Vitamin Analysis

Do you get the most out of your vitamin supplement? Are you deficient on any of your vitamins or minerals? In a typical American diet we have relatively few diseases from massive deficiencies of vitamins or minerals but even with an adequate diet you can still have subtle deficiencies that can increase your risk for certain conditions including cardiovascular disease, arthritis, osteoporosis and even cancer.

Many of the tests that we do in the office are directed at how much of a vitamin or mineral may be floating around in the blood or what is called a "serum level". Serum levels are a good screening tool for many disease states but may not show how well the actual cells are doing at using the vitamins and minerals. Also many vitamins and minerals are not routinely tested or are too expensive to test just with the blood and serum.

Functional Intracellular Analysis (FIA) is available that looks at how well your cells are able to use the vitamins and minerals and if there are any deficits in the diet that should be supplemented. FIA starts with a blood sample just like many of the other tests that you are familiar with. Instead of testing the serum or clear liquid part of your blood that is left over after the blood cells are spun down they use the white blood cells which can then be grown on special media that will test if they can grow when a specific vitamin or mineral is missing. This tells the clinician if your cells are able to use the nutrients or if there are any deficiencies.

Based on the results of your test you will receive a personalized recommendation of nutritional supplements to meet your body's specific needs and optimize your health. Your insurance may cover a portion of the test.

Click HERE to request an appointment with a physician to have FIA performed of if you have any questions.