• Serum Ferritin
  Low iron stores are common in women in child bearing age, vegans, vegetarians, those with poor diets, and the elderly suffering from fatigue. A haemoglobin test checks only for iron circulating in your blood, whereas a ferritin test indicates just how good your iron stores are.

  Some care needs to be taken interpreting ferritin results because ferritin levels can be elevated in someone with an inflammatory disease (ferritin is an acute-phase reactant).

• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), T4 and Anti-Thyroid Antibodies
  These are the first tests that should be done to indicate whether your thyroid hormone function is normal or not. Someone who has low or borderline thyroid hormones is likely to suffer from common symptoms such as fatigue, stubborn weight gain, cold hands and feet.

  T4 is the most abundant thyroid hormone. A high thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and / or a low T4 indicates that someone has a problem manufacturing thyroid hormones.

  The presence of anti-thyroid antibodies indicates an autoimmune problem i.e. that a person's immune system has begun to attack their own thyroid gland.

• T3 and Reverse T3 (RT3)
  T3 is the most potent thyroid hormone and is made from T4. Some people have a problem converting T4 to T3.

  Hormones have to bind onto a receptor site for them to work, but these receptor sites can be blocked. Reverse T3 measures a chemical in the blood that can block the T3 receptor sites. This means the hormone T3 is less effective.

• Food Intolerance Tests (IgG blood test)
  If you are experiencing symptoms when you eat a particular food your immune system will usually start manufacturing antibodies to attack that food, as it would a virus or bacteria. These antibodies (IgG) can be measured by a blood test. This is a simple way to find out which foods may be affecting you without having to go through a food elimination diet, which may take months.

• Food Allergy Tests (IgE blood test)
  A food allergy is a rapid, often violent, reaction to a food such as tingling or swelling of the tongue, throat or airways, hay fever, or skin rash (hives) that can ultimately result in allergic (anaphylactic) shock.

• Homocysteine
  Homocysteine is a natural chemical in the blood. It is a better indicator than cholesterol levels for assessing the risk of heart disease. Research has shown that each 3 (μmol/L) point decrease in homocysteine levels reduces the risk of heart attack by 16%, strokes by 24% and deep vein thrombosis by 25%.
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     These are just some of the tests available through Intelligent Nutrition.

     Contact Intelligent Nutrition for more information.