Lab testing is oh so useful but can be expensive for clients. Many functional nutrition tests like the micronutrient panel, stool testing, organic acid testing are not covered by insurance. In New York and other states, nutritionists can not run lab testing.
It is helpful to find workarounds due to these barriers for lab testing.
Work around #1: Partner with the patient’s medical team.
Request lab testing from your client’s medical doctor. In our mentorship program we provide interns a template for this request.
Work around #2: Use other assessment tools.
Do a deeper dive on the history of present illness. Dive into signs and symptoms. Look at my tutorial on Signs and Symptoms here https://www.nutritionherbalcollective.com/post/signs-symptoms-with-rebecca-snow Differentiate phenomenon vs story. If a client says “my Lyme disease is acting up” find out more information. This is their story but tells you nothing about phenomenological data. Use NFPE to assess nutritional insufficiencies.
Work around #3: Utilize direct to consumer testing.
Honestly, this is a can of worms I would rather not open up here so let’s move on to the topic at hand…
Work around #4: In office testing!
This is where (enter stage left) we have In office testing. Or at home testing is another subcategory. Fairly inexpensive, less validated, more qualitative testing methods for gathering data!
Here is my list of some favorites! Check out my video to learn more!
Urinary ph testing - use in office urinalysis testing strips to see the urinary ph balance
Zinc tally with liquid zinc solution
Peanut butter test for assessing Alzheimer’s risk or the Peanut butter smell test!
Baking soda test to assess stomach acid levels
Iodine skin patch testing
Eat beets and watch your poo! Stool transit time test