We are proud and excited to announce that the best has been made even better with the scientific evolution of our flagship test, the PrivaTest.
For over 12 years, Ideal Health has led the way in customized nutritional supplementation, based on sophisticated laboratory testing at Metametrix, the world-renowned functional-medicine testing facility.
As we have always promised, as science evolves, so do our test and product lines. As of June 15, 2009, we are very excited to be able to offer to our current and future Ideal Health family, the very latest in functional nutritional testing. For an audio discussion of this, click on your computer type below, or click “more” for more in writing:
The basic concepts underlying the three functional tests originally selected by our scientific team and the researchers at Metametrix are just as valid today as they were when we began in 1997. Our testing choices have been validated repeatedly by modern medical researchers over the last decade. The importance of your body’s ability to “quench” the fires of free-radical damage, to detoxify harmful substances, and to keep a delicate balance in your immune and cardiovascular systems cannot be overstated.
With recent advancements in laboratory technology, the PrivaTest can now tell you even more about your body’s function in two of these critical areas.
NITRIC OXIDE
Nitric oxide (NO) is a signal molecule in the body, transmitting information between cells. While functioning all over the body, NO is especially important in the nervous system, the immune system, the cardiovascular system, and as a gate keeper of blood flow to the organs. The proper regulation of NO is critical for your best health, making the measurement of urinary nitrate an outstanding marker in our original PrivaTest panel. Urinary nitrate remains an excellent NO marker. Recently, though, our scientific team has become excited about an even more specific marker for NO production, the measurement of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). ADMA modulates the body’s production of nitric oxide in a precise way and can actually blocking NO production at very high ADMA levels. Gene researchers have identified 979 genes that change expression when exposed to high levels of ADMA. In fact, high ADMA has been associated with everything from poor control of blood pressure, to pregnancy and fertility issues, to accelerated aging, to erectile dysfunction — just to name a few health challenges related to altered NO production. This newest NO marker in our PrivaTest will provide an even more sensitive look into your body’s nitric oxide production and give us the information we need to enhance your Custom Essentials blend as indicated.
OXIDATIVE STRESS (Free-radical damage)
Of equal and related importance to ADMA is the determination of the amount of damage that may be occurring in your body from oxidative stress. Just as oxygen “rusts” iron, uncontrolled oxygen can similarly damage the tissues of your body. This is called oxidative stress. Our original PrivaTest oxidative-stress marker, lipid peroxides, is a first-class general marker for estimating the level of free-radicals that have escaped the “trap” of your protective antioxidant system. Our newest oxidative-stress marker — with the tongue-twisting name of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine, or DOG for short — takes the PrivaTest to the next level. DOG is only produced when your body is called upon to repair oxidative damage to your cellular DNA – the structure that contains all the genetic instructions that make you, YOU! When DNA is damaged, the body mobilizes specialized “excision enzymes.” Like microscopic tailors, these targeted enzymes “snip out” the oxidized DNA sections and repair the DNA strand. The oxidized sections that are released and eliminated in your urine are DOG. Measuring DOG, in effect, takes a deep look into your genetic machinery, actually assessing the degree of free-radical oxidative “hits” that your DNA is experiencing and repairing. With this incredible new measurement, you will learn if your body needs additional antioxidant vitamin and mineral protection to help support DNA repair and make sure your genetic information remains intact, minimizing the chances for cellular malfunction from damaged DNA. Your Custom Essentials blend will be chosen to support your antioxidant system at the level indicated by your DOG measurement.
And with these new analytes, there are no dietary or other interferences, so there is no need to stop other supplementation or to avoid specific foods before testing. You can test the very next morning after you get your test kit, accelerating the process of receiving your Custom Essentials as quickly as possible!
We are so excited at this significant enhancement to our PrivaTest. We continue to be very proud and honored to be your partners in health, bringing you the very best customized nutrition that science has to offer!
