Frequently I am posed with the question, “Which lab test should I order for my patient?”  I know it can become daunting when faced with the task of decision making while looking at a test menu that is quite extensive.  Hmmm, well fatty acids are important for us, oh, and what about vitamins and minerals?  The patient seems toxic, should I look for heavy metals?  Or, what about her fatigue, depression or migraines, does that mean I should address amino acids deficiencies or food sensitivities? 

Now, if money were no object, all of the above would cast the widest net and allow for a detailed individualized treatment plan.  This is the ideal, but in this day and age, many clinicians are faced with the fact that the money is an object.   So, what will give them the biggest bang for the buck?

Let’s go back to the roots of Functional Medicine where the patient-centered treatment focuses on addressing the underlying causes of disease, rather than treating symptoms.  It is in this vein that I generally tend to guide clinicians to the Organix Profile despite the presenting symptoms.  

I look at organic acid testing (Organix) as the ‘‘serum chemistries’’ equivalent in the functional medicine world.   A serum chemistries test is typically run on every single patient at least once a year to monitor general health parameters such as cholesterol, liver and kidney function, acid/base balance, thyroid, etc.  Now let’s take it a step further. If you want to get a good overall picture of your patient’s metabolic function, fat and carbohydrate metabolism, B vitamin status, neurotransmitter function, inflammation,  oxidative stress, detoxification status, and bacterial and yeast overgrowth in the small intestine, then you can find it from a simple first morning urine collection.  Of any of the single testing profiles out there, the Organix casts the widest net, and really does address underlying causes of diseases.   The Organix test reveals patterns that can not only guide you to specific individualized nutrient therapy, but it can also tell you to how severe the need is for specific nutrients such as coenzyme Q10, the B vitamins, and glutathione, for example. 

Another useful function of the Organix profile is that if you want to follow-up with more testing, it can guide you to which tests would be the most beneficial to run for your patient. For example, if a patient has several abnormalities in the detoxification section, you might want to test the patient’s porphyrins, toxic chemicals, or heavy metals to rule out potential toxic exposures.  If a patient is fatigued, and the citric acid cycle intermediates are all very low, you might want to run an amino acid profile to address the specific amino acid needs.  Or, if a patient has severe dysbiosis, you might want to follow-up with a GI Effects test to look at overall gastrointestinal health. 

The Organix is a simple, non-invasive urine collection that addresses several body systems, allows for the design of specific and individualized therapy, and can help guide you to further testing. It is for these reasons that I recommend the Organix as the single best test to run first on almost every patient that comes in your door regardless of the presenting symptoms and complaints.