Discover your Inner Health through Organic Acids Testing (OAT)

What is Organic Acids Testing?

Human body functions are the outwardly expressions of chemical reactions occurring inside the body that are collectively called metabolic reactions. Any derangement in these chemical reactions, due to environmental or genetic causes, leads to disease. Understanding metabolic pathways is, therefore, crucial for getting to the root cause of diseases and managing them effectively. Organic acids are commonly excreted intermediaries in various metabolic reactions, and are excreted in urine within a certain range when metabolic processes are running optimally. However, during disease and disturbance in these metabolic processes, the amount of excreted organic acids particular to the corresponding pathway also deviates from the normal range. This may be due to interaction with the other metabolites or disease-causing microorganisms. In other words, abnormal amounts of organic acids are excreted in conditions such as allergies, infections, neurological disorders and nutritional deficiencies etc. Organic Acid Testing (OAT) analyzes these acids in urine to diagnose the cause of various diseases and health-related conditions.

Where can OAT be used?

1.Gut microflora: Organic acid testing can determine the presence of abnormal microflora in the gut. This includes both bacteria and yeast. Toxins released by bacteria such as Clostridium and yeast such as Candida give rise to various gastrointestinal symptoms and diseases. including celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis etc. OAT can help in detection of these microorganisms in the gut.
2. Nutrients and metabolites: Important nutrients in the body such as vitamin B2, B5, B6, B12, Biotin as well as metabolites such as Coenzyme-A can be determined using OAT. Insights on fatty acid metabolism can also be obtained with organic acids testing.Additionally these tests may also indicate some inborn errors of metabolism and mitochondrial function.
3 .Brain function: Organic acid testing is helpful in understanding normal brain functions and brain disorders by measuring the levels of neurotransmitter metabolites.
4. Detoxification and oxidative stress: OAT is one of the most important tests to reveal the detoxification abilities. One of the most important tests in this segment is the glutathione test.

Some use-cases for OAT

Organic acid testing provides a snapshot of an individual’s metabolism as well as the health-status of a person. It assesses 76 parameters in order to determine the overall health status of a person. OAT is useful in assessment and diagnosis of various diseases and health conditions. Since OAT is a urine test, there is an additional advantage of being a non-invasive method. Some common disorders where OAT finds its use are enumerated below. This is not an exhaustive list of disorders where OAT is useful, but a list of some important disorders where OAT has proved to be useful.
1. Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Disorders affecting communication as well as an individual's ability to socialize have a significant impact on a person’s social, mental and behavioral health. Additionally autism is one of the important intellectual disorders that affects the quality of life of the patients. Studies have found yeast and clostridium overgrowth as one of the important contributors to worsening of symptoms associated with PDD and autism. OAT can estimate microbial overgrowth in such conditions which can be important in managing these conditions effectively.
2. Gut functions and inflammation: Inflammatory disorders involving gastrointestinal tract can be assessed using yeast and bacteria markers, as microbial infections or overgrowth may result in various chronic gut related conditions. Neurotransmitter and nutritional markers are also significantly correlated with chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
3. Genetic and mitochondrial disorders: Genetic disorders and problems associated with mitochondrial functions are responsible for various symptoms and syndromes. OAT markers for mitochondrial and genetic diseases are important diagnostic markers and may be used during assessment of these disorders.
4. Neurological and Mental Health disorders: OAT can provide important insights towards neurological and mental health disorders. Certain organic acids act as strong markers indicating the cause of mental health symptoms in disorders related to depression, OCS and schizophrenia. Additionally, symptoms of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s diseases, Huntington’s disease and dementia may be implicated by derangement in organic acid.
5. Fungal infections and mold exposure: OAT can help in detecting mold exposure. Molds are fungal growths. Particles and metabolites from these fungi can settle over dust particles, food and dwellings. These may cause symptoms such as fatigue, rashes, joint pains etc. fungal, yeast, glutathione and mitochondrial markers can assist in identifying mold exposure and as well as instating effective treatment. Fungal infections such as Candida infection etc may also be evaluated using OAT.
6. Gut health: OAT is helpful in evaluation of intestinal yeast and distinguishing between harmful and beneficial bacteria in the gut. Therefore, it may be helpful in understanding the factors corresponding to various gut related problems.
7. Identifying toxins: Various toxins may be associated with different diseases. These toxins may be responsible for certain specific symptoms associated with some diseases too. These toxins may be associated with diseases such as fibromyalgia, migraine, chronic fatigue syndrome, brain fog, mood disorders etc. OAT helps in identifying these toxins for timely and better treatment.

Beyond these use-cases, clinical usefulness of OAT also extends to various other important health domains these include:

1.Understanding vitamin and hormone metabolism
2.Determine capacity to generate energy
3.Evaluate intestinal wall integrity
4.Assess performance of central nervous system
5.Evaluate muscle function
6.Reveal excessive level of gastrointestinal yeast
7.Reveal excessive level of gastrointestinal bacteria
8.Detect nutritional or antioxidant deficiencies
9.Determine problems in fatty acid metabolism and oxalate metabolism
10.Decipher levels of essential nutrients and vitamins

Note: This is not an exhaustive list of disorders where OAT may be useful. As already explained above, OAT may be useful in diagnosis and monitoring of various other disorders.

Precautions and Pretest Requirements

The test requires a 10 ml urine sample. First morning urine before breakfast is required. Avoiding raisins, fruits like apples, grapes and pears, or fruit juices for 24 hours before collecting samples is recommended for this test.

Conclusion

Organic Acid Testing provides an opportunity to understand your metabolism and make lifestyle changes toward good health. It is an effective diagnostic procedure for disease and health monitoring and diagnosis. Being a noninvasive test, it is easy and involves no discomfort. The insights provided by OAT testing may prove to be crucial for restoration and enhancement of health.

Contact us at -999 999 2020- for any further questions(To book a test click here) (https://www.drdangslab.com/HomeCollectionServices.aspx)

Publisher’s name- Dr. Dangs Lab

References:

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    Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion.

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