Many people are familiar with liver enzyme testing (ALT & AST) as part of their chemistry screen at an annual exam with a primary care physician. ALT & AST are enzymes normally located inside liver cells. When there is an increase in ALT and/or AST levels, it indicates inflammation or damage to the cells. Although these are valuable screening tests, they do not assess the actual functioning of the liver.

Functional testing assesses the actual functional capacity of the liver to detoxify. More specifically, it assesses the body's capacity to carry out detoxification through functional challenges–caffeine, acetaminophen, and salicylate–which evaluate specific aspects of the detoxification process and free radical damage. These functional assessments provide a comprehensive profile of the body's detoxification capacity and potential susceptibility to oxidative damage.

Having an optimal detoxification capacity is essential for overall health. Poor detoxification or imbalanced detoxification can lead to a variety of symptoms and diseases such as fatigue, severe allergic reactions, migraines, PMS, chronic flu-like symptoms, depression, autoimmune diseases, and even death from medications that are not cleared from the body properly.

If you have been suffering from chronic disease or are experiencing symptoms that may be associated with toxicity in your body, please contact Dr. Miller at (415) 785-3347 to schedule an appointment. She is a medically trained naturopathic doctor who has been successfully guiding patients through the metabolic detoxification process since 1998.

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