Identifying Nutritional Problems

Often patients assume that if they eat a basically healthy diet, they must look elsewhere to determine what is causing their chronic pain. Sometimes, however, nutrition can be the whole problem. Furthermore, what is healthy for one person may cause problems for another. For example, a person can have a basically healthy diet but still suffer from a magnesium deficiency that causes muscle pain, migraines, fatigue or a sleep disorder.

Similarly, undiagnosed Celiac disease, otherwise known as gluten intolerance, can lead to arthritis, anemia, digestive problems, and depression. Some patients have other illnesses or genetic weaknesses that prevent them from properly absorbing certain nutrients. Food allergies also can create or contribute to pain problems, including generalized inflammation in the body, headaches, arthritis flare-ups, and muscular pain.

At the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine, we understand the role that nutrition can play in causing and alleviating certain medical conditions. After taking a thorough patient history and determining whether your pain has been responsive to prior therapies, our physicians will investigate possible underlying nutritional problems. For example, our physicians are familiar with specialized testing that measures food sensitivities, allergies, as well as magnesium levels, and intestinal permeability.

Nutritional Screening

• Diet Assessment tells your doctor a lot about your lifestyle and foods to which you are regularly exposed.
• Food Sensitivity/Allergy Testing* can reveal that certain foods or other environmental elements have created medical problems.
• Magnesium-Level Testing will help tell your doctor whether your nervous, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems are functioning properly.
• Vitamin D-Level Testing will reveal important information about the health of your digestive, skeletal, and immune systems and other bodily functions.
• Intestinal Permeability is important to measure because it affects your immune system and excessive permeability can cause a multitude of irritating or harmful symptoms.
• Comprehensive Stool Analysis will reveal any abnormalities in the body’s gastrointestinal functioning.
• Detoxification Profile will show if you have toxins in your body that could be damaging your biochemical or neurological systems.
• Heavy Metal Testing reveals if you have any metallic toxins in your body that could be damaging your central nervous system and vital organs.
• Antibody Testing indicates whether you have or have had any of a range of infections and whether you need immunizations against specific diseases.
• Specialized Cholesterol Profile includes measurements of cholesterol, HDL (“good cholesterol”), LDL (“bad cholesterol”), and triglycerides (neutral fats).
• Advanced Risk Analysis includes an assessment of other risks that might be affecting your cardiovascular health, such as measurements of lipid fractions.
• Electrocardiogram identifies the electrical activity patterns in your heart, which, by identifying rhythm disturbances, can help diagnose problems with the heart.

*When Food Sensitivity/Allergy Testing is necessary, we provide trusted outside referrals.