Worden Medical Specialties | Specialty Testing

Specialty Testing

Food Allergy Testing

The food we eat is the fuel that our body runs on. You would expect that your car would not run properly with the wrong type of fuel. The same concept is true for your body. Many people eat the same foods on a regular basis believing that they are healthy and good. If however your body is allergic to the food you eat, you may be causing more harm than benefit, no matter how healthy you believe your diet to be. It can be difficult to determine what food your body reacts to since it can take up to 3 days for a reaction to take place. You may not link your migraine headache or chronic allergies to something you ate 3 days ago. Also, eating foods that you are allergic to can cause chronic inflammation in the body. It is now know that inflammation is the underlying cause of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and IBD (irritable bowel disease) to name a few. Food allergy testing is done with a simple blood test. Your blood is testing against 120 common foods to determine the best individualized diet for your optimal health.

Many people believe that gastrointestinal parasites are not common in the US. The truth is that parasites are common in our environment (food, water, lakes, pools) and that when the gut is unhealthy, these parasites can take hold and flourish, causing a multitude of symptoms. Parasite testing is not routinely done in our healthcare system. Worden Medical Specialties utilizes specialty stool testing that is accurate and effective at identifying parasitic infections.

Muscle testing is founded on the concept of internal energy flow and is a noninvasive way to assess the body's imbalances and its needs. Muscle testing uses the muscular system as a window into the functioning of the nervous system. It involves testing the body's responses when applying slight pressure to a large muscle. This provides information on energy blockages, the functioning of the organs, nutritional deficiencies, and food sensitivities, among other things. This allows the practitioner to determine the best course of treatment for an individual patient.

Our doctors have well over four years of training in clinical nutrition and dietary supplementation. Many of our patients wonder what the optimal diet is for health, longevity, and the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Or, others are looking for a weight loss program that is both effective and satisfying. We also have many patients with questions about dietary supplements (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, botanicals, herbals, probiotics), wondering what supplements to take and what to look for in a quality supplement. At Worden Medical Specialties, we put together comprehensive nutritional and dietary programs and educate our patients about healthy lifestyle choices that are personalized based on individual need.

Hormones are chemical messages used by our bodies to communicate. When hormone levels are balanced, our bodies are communicating properly. When hormone levels become unbalanced, women may experience PMS, emotional swings, hot flashes, heavy menstrual bleeding, fatigue, anxiety, bone loss, breast tenderness, migraine headaches, vaginal dryness, loss of libido, weight gain, or even infertility. Men may experience loss of libido, emotional swings, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. At Worden Medical Specialties, we start by assessing current hormone levels by taking either a blood or saliva sample. If needed, there are many ways to balance hormone levels without the use of synthetic hormone supplementation. Natural choices include bioidentical hormone replacement, botanical medicines, and vitamin and mineral cofactor supplementation. An individualized program is designed based on the needs of each patient.

Most women are aware that bone loss is a concern as they continue to age. Many are also aware of the importance of having their bone density monitored by having a DEXA scan done, but few are aware that bone loss can easily be monitored by collecting a urine sample. This is an effective and non-invasive way to monitor the efficacy of bone health treatment programs on an ongoing basis, allowing better management of osteopenia and osteoporosis.

As our knowledge of various genetics grows, so does our ability to test for and detect genetic changes in our DNA. Specialty testing that looks at groups of genes that may contribute to the development of a particular disease is now available. Knowing what we may be predisposed to based on our genetic makeup allows for proactive lifestyle changes which may have the potential to prevent chronic disease development.