What is an Organic Acid Test?

Organic Acid Test helps detect imbalances, toxicity, and inflammation in one’s health and indicate the need for specific nutrients, food modification, antioxidants, and detoxification. Human health is a constant stream of chemical reactions on a cellular level.

The Organic Acid test offers a peek into many aspects of our cellular health, providing helpful clues as you look for root cause issues in one’s health. It will help identify the root causes of dysfunction and provide a science-based approach to help you overcome chronic conditions, gain insight into your functioning, and live healthier lives to reach total wellness of mind and body.

What the Organic Acid Test Offers

The Organic Acid Test is great for proactive and preventative planning for reaching total wellness of mind and body. Many diseases are associated with abnormal organic acid levels, such as depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, neuro-cognitive decline, cancer, diabetes, weight management, and many others.

The test provides a snapshot of approximately 77 aspects of your metabolic and cellular health and detects alterations in the gut microbiome, vitamin deficiencies, levels of neurotransmitters, and exposures to mold or fungus.

These chemical reactions are the foundation of our physiological system, and our health is dependent on their optimal functioning. The test checks the organic acids, compounds formed during metabolic processing from the digestion of dietary protein, fat, and carbohydrates. The body uses the resulting organic acids to generate cellular energy necessary for cell function. The test offers a functional assessment of your nutrient status and information on how these chemical reactions in our bodies are functioning.

The Organic Acid test metabolic sections are:

Malabsorption & Dysbiosis Markers

These markers check for the byproducts of bacterial and fungal activity in the GI tract.  The candida analysis detects the chemical production in the digestive system that is reflective of these organisms’ metabolic activity and tissue invasion along the mucosal lining of the gut.

They come from the fermentation processing of dietary flavonoids and phenols. In the absence of dysbiosis, these high levels of these metabolites can reflect a healthy intake of antioxidant-rich foods.

One of the markers, arabinose is linked to this process of mucosal invasion. Some candida toxins can create problems with brain function, including memory, attention, and focus. 

The bacterial markers looking for Clostridia bacteria, such as Clostridia difficile (C. diff.), leads to digestive issues. Certain strains of C. diff. cause inflammation, diarrhea, and bleeding within the digestive system.

Other clostridia toxins work outside the digestive system, such as different strains of clostridia, HPHPA, and 4-cresol. Both strains can inhibit a dopamine converting enzyme, leading to excess dopamine in the brain and nervous system, which is not good.

If the bacterial marker is elevated, check if the neurotransmitter dopamine is as well since that combination can cause mood instability and cognitive issues. The presence of these clostridia toxins may trigger aggression.

Cellular Energy & Mitochondrial Markers

These markers reflect the body’s ability to process dietary macronutrients to feed the Krebs cycle and energy production.

Mitochondria are the powerhouse of energy factories of our cells, acting as energy currency for our bodies.

When the mitochondria are stressed because of toxins from candida, bacteria, oxalate, heavy metals, and environmental chemicals, then dysfunction may occur. Imbalances throughout the Krebs cycle, fatty acid oxidation, glycolysis, or protein metabolism, may reflect enzyme dysfunction, nutrient insufficiencies, toxins, and underlying diseases.

These markers provide insight into health conditions and potential therapeutics to correct mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction is common in chronic health disorders. Mitochondria are the powerhouse of energy factories of our cells, acting as energy currency for our bodies. 

Oxalate Markers

The oxalate markers provide insight into abnormal metabolism in the glyoxylate pathway, resulting in higher oxalic acid levels.

Oxalates can be produced by candida overgrowth, aspergillus mold, and metabolic imbalances linked to a deficiency in certain metabolizing enzymes. Elevated oxalate is often associated with joint and muscle pain and bladder and bowel discomfort.

The oxalates may have specific clinical relevance to anyone suffering from recurrent kidney stones, as high levels of oxalic acid are a vital risk factor in kidney stone development.

Also, evidence supports the notion that increased levels of oxidative stress and metabolic dysfunction may ultimately contribute to dysfunctional oxalate metabolism, leading to higher oxalic acid excretion.

Neurotransmitter Metabolites

These organic acid compounds are downstream metabolites of neurotransmitter synthesis and degradation. Elevations can represent altered neurotransmitter metabolism due to enzymatic nutrient cofactor needs, genetic predispositions, toxins, chronic illness, and stress.

The relationship between dopamine and norepinephrine is vital for attention, calmness, focusing, mood, and other nervous system functions. Another important neurotransmitter metabolite marker is serotonin, responsible for our mood, fine and gross motor skills, being even-keeled, and sleep.

Elevated markers in the neurotransmitter section can indicate toxic stress in the brain and nervous system.

A toxic compound is checked with the quinolinic acid marker and if elevated are toxic in the brain, triggering increased receptor activity and allowing an increased influx of calcium into a brain cell leading to a host of cell problems, causing or contributing to brain cell death and destruction. 

Vitamin Markers

These markers are used to assess the levels of specific B-vitamins known for enzymatic metabolism, gaining insight into functional vitamin needs.

Certain vitamin markers such as vitamin B6, B5, C, CoQ10, and N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) are evaluated.

N-Acetylcysteine is necessary as a precursor for the super important antioxidant glutathione.

If you have not tested your glutathione levels, you may miss out on a very important clue to achieving total wellness. Glutathione protects our cells against toxicity. Therefore the lack of glutathione leads to oxidative stress within the brain and nervous system and may cause poor attention, focus, and cognitive challenges. Furthermore, glutathione deficiency can compromise one’s immune system health and liver health since it is a necessary factor involved in supporting the liver to detoxify chemicals.

Methylation Markers

These markers check for folate, which is linked to the methylation cycle, supporting the functioning of cells related to DNA function and metabolism. Inadequate folate metabolism can lead to cognitive problems.

Toxin & Detoxification Markers

These markers reflect exposure to environmental toxins or up-regulation of detoxification pathways in response to exposures. Elevations lead to recommendations to identify the vulnerabilities and minimize or remove them. Treatment may include the use of antioxidants and nutritional support for detoxification pathways.

With the Organic Acid Test Results, a functional medicine practitioner can develop a treatment plan from the following sections of the test results.

• Nutrient recommendations for crucial vitamins, minerals, and digestive support  since the enzymes responsible for metabolizing organic acids are vitamin and mineral dependent
• Recommendations for methylation support, toxic exposures, and mitochondrial dysfunction
• Clues into a possible metabolic inhibition or block due to a nutrient deficiency, an inherited enzyme deficit, toxic build-up, or a drug effect.
•  Any imbalances in your organic acids can reflect a functional need for specific nutrients on a cellular and biochemical level, even despite normal blood levels.

The test can offer more precise understanding into the root causes of one’s physical symptoms. Reference ranges are age and gender-specific. 

Since the lab test is a urine test, it is straightforward for you to do it at home. It’s beneficial in pediatrics and adults since blood draws can be challenging and invasive to many. Why is urine the best testing organic acids? Since the kidney does not reabsorb organic acids, they are concentrated and detected in the first-morning urine void.

Where else can you obtain many clues on multiple aspects of one’s physiology?

Organic Acid Test is recommended for individuals with the following disorders:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Chronic Stress

• Insomnia

• Fatigue

• ADHD/ADD

• Mood Disorders

• Autism

• Inflammatory Disorders

• GI Dysfunction

• Autoimmune

• Yeast Overgrowth

• Inflammation

• Mold Colonization

• Mitochondrial Dysfunction

• Weight Management

• Neurotransmitter Imbalance

• Detoxification Disorders

• Kidney Stones/Oxalate Related Conditions

• Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Why is the Organic Acid Test beneficial?

If the fungal or yeast markers are elevated, it looks like you’ve been exposed to candida or certain molds.

If the bacterial markers are elevated, it shows dysbiosis in your GI tract.

The test takes a closer look at Clostridia Bacterial Markers to evaluate for these toxins linked to neurological and mental health issues.

Checking for Oxalate Metabolites is important since elevations are common in people with chronic pain and fibromyalgia.

The Mitochondria Markers help determine your mitochondria (energy production part of the cell) functionality.

The test checks for Ketones and Fatty Acids markers since they can contribute to high cholesterol, weight management issues, and mitochondria dysfunction.

Last but not least, we look at several Nutritional Markers to check if you have a deficiency in a specific nutrient.

An essential maker that is rarely checked is Glutathione. This marker helps you gain insight into your detoxification functioning.

Neurotransmitter health is evaluated and crucial for helping with depression, anxiety, and chronic stress.

Bottom Line

Sometimes taking care of your health feels like a guessing game, but the functional medicine lab testing helps connect the dots for you to take the next step towards a happier, healthier you.

The Organic Acid Test provides useful information about how an individual’s metabolic pathways are functioning.

Imbalances may provide guidance around the underlying contributors to both symptoms and disease states – with improvement of associated symptoms and overall health when clinically addressed.

 

I’ve been utilizing this test for over 21 years as it offers you so much information about how your body is functioning and where the imbalances are to reset so you can reach total wellness of mind and body.

Find a functional medicine practitioner that understands how to interpret your test results and create a customized nutraceutical regime for vitamin and mineral cofactors and digestive support based on your biochemical metabolism.  

Make your health a priority by gaining insight into your body’s functioning so you can work on any imbalances.

Your total wellness of mind and body is worth it because you are worth it.

 

Questions?

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