Episode 31 – The Top Functional Tests: What to Look For (Pt. 1) | Dr. Justin Marchegiani

Dr. Justin Marchegiani is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of Texas, with postgraduate studies in the area of clinical nutrition, rehabilitative exercise, and functional medicine. With a holistic approach, Dr. Justin Marchegiani offers testing options such as the urine heavy metals test to help his patients improve their health, and prevent future issues by taking a proactive approach. This is the first in a series of interviews with Dave Korsunsky, founder of Heads Up Health, where they’ll dive into the specific lab testing used in functional medicine: ex. the testing of heavy metals, organic acids and/or IgG antibodies. In this episode, Dr. Justin Marchegiani reviews Dave’s heavy metals test (watch the forthcoming YouTube video) and talks about the dangers of mercury in our environment and how it can have detrimental effects when it builds up in our bodies. Though each person will need a customized approach to safely remove the heavy metals from the body, which can take some time, it is well worth the investment in your healthy future. Listen in iTunes! This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up Health, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health! Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode! [maxbutton id=”5″ url=”https://headsuphealth.com/” ] In this podcast you’ll learn: Dr. Justin Marchegiani’s introduction of why and how he uses functional tests to evaluate symptoms, systems and underlying stressors [1:50] How Dr. Marchegiani helped inspire Dave to develop the Heads Up Health app [4:30] About some of the tests that are very useful but not offered as standard labs by most doctors [6:00] About the Doctors Data test for heavy metals, which is used to tell the tissue burden of heavy metals.This test uses DMPS to pull metals into the urine for testing, showing a better representation of what is stored in the body’s tissues, rather than a blood metals test that shows only for acute exposure to metals. The reason for running this for Dave was lowered WBC and lowered platelet counts, which could mean either an underlying viral infection or mercury being burdensome on the immune system [6:40] Hear what Dr. Marchegiani recommended for Dave to address the things that came up on his Doctors Data heavy metals test [8:15] How people get exposed to heavy metals, like bomb-making for example…or, more realistically dental amalgam fillings, thermometers, barometers, batteries, some Ayurvedic herbs (the cheap ones), fluoride, pesticides, fungicides, old coal burning methods that have gotten into fish, flu vaccines that are high in Thimerosal [8:56] That Dr. Marchegiani doesn’t recommend heavy metal testing until the gut has really been cleaned up and supported because a large part of detox happens in the hepatobiliary system (liver-gallbladder), and GI tract. You don’t want to re-toxify yourself [11:05] Why binders are important with heavy metal detox [11:45] Why Dr. Marchegiani recommends doing the heavy metal testing for monitoring annually, especially if you’re on municipal water supply, and why you shouldn’t trust the water supply [11:55] Top three things to help prevent heavy metal issues #1 – “The solution to pollution is dilution!” [12:45] #2 – Good access to an infrared sauna [13:06] #3 – Really good access to, and digestion of, sulfur amino acids — animal proteins are the richest source, whey protein, organic green vegetables Don’t expose yourself to the heavier sprayed pesticide-laden crops, and avoid mercury fillings and Thimerosal in the flu vaccine [13:25] That having low glutathione levels makes it harder to excrete mercury, which can be tested for in an RBC glutathione test or an organic acids test, and can also inactivate lymphocytes or be immunosuppressive (Dave’s low WBC could be from this) [14:05] How proactive Dr. Marchegiani is in running tests that might be helpful in uncovering potential issues [15:15] That we want to look at the levels of mercury in the test, but also we have to look for the exposure or source of where it came from. We don’t always find an answer, but it could be from inorganic foods, for example [16:15] Tips to reduce accumulation of mercury: [16:20] Sweat a lot Drink plenty of filtered, healthy, mineral-rich water Eat organic foods Consider lead-based paints as a factor in homes built before 1976 [16:55] What symptoms people might see or diseases that might occur over years of exposure or burden in the body that haven’t actively been trying to reduce it [17:10] An increased stimulator in autoimmune conditions Neurological issues Lack of physical endurance (mitochondrial suppressor) Activation of the sympathetic nervous system – overtaxing the adrenals Thyroid issues and other system dysfunction The lethal dose of one for mercury, or the lethal dose of one for lead is the amount of that metal that is required to kill the first rat out of 100 fed the metal. If you combine the lethal dose for one of mercury with the lethal dose of one for lead, ZERO rats will survive. Metals have synergistic effects making them even more toxic when combined [18:30] How to get this heavy metal test, which is around $150 with the DMPS, which Dr. Marchegiani recommends annually. If you know you’re exposed to these metals, then test more frequently or if you have a high level on your first test you’d want to test more frequently to monitor the progress of the protocol. You can order a test at www.justinhealth.com [19:45] You can schedule a consult via Dr. Justin Marchegiani on his website from anywhere in the world. Or ask your own doctor about the functional tests [20:40] IgG antibodies, and organic acids functional tests coming soon on the Heads Up Health podcast with Dr. Justin Marchegiani and Dave [21:00] References Topo Chico water Heavy Metal test with DMPS Dr. Justin Marchegiani Our Partners: Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL. You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura. Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo. All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up Health. They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways. Thank you to our partners! About Heads Up Health Heads Up Health is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health. Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now! 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