The Environmental Toxins Test is a two part profile that helps to identify your level of exposure to environmental pollutants or toxins.
Toxic chemicals are found to varying degrees in everything from cosmetic and skin care products to cookware and children’s toys and of course plastics. These toxins enter our bodies, do their damage and can pose a significant threat to our health.
In small doses and a healthy system we can typically manage the load with some negative effects. Symptoms connected to environmental toxins may include:
- Irritation of eyes, nose and throat
- Skin rashes and other skin irritations
- Effects on the central nervous system including impaired thinking and movement
- Disrupting the function of hormones especially the thyroid
- Headaches, nausea, anxiety, or depression
- Fatigue and drowsiness
- Inability to lose weight
In toxic doses, these compounds can lead to cancer (radon, formaldehyde, benzene); act as endocrine disruptors (BPA, pesticides, phthalates); and cause organ failure or developmental problems (lead, mercury, cadmium).
Environmental toxins testing is an absolute must if you want to achieve optimum health. The Environmental Pollutants Profile provides a quantitative measurement of 14 select metabolites that can help define an individual’s toxic burden and provide valuable information for a targeted nutritional and detoxification protocol.
PART I – Environmental Pollutants Profile (EPP)
A simple urine test helps identify recent exposure to environmental pollutants or toxins.
- Benzene
- Toluene
- Xylene
- Trimethylbenzene
- Styrene
- Parabens
- phthalates
While you may not be familiar with all of them, you should be as they are powerful hormone disruptors and can disrupt energy production causing increased insulin and fat production. Chronic exposure to these pollutants may cause them to accumulate in the body and perhaps contribute to disease.
Environmental pollutants testing is an absolute must if you want to achieve the best body composition and lose fat. This first morning urine test, using dry strip technology is easy to do and does not need overnight shipping. The test results identify specific detoxification protocols.
Why get an environmental pollutants profile?
The human body breaks down toxins and eliminates them in the sweat, faeces, and urine, measuring the metabolites of these pollutants in urine is an effective way to assess the level of exposure. We can also use this test to show improvements in eliminating toxins from the body and avoiding or minimising toxins coming in in the first place.
An important glandular issue that the environmental pollutants can affect is thyroid function. A normal reaction to being exposed to a toxin is to slow metabolism. The thyroid, being an important organ that regulates metabolism begins to slow down metabolism naturally in the presence of toxins. For this reason toxicity issues have to be dealt with before stimulating the thyroid. The body is trying to slow down metabolism to protect itself from the detoxification process.
In the cells of your liver toxins are broken down and packaged up to be excreted from the body or stored away to keep safe until resources are available to remove them. There are 4 phases to this overall process of detoxification.
During the first phase of detox, the chemicals produced are often far more toxic than the original substance. If your second phase is impaired due to lack of the right type and amounts of nutrition, as it is with many people, then you have a more toxic situation than had you left things alone.
This is why testing for environmental pollutants (EPP) is critical.
PART II – Urinary Metabolic Profile (UMP)
Depending on the your nutritional status, stress levels, sleep and medication usage, this test represents a snap shot of your biochemistry, what is going on inside your body and specifically the cells of your body. The Urinary Metabolic Profile (UMP) examines the levels of what’s called organic acids in your urine that come from your body metabolising or breaking down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates from your diet. There are also organic acids that come from the bacteria in the gut.
The 36 markers you see in this test provide a unique look into;
Cellular energy status, this is how well your cells are making and using energy, are you struggling to break down fats, do you need more protein are you consuming too much or too little carbohydrates. The result of a lack of balance in these process can result in a loss of energy and an increase in the amount of carbohydrates that go on to be stored as fat. Issues with low carb and high fat diets and metabolism of ketones for example the ketosis diet makes this test so relevant to identifying how your body is coping and the best foods and nutrients to supplement with to maximise the benefits of your dietary choices.
Nearly all metabolic reactions in the body require enzymes to drive the reaction. Absorption and digestion of food, cellular metabolism, energy production and elimination of wastes and toxins involve chemical pathways that utilise enzymes as catalysts. These catalysts require certain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to function optimally.
Neurotransmitter metabolism, the body takes nutrients from the diet and converts them to chemicals like amino acids to be used in communication in the brain and nervous system. The levels of these neurotransmitters can help to identify potential reasons behind low mood, depression, anxiety, fatigue, your motivation to stick to a healthy eating plan or to get the oomph to go to the gym
Nutrient deficiencies; too much or too little of the good stuff in your diet, vitamins and minerals can make a significant impact on your health and how well you function, and a commonly over looked block to losing weight
Intestinal bacterial metabolism, different levels of bacteria can be identified that impact how well you absorb food or whether those bacteria present could be contributing to your symptoms of bloating, gas, or indigestion.
Detoxification function, there are markers in this test that show how well you are detoxing and whether you need more nutritional support and need to add additional strategies such as saunas to help take the load off your body doing its job. We can see the need for more B vitamins, protein, amino acids, liver support and specific antioxidants to maximise how well your body detoxes toxins that lead to a range of symptoms (fatigue, sleep issues, mood changes, nausea, digestive symptoms, autoimmune conditions, skin complaints, multiple chemical sensitivity, inflammation, headaches, poor blood sugar control and weight gain) and that place another block on your ability to become the best version of yourself.
Who is the the environmental toxins test for?
Individuals who have been affected by an excess of environmental toxins and are experiencing symptoms and conditions, such as:
- Fatigue and weakness
- Chronic burning in the throat and nasal passages
- Coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath
- Loss of balance
- Depression and/or anxiety
- Dizziness
- Eye irritation
- Headache, light sensitivity
- Hearing loss
- Heightened sensitivity to chemicals and foods
- Irregular heartbeat
- Morning stiffness and/or joint pain
- Mood swings
- Muscle weakness
- Skin rashes
- Sleep problems
- Slower reaction time
- Vision changes
- Poor memory, difficulty finding words
- Difficulty concentrating
- Unusual skin sensations, tingling and numbness
- Increased urinary frequency or increased thirst
- Abdominal pain, diarrhea, and/or bloating
- Tearing, disorientation, metallic taste in mouth
- Static shocks
How it works
- Once booked, you will receive your lab test kit in the post, or if you prefer we can arrange a time to go through the test together at my clinic in Edinburgh.
- You will receive your results as soon as we get them back from the lab.
- Your Consultation will take place within a week of your results being returned.
Simple home testing
All our labs were specifically chosen for their ease of use. I can mail out these labs anywhere in the UK, Europe, Northern America and certain other parts of the world, except Australia (there is a separate supplier in Australia).
Results review consultation
To make sure you get the most out of your Environmental Toxins Test, this package includes a Skype or Phone call to review your results, examine your health history, symptoms and food journal, and help create a customised plan for you.
Sample report
Book Now
To book the Environmental Toxins Test, or to ask any further questions get in touch.