intestines causing digestive issues like malabsorption, bloating, diarrhea or constipation? This test allow us to find out.
7. Fatty acid analysis: Your ratio of omega-3, omega-6, omega-9 and other fats play a major role in your immune response and inflammation Find out how your cellular levels of these important fats are doing.
8. Oxidative stress: Shows how well your body is taking care of damaging molecules such as free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) which do harm to your cell’s DNA, proteins and membranes and cause aging.
9. Heavy metals: Provides a “snapshot” into the levels of circulating heavy metals present inside your red blood cells.
10. Organic acids and toxin detoxification markers: Interesting in discovering what common toxins you are exposed to and how your body is detoxifying them? This test will show you.

Here’s a deeper look inside each one of these tests:

Genova Laboratories “NutrEval FMV”

The NutrEval is the most comprehensive metabolic test available and has become the “gold standard” test I perform on most of the patients who request this type of evaluation. It is a blood and urine test performed being off vitamins and nutrients of any type for 5 days. This allows your body to return to its natural “baseline” so we can more accurately assess specifically what you need. (Please see the sample report below.). Because of the sheer amount of data generated, interpretation of the results often requires around  60 minutes of discussion with our experienced practitioner and will cost $250.

Pros:

1. Cost $169 “easy pay” (copay) if your insurance can be billed along with this copay. Most insurance companies participate including Medicare.
2. Incredibly comprehensive (all 10 categories above). It measures all major metabolic pathways in the body including the citric acid cycle, urea cycle, neurotransmitter metabolites, glycine/serine metabolites, dysbiosis, malabsorption, omega- 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids, oxidative stress, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, organic acids and heavy metals.
3. Genova will send you a kit directly to your home if you desire or you can pick one up from us.

Cons:

1. Cost: it is about $950 out-of-pocket only if your insurance does not participate. Aetna and Kaiser insurance will not participate in Genova billing. For these patents we recommend Spectracell Testing (see below).
2. Two week turnaround time minimum.
3. Fasting test: You must be fasting and get this test done early in the morning.
4. Fewer lab locations: The preparation of the samples in the kit is time consuming. We charge a $25 fee for the time and labor, and we draw the lab in our office.

Here’s a sample report of the Genova NutrEval.

Spectracell Laboratory’s “Micronutrient Test”

Spectracell’s Micronutrient Test is very versatile. It measures a wide array of nutrients critically important for an optimally functioning metabolism. Just as with the test by Genova Labs, we recommend you stop all supplements 5 days before you take the test to reach your body’s natural baseline.

This test has a very sophisticated and unique system of measuring your total antioxidant status and overall immune system functioning by growing white blood cells in different culture mediums. Most insurance companies cover Spectracell tests including Medicare. (Please see the sample report below)

Pros:

1. Easy to draw: Just two vials of blood
2. Non-fasting: You can draw the blood anytime even after a full meal.
3. Cost: $195 out-of-pocket copay

• All insurances participate including Aetna and Kaiser

Cons:

1. This test misses some of the more technical information that Genova NutrEval has such as malabsorption, dysbiosis, heavy metals, organic toxins, urea cycle and others.

• Two-week turnaround time minimum.

1. Not as useful in a complex clinical picture such as patients with chronic illness.
2. More expensive co-pay than Genova NutrEval for participating insurances

Here’s a sample report of the Spectracell’s Micronutrient Test.

Methylation Testing

Methylation is a universal process happening in all of our cells, which profoundly affects the way we function. It is how your body generates carbon groups(C-H3) which are essential for managing just about every operation in every cell in the human body. These carbon units are then moved around and attached to different proteins, enzymes and even DNA.

Methylation is critically important for:

1. Turn on and off genes (gene regulation)
2. Process chemicals, endogenous and xenobiotic compounds (biotransformation)
3. Build neurotransmitters (norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, melatonin)
4. Metabolize neurotransmitters (dopamine, epinephrine)
5. Process hormones (estrogen)
6. Build immune cells (T cells, NK cells)
7. DNA and histone synthesis (thymine aka 5-methyluracil)
8. Produce energy (CoQ10, carnitine, creatine, ATP)
9. Produce protective coating on nerves (myelination)
10. Build and maintain cell membranes (phosphatidylcholine)

Like Goldilocks and her soup, methylation needs to be just right. Neither too much nor too little is good for optimal health. A direct test of how well you “methylate” is the Doctor’s Data Methylation Pathway Profile (Plasma Test).

This test measures the different products of methylation and also gives a “Methylation Index”. Again you want average, balanced methylation. Here is an example of how the results for this test look:

In addition there are two other tests you can take that will allow you to look even more deeply into how you methylate.

23andMe: Methylation Genetic Testing

There are several ways to test for genetic SNP’s in the methylation pathways, which are variations in DNA sequencing that impact this process. Interpretation of these tests requires expertise, because these SNP’s have such complex interactions. However, the results can be very useful in improving function and correcting even long-standing symptoms from fatigue to hormonal problems to behavioral abnormalities especially when put together with the “Methylation Profile: Plasma” results.

www.23andme.com ’s saliva test kit costs $99 and takes at least one month to process. It maps out your entire genome. In other words it “reads” all of your chromosomes and the SNP’s (variations) observed. The very lengthy “raw data” report that is generated is not interpreted by the company, because of FDA regulations that went into place in 2014. The results can be interpreted through a variety of other websites which have programs to scan the raw data from 23andme for a nominal price between $10 and $30.

Even after this report is available, unless you are very familiar with medical terminology you will likely need to sit down with an expert in functional medicine if you wish to understand the report. When you do, your doctor should cover what mutations you may have and recommendations about supplementation, diet, and lifestyle changes that may be needed as a result. Because of the sheer amount of data available, interpretation of the results often requires 90 minutes of discussion (in person or in remote video conference on Skype) and will usually cost around $250.

Doctor’s Data DNA Methylation Pathway Profile (Whole Blood Test)

A less overwhelming but extremely useful option is the DNA Methylation Whole Blood test by Doctor’s Data Labs.

This test measures the most common and well-known SNP’s rather than reading your entire genome the way 23andme does. SNPs are DNA sequence variations that occur relatively frequently in the general population. They are different from disease mutations, which are very rare. Huntington’s disease is an example of a disease mutation. If you inherit the altered gene, the disease will develop. Certain SNPs may be associated with particular health conditions, but they are not known to directly cause disease. The majority of SNPs affect protein, enzyme or cell receptor structure and function.

At a cost of around $250, the Doctor’s Data DNA Methylation Pathway Profile includes a analysis of variety of SNPs known to influence many aspects of health including:

• Insulin sensitivity
• Bone health
• Cancer risk
• Cardiovascular health
• Detoxification processes
• Fertility
• Mitochondrial function and metabolism
• Methylation
• Neurotransmitter balance

You will still need to go over the report with an expert doctor who can guide you through what the test means and what changes you should make to optimize function based on your results.

Here’s a sample of the Doctor’s Data DNA Methylation Pathway Profile.

Time to obtain results: 3 weeks.