We are very fortunate to have access to this state-of-the-art American laboratory. It has only been available in the UK since 2013 and has proved invaluable. Cyrex Laboratories specialise in autoimmune testing and food reactivity testing.
Over the past couple of decades there has been an alarming rise in the incidence of autoimmune diseases globally. The term ‘autoimmunity’ describes a pathological state in which the defensive immune system becomes offensive to an individual’s own tissue and attacks one or more organs, resulting in destruction of the tissue and derangement of that organ’s function (i.e. disease). This is what occurs in conditions as diverse as coeliac disease, psoriasis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Grave’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus (SLE), Sjorgren’s syndrome and many many others (the list is, unfortunately, growing).
Cyrex Labs specialise in analysis of blood samples to identify a great many autoimmune antibodies, from those involving the neurological system, various joint tissues, is a warning of a disease process which will become increasingly
They specialise in identifying immune reactions to a huge range of foods (in both raw and cooked state) and autoimmune reactions to one’s own tissues.
The DNA testing I offer can provide unique insights into your health and opens the way to truly personalised medicine.
The testing I offer only checks for gene variants that can help uncover weaknesses in metabolism (e.g. vitamin B and folate cycles) that may help diagnosis or indicate simple lifestyle changes or specific supplements that would be impossible to identify otherwise.
For example, whilst salt is generally no problem in the diet, for a sub set of people it is more likely to contribute to raised blood pressure. Genetic testing could reveal this. Similarly, I generally recommend coffee drinking for it’s many health benefits, but for someone with the slow caffeine metabolism gene the opposite advice would be appropriate. Only with genetic testing can such advice be given confidently.
My DNA labs also offer specific testing for exercise related genes. These identify injury susceptibility, endurance and performance related genes, and those that indicate recovery potential. Such information can be invaluable for athletes and anyone trying to maximise the potential of their exercise regimen.
The test only requires a mouth swab to be sent to the lab so is non invasive. The lab returns a multi page report and I offer a consultation to go over the results and discuss possible interventions that are likely to be beneficial in light of this information.
I have access to a number of world-class laboratories through which I can arrange specific tests when appropriate. Many of these are rarely available on the NHS, even though they are all part of orthodox medical science. There are many benefits to undertaking private laboratory testing:
Get the tests you want. You do not need to seek your GPs approval
No waiting. There are no NHS queues.
Your results are private – they don’t appear on your NHS records and you are not obliged to share them but if you wish to your doctors will recognise their validity
Some laboratories will send a test kit directly to the patient such that the sample required can be sent straight back to the lab in the specialist packaging provided. Examples are urine, stool, hair or saliva. Blood samples can be taken here at Rosemary Cottage Clinic as I am a trained in venipuncture and have a centrifuge for samples needing serum separation.
I have a good working relationship with my labs and have direct phone access to their biochemists who can provide me with their insights into the significance of any unusual results. I also attend the CPD lectures provided by certain labs and researchers ensuring that I keep abreast of progress in the field of sample analysis and clinical value. New and better testing methods of all sorts are being developed, some of which have revolutionised the accuracy and honing of treatment.
Please click on the articles below about the value of some of the tests that I find particularly relevant in my practice, and why.
[This is modified from a post that first appeared on my blog in March 2015]
Last Friday the first Grain Free Low Carbohydrate Family Food workshop took place at Rosemary Cottage Clinic and was by all accounts a real success. In fact it was oversubscribed, so we are planning further workshops later in the year to cater for the people on the waiting list (see end of this post).
Who Attended? Eight women who were looking for practical ways to feed themselves and their families using more healthy and nutritious principles. They needed easy, palatable meal ideas that would be acceptable to the whole family without too much fuss. The workshop was tailored to their individual needs as one was intolerant of dairy, one of nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines etc) and one of cocao.
“Great ideas. Practical and delicious. Great to be tasting everything.” (5/5)
What was the aim? When starting a new diet, you need to keep the family on board otherwise their demands can lead to compromising your new principles. This workshop aimed to provide practical demonstrations of cooking techniques showing how to use ingredients to create low-carb and grain-free meals that everyone will enjoy.
Endless patience with our infinite questions. Hours of preparation made the whole thing such a success… a truly inspirational day! (5/5)
Breakfast ideas Breakfast sets up the metabolism for the day, and to avoid the steep blood glucose rise that accompanies cereal based breakfasts we demonstrated a variety of quick and easy low-carb breakfast options, including a range of pancakes. Providing a truly sustaining breakfast, rather than a flash-in-the-pan glucose hit first thing, is a great way of ensuring mental and physical robustness throughout the morning, for adults as well as children.
Lunch box ideas Most kids are sent to school with sandwiches, crisps, chocolate bars and sugary drinks, all of which are high in glucose and/or fructose. No wonder their behavior and attention begins to fail as the day wears on! As an alternative we presented a lunch box full of quick to assemble and appetising low carb goodies: just right for ending those difficult energy fluctuations that can send kids a bit loopy.
A grain-free, nut-free white loaf, hot out of the oven. Surely that’s got to be the best thing since you-know-what?
One of the dishes that surprised our participants most was my new grain-free sandwich loaf which I baked and everyone sampled. It is not only grain free, but nut free too (figure that one out!) and could even be suitable for a ketogenic diet with thickly spread butter. It is another example of an easy alternative to a bog-standard food that can help the transition from old to a new eating habits. The resulting loaf looked great, tasted great, was easy to slice and spread and proved quick and easy to make.
The food you demonstrated will go down well in my home. The squid pasta and fish curry will be immediately popular. (5/5)
Cooked Meals I explained the steps in making ghee and demonstrated how to make a bone broth – one of those key foods that can be enjoyed on its own or used as a foundation in many other dishes. We cooked a couple of speedy and appetising meals – fish curry with cauliflower ‘rice’ and squid ‘pasta’. These low-carb, nutrient-dense stand-bys are nutritionally superior versions of common family favourites and take no more than 15 minutes to prepare. What’s more they are particularly economic, costing less than £1 per head!
Deserts We rounded off the workshop with some delectable sweet treats that we have recently devised which are extremely low in carbs and a great aid for those making the change who are not quite ready to give up all sweets.
Chloe, my daughter, was very helpful throughout this workshop and has received lots of praise for her clarity, calmness and cooking craft. She can hold forth on the science of fat burning even better than I can, and is a great advertisement for it.
A superb day. The two of you were MAGNIFICENT! (5/5)
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Throughout the workshop participants asked lots of intelligent, focused and realistic questions. Judging from their feedback everyone went away confident and inspired by what they had learned, as you can see from their comments dotted through this post.
For example, whilst salt is generally no problem in the diet, for a sub set of people it is more likely to contribute to raised blood pressure. Genetic testing could reveal this. Similarly, I generally recommend coffee drinking for it’s many health benefits, but for someone with the slow caffeine metabolism gene the opposite advice would be appropriate. Only with genetic testing can such advice be given confidently.
