Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
On this page:
Why Test?
Nutritional Testing
VO2 Testing
RMR Testing
Why Test?
Why you need to test
Scientists know that a number of complex interrelated factors affect the specific nutrients each person needs. There are common factors like age, gender and weight - variable factors like genetics, diet, exercise, environment, stress levels and emotional reactions - and metabolic factors that change throughout your life and can often disable the built-in body systems that maintain your health.
To ensure that your key metabolic processes are getting the support they need, you need a direct and accurate biochemical evaluation of them. To really know what's going on in your body, you need to know if your cells are actually getting the nutrients they need and how they are using them. One of the best ways to do that is to look at the end products of your metabolism in your urine. Here's why:
Metabolic testing and customized supplementing are no longer luxuries for the rich. They are a necessity for anyone who wants to stay healthy.
Thirty years ago, the medical establishment scorned vitamin supplementing as unnecessary, even though science supported it. Those who promoted regular vitamin supplementation were often dismissed as "health nuts."
Today, experts have reversed their stand and are in agreement about the need for taking vitamins. In fact, a recent report by two Harvard University researchers in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) - the voice of the American medical establishment - stated in no uncertain terms that:
Americans need to supplement to remain healthy.
However, those who have always been at the leading edge of health and nutritional knowledge have discovered that simply taking vitamins is not enough. They now promote metabolic testing and customized nutrition. Here is what many leading nutritionists and medical professionals are now saying:
Supplementing needs to catch up with science-and reality.
A variety of factors impact our health from man-made toxins, to "free-radicals," to the amount of nitric oxide in our bodies.
Is your liver receiving the nutritional support it needs?
Poisons and carcinogens are in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Fortunately, your body is equipped with an amazing organ that can remove these poisons: the liver.
However, if your liver is not getting the right nutritional support, it cannot detoxify your body and neutralize the toxins that bombard it from every direction.
Are you taking the right antioxidants in the right quantities necessary to protect your cells?
Science has made great strides in understanding the damage that "free-radicals" can do to your otherwise healthy cells, and in identifying the "antioxidants" that can protect them from free-radical damage.
But at the same time, too many antioxidants can dampen the very systems they were designed to protect.
Are your nitric oxide levels where they should be for immune, nervous and circulatory system regulation?
The 1998 Nobel Prize in medicine was given for research in nitric oxide regulation and its impact on vital metabolic functions in the immune system, the nervous system and the circulatory system. Only when you keep these systems in balance can you maintain good health.
Scientific testing is a vital tool to find out the answers to these questions.
Laboratory analysis of an overnight urine sample can examine key biochemical pathways and determine if you have the nutritional support you need to protect your tissues against cellular damage from uncontrolled free radicals, eliminate harmful toxins in your body, and keep your immune, vascular and nervous systems in balance.
In fact, without testing, vitamin supplements that cost $80 a bottle may be as ineffective as the drug store brands that cost $9 a bottle. Neither may address the specific needs of your body in a way that supports your optimal health.
For additional information please see Why You Need To Test - Science Report.
Step 1: Take Your Customized Vitamin Test
Take your Customized Vitamin Test - the simple, in-home lab test that determines your custom blend of Vitamins. Includes a pre-paid FedEx laboratory shipping envelope.
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Step 2: Custom Vitamins
Your personal blend of Custom Vitamins will AutoShip to you monthly. Can you think of a better gift to give your body than custom health and peace of mind?
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Step 3: Retest In Six Months
Take the ReTest six months after you start your Custom Vitamins regimen so that we can adjust your formula to account for changes in your metabolism.
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Order the Custom Vitamin test here.
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Nutritional Testing
What are the benefits of customized nutritional supplements?
Your body is unique. The bio-nutrients your body needs for optimal functional health may be different from those that someone else needs. Customized supplements, produced in response to personalized testing, gives you the support you need to protect your tissues against cellular damage, eliminate harmful toxins and keep your immune, vascular and nervous systems in balance. Please also read more about Customized Supplementation Based Upon Your Special Needs
Who does the testing? Tell me about the lab.
Metametrix Clinical Laboratory has been a leader in the assessment of nutrition and metabolism since 1984 and is fully licensed to accept specimens from every state in the USA as well as internationally. Metametrix is regularly inspected by the Department of Health and Human Services for CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) licensure and by the Georgia Department of Human Resources for its Clinical Laboratory License. Their expert staff includes Ph.D.'s, registered nurses, and clinical nutritionists who were all involved in researching, developing, and documenting the science behind the Ideal Health concept.
How long have they been testing?
The laboratory has been performing metabolic testing for thousands of nutritionally-oriented physicians and other healthcare professionals from around the world since 1984.
Please also read more about Customized Supplementation Based Upon Your Special Needs
Step 1: Take Your Customized Vitamin Test
Take your Customized Vitamin Test - the simple, in-home lab test that determines your custom blend of Vitamins. Includes a pre-paid FedEx laboratory shipping envelope.
|
Step 2: Custom Vitamins
Your personal blend of Custom Vitamins will AutoShip to you monthly. Can you think of a better gift to give your body than custom health and peace of mind?
|
Step 3: Retest In Six Months
Take the ReTest six months after you start your Custom Vitamins regimen so that we can adjust your formula to account for changes in your metabolism.
|
Order the Custom Vitamin test here.
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VO2 Testing
Why should I test my VO2?
You should test if you are intested in:
- avoiding overtraining and overuse injuries
- burning fat for fuel, losing weight
- gaining speed, power, and a great aerobic base
- making the most of your time working out
How will this help me improve?
Once you start using the customized intensity training zones that are identified in the VO2 testing, you will have workouts that are specific to your goals.
You will drop those extra pounds, improve your body's ability to use oxygen and increased your overall endurance - all without wasting time!
If you're not training with specificity, you're working out in the dark. Too many people work out at the wrong intensity, never giving their body the right stimulus at the right time.
Too much, too hard = over-training and injuries. Too little, too easy = no improvements and wasted time.
With personalized training zones based on your anaerobic threshold, you can train smarter.
How do I customize my work out
Heart rate is the only true indicator of intensity. If you're not using a heart rate monitor to train with, you're not taking into account important variables such as cumulative fatigue, stress and the possibilities of over-training.
Judging your intensity by the pace you have run or how you feel can be misleading and many time too unspecific. If your goals is to optimize each workout, improve strength while avoiding injury, avoid over-training, maximize fat burning and increase your aerobic capacity, then monitoring your heart rate is for you.
The only true way to know your optimal training zones is to have a VO2 test that provides your anaerobic threshold and peak VO2. These are the foundation for your training intensity zones on which you will customize your workout and that you will monitor with your heart rate.
How much does it cost?
For less than the price of a running outfit, you can have workouts that are based on your physiology.
The breakdown:
* Running outfit = $150 (shoes, socks, shorts, shirt)
* VO2 test = $100
* Knowing your zones = Priceless
Contact Me now to schedule your VO2/RMR test (only available locally). Call 970-870-6263.
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RMR Testing
How does the MetaCheck measure metabolic rate??
Your body consumes a fixed amount of oxygen per calorie burned. The MetaCheck measures the amount of oxygen in the air you exhale to calculate how much oxygen your body is consuming. Based on your oxygen consumption, the MetaCheck figures the exact amount of calories you are burning.
Why should I have my resting metabolic rate tested?
Everyone has a unique metabolic rate. Scientific studies show that even people with similar attributes like age, height, weight and body composition can have very different metabolic rates. This means that if your metabolic rate is lower than average, you may gain weight even while dieting. Conversely, if your metabolic rate is higher than normal, you may never need to diet to lose weight. Metabolic testing reveals how many calories your body burns at rest, giving you the data you dies show that attributes such as age, height, weight and body composition are poor predictors of metabolic rates as metabolic rates can vary widely even among people with similar attributes.
Metabolic testing reveals how many calories you need to reach your weight management goals be it weight loss, gain or maintenance.
What are the steps of a metabolic rate test?
Your body data (age, height, etc.) is entered into the MetaCheck machine.
You lie comfortably and breathe into a disposable mouthpiece. You need not wear any special clothing for this test.
The MetaCheck gauges your oxygen consumption, determines when you reach your "resting" metabolic rate and prints a detailed report showing your results and what they mean for you.
What can I do to increase my metabolic rate?
Seven things to do to boost your metabolic rate:
- Build Muscle Mass - Strength training builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories. The more lean muscle you have, the greater your metabolism will be.
- Do not skip meals or drastically reduce your calorie intake-If you body senses that food is in short supply, it will slow your metabolism to conserve energy. A good strategy is to cut your caloric intake by no more than 500 calories per day and never less than 1200 calories total each day.
- Increase the amount of protein in your diet - Most researchers agree that protein helps to stabilize the secretion of insulin in your blood stream, a process that can affect metabolism.
- Aerobic workout 3 days a week - Even though exercise does not affect your RMR, the extra calories you burn could add up to an additional 1-2 pounds of weight loss per month.
- Increase movement in daily life - The more you move, the more you burn! You can make a significant addition to the number of calories you burn each day by making relatively minor lifestyle changes. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park a distance from the mall or office. Walk the dog instead of just let him out. Making these types of changes for just 20 minutes a day will cause you to burn an additional 100 calories per day or an additional 1 pound per month.
- Go for an evening walk - Although exercising anytime is good for you, evening activity may be particularly beneficial. Many people39;s metabolism slows down toward the end of the day. Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise before dinner increases your metabolic rate and may keep it elevated for another two to three hours. This means those dinner calories have less of a chance to take up permanent residence on you hips.
- Get adequate sleep - As funny as it sounds, sleep deprivation may make you fat and not just because you are susceptible to cases of the late-night munchies. According to researchers at the University of Chicago, women who got less than four hours of sleep per night had a slower metabolism than those who slept for a full eight hours.
What is the difference between BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) and Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)?
BMR is the rate at which you burn calories while sleeping. Since it is not practical to test people while still in bed, MetaCheck determines Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), the amount of calories you would burn if you rested all day. To get an accurate measurement, it is important that you reach a true resting state during your test.
How much does RMR testing cost?
For just $50 you can have the information you need to succeed.
Contact Me now to schedule your VO2/RMR test (only available locally). Call 970-870-6263.
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Denise Heil CPT, CMT
Exercise Physiologist
970-819-0312
www.customfithealth.com
