Ever been told your lab results are “normal” but you still feel anything but? You’re not alone. It’s frustrating when you know something’s off, yet the standard tests don’t seem to pick up what’s really going on. The truth is, “normal” doesn’t always mean optimal—it just means you fall within a pretty broad reference range. And that’s where functional testing comes in.
At Eat Drink Live Well, we take a deeper dive. We don’t just look at whether you’re sick or not—we look at how well your body is actually functioning. Because true health isn’t just the absence of disease, it’s about feeling your absolute best. And that starts with understanding what’s really going on beneath the surface.
Why Standard Lab Tests Might Not Be Enough
Most routine blood tests are designed to flag up diseases—but they don’t always pick up on the imbalances that could be at the root of your symptoms. So many of our clients come to us having been told that everything looks “fine,” yet they’re still struggling with:
- Constant fatigue and low energy
- Brain fog and trouble concentrating
- Aches, pains, and inflammation
- Digestive issues
- Food sensitivities
- Histamine intolerance and MCAS
- Reactivity to chemicals and environmental toxins
- Mitochondrial dysfunction affecting energy levels
Sound familiar? That’s because these kinds of symptoms may be signs of deeper imbalances – sluggish detox pathways, nutrient deficiencies, gut health issues, or hormonal imbalances—that standard testing just doesn’t pick up.
The Difference Functional Testing Can Make
We always ask everyone we work with to have checked in with a medical doctor and to have had bloodwork and any other routine medical tests completed. Then we’re able to layer on functional laboratory tests to understand more about what might be going on.
Functional testing can be a game-changer. Instead of taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach, it helps us understand how your body is working, what’s out of balance, and what might be driving your symptoms.
.Here are some of the key test areas we look at:
- Nutritional Markers – your vitamin and mineral status, amino acids and essential fatty acid levels are some of the basic tests we run – if your body isn’t well nourished to start with, that’s one of the first things we address.
- Gut Function and Microbiome Balance – The gut is at the heart of everything. We assess digestion, microbial diversity, inflammation, immune resilience and gut lining integrity (aka “leaky gut”) to get a better picture of how your gut might be affecting the rest of your body.
- Food Sensitivity Testing – Often it is near impossible to understand what foods the immune system is objecting to, especially if these reactions happen a few days after eating the offending foods. Many of those we work with are already spinning in circles trying to understand what foods are triggering symptoms, so the food sensitivity tests that we use in our clinic can add some objective clarity.
- Toxins & Environmental Load – We live in a world filled with chemicals, mould, and heavy metals – all of which, in our experience, can be significant contributors to root causes of low energy, brain brain fog, hormonal imbalances and excessive mast cell and histamine activity. It can be overwhelming and impossible to try to reduce our toxic exposure completely, but identifying and addressing whether moulds, metals and chemicals may be a factor in your health issues is key.
- Hormone Balance – Hormones influence everything from mood to metabolism to histamine intolerance. Understanding whether hormones are playing a role in your symptoms – and if so, what to do about it, can be a game-changer.
- Infections – Hidden chronic, underlying infections can play a significant role in complex, unexplained health symptoms, including fatigue. We use a number of assessment methods, including gut, oral, nasal and vaginal microbiome swabs right through to viral and bacterial antibody markers and Lyme and Co-infections testing.
- Adrenal and Thyroid Health – We look beyond standard tests to understand thyroid and adrenal pathways for a clearer picture of what’s really happening. We can then more accurately assess how much support we need to provide the HPA and HPT (Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal/Thyroid) axis to help nudge it back into balance.
- Metabolic and Mitochondrial Health – Looking at how your cells produce energy, oxidative stress levels and cell membrane health – so that we encourage healthy cellular renewal. This is a vital component of our programmes, for everyone we work with.
- Cognitive and Brain Health – many of our clients have some element of brain fog or cognitive issues that impacts their daily lives. Many of our functional testing options offer clues as to what may be going on, but we also have a set of specific functional tests that we use when we work specifically on brain health, including full Bredesen ReCode 2.0 Recode and Precode panels
- Genetic Insights – We don’t believe genes are your destiny—but understanding your genetic predispositions can add valuable insights. We use nutrigenomic testing to personalise nutrient requirements, energy production (including how well you use fats and sugars for energy production) nervous system balance, hormones, detoxification, histamine, and inflammatory pathways. This allows us to truly personalise your programme for better results
It’s Not Just About the Test—It’s About the Interpretation
Even if you manage to get some of these tests done elsewhere, the real magic is in understanding how they all fit together. This is where so many people get stuck. They get results back but don’t know what to do with them. That’s where we come in.
At Eat Drink Live Well, we don’t just look at the numbers—we connect the dots. We take your test results, your symptoms, and your history and use them to create a targeted, personalised plan that makes sense for you. Because no two people are the same, and neither should their health plans be.
For example, if you struggle with histamine intolerance, we might find that your gut isn’t breaking histamine down properly, or that your detox pathways need extra support. Or if you have ongoing fatigue, we might see that your mitochondria aren’t producing energy efficiently (or that certain toxins are making a beeline for your mitochondria) and tailor your approach accordingly.
How does Functional Lab Testing work?
We use a range of functional lab tests (stool, urine, saliva, or blood samples), shipped directly to your home. We offer a comprehensive range of tests including nutrigenomic, digestive function, gut, oral & nasal microbiome, Organic Acids, mycotoxins, CIRS panels, viral panels, Lyme and Co-infections, food sensitivity tests, blood tests including autoimmune, inflammatory and methylation markers, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, hormones, nutrient status and more. We work with a range of respected laboratories including Invivo Diagnostics, Mosaic Diagnostics, RealTime Labs, Genova Diagnostics, Vibrant, Doctors Data, DUTCH, ZRT, KBMO and others. We partner with LifecodeGx for nutrigenomic testing panels.
Want to Stop Guessing and Start Getting Answers?
If you’ve been going round in circles, trying every supplement and diet under the sun without real progress, maybe it’s time for a different approach. Functional testing can provide the missing pieces to your health puzzle—so you can finally start making real changes that actually work.
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