Taking Control of your Health

Taking control of your health means becoming your own ADVOCATE!

Most of us have a general doctor that we see that helps us with strep throats, flu and annual physicals. It is a good source of information and a relationship we need. I have been blessed to have good physicians throughout my life. I have learned (after twins and a preemie) that you learn how to become and advocate for your health and those you love.

Part of becoming an advocate is researching natural health and thinking outside the box. There is tons of research available to us on the web- research- meaning from actual research studies! It can be overwhelming……

There are a few “out of the box” tools that I have personally found useful.

Food Intolerance Testing:

Food Intolerance Testing is different from an IGG allergic response. This test a variety of foods, chemicals and spices that can cause an inflammatory response within the body. Each person has certain foods that “bother” them and likely some that they haven’t been able to figure out yet. One way of doing this is with an elimination diet which is a wonderful at identifying food triggers if that person is able to maintain a simple diet for weeks to identify triggers. One problem I ran into was that the inflammation was not immediate. Sometimes it would take a few days to notice a reaction.

My Nutritionist ordered a lab from Oxford Biomedical. It was very informative and coded the tested foods, herbs/spices and chemicals into colors Red (Total Avoidance), Yellow (With Caution) and Green (Foods to Focus on in Diet). Soon it was clear that the symptoms I was experiencing were from the Red and Yellow groups. My body was able to have the support it needed to heal.

Micronutrient Testing:

Micronutrient Testing can provide the levels of nutrient at a cellular level. The body is depending on specific vitamins and minerals- they each have their own job and assignment to keep our bodies working optimally. The company I personally used was Spectracell. The lab order wad made from Mds., Dieticians and Chiropractors. If your practitioner is not familiar with this test you can contact the company and ask for participants in your area.

Think about a Compass- this is information that helps you get more direction!

Genetic Testing:

There are genetic counselors available in the medical field. Friends of mine have received information that helped them make preventive decisions about their health. They were thankful that the testing was available and feel blessed they were informed. I have obtained some of my genetic testing through health practitioners, but I wanted more information that would educate me to make health practices for my family. I put on my personal advocate glasses and ordered a 23andMe test to find out a few things:

More about my personal ancestry (because it is fun)
See more about my bodies tendencies
Discover and research some genetic SNPs (markers that were identified) so I can make better choices to prevent illnesses in the future.

The 23andMe test kit is ordered by you, not a practitioner. They do run specials on occasion. The current pricing is $99 for Ancestry only portion or $199 for Ancestry & Health and have a $20 coupon.
script async src=”//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js”>

I have found all three of these tests to be EXTREMELY valuable in educating myself and supporting my health.

I hope this post provides some ideas for your personal health toolbox. There are a lot of resources out there- sometimes you just need to think outside of the box.

Wishes of Wellness!

*This article is based upon my personal experience and is not intended as medical advice. It is always best to discuss test like these with your practitioner and give a copy of results to your practitioner to discuss the findings.