Environmental Toxic Chemicals Testing: Uncovering Toxic Burden
We are exposed to hundreds of different toxic chemicals daily through environmental pollution, pesticides found on our produce, household products and cosmetics, packaged foods and medications. Exposure to environmental pollutants has been linked to many chronic diseases from cancer, and heart disease to chronic fatigue syndrome, chemical sensitivity, autism spectrum disorders, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Testing and understanding your exposure to heavy metals, non-metal chemicals, as well as mycotoxins, would be crucial for the development of a focused detoxification strategy. When evaluating your overall toxic chemicals exposure, it is important to understand how well you are detoxifying these exposures. Do you have regular bowel movements? Is your lymphatic system functioning optimally? Do you move and sweat daily? Are your kidneys and liver healthy? Are there nutrient deficiencies that prevent optimal detoxification? Are there any genetic variants predisposing you to suboptimal detoxification?
Understanding your current level of accumulated toxic chemicals through testing alongside your detoxification capabilities is the key to addressing your health concerns and supporting your health and well-being.
What is Environmental Toxic Chemicals Testing?
There are a number of tests on the market looking to assess different types of toxic exposures (e.g. heavy metals, organic chemicals, mycotoxins) using blood, urine and hair samples.
Gut Philosophy offers the following four leading tests to assess your recent or ongoing toxic chemicals exposure. These are urine-based tests, which you complete at home and send the samples directly to the lab for analysis.
- Heavy and essential metals test – traditionally used to evaluate exposure to potentially toxic elements and wasting of nutrient elements.
- Toxic non-metal chemicals test – screens for the presence of 173 different toxic chemicals including organophosphate pesticides, phthalates, benzene, xylene, vinyl chloride, pyrethroid insecticides, acrylamide, perchlorate, diphenyl phosphate
- Mycotoxin test – mycotoxins can cause serious health issues even in small quantities. This test screens for eleven different mycotoxins, from 40 species of mould.
- EnviroTox Complete test – is a bundle of tests including four separate panels: Organic Acids Test, Toxic non-metal chemicals test, Mycotoxin test and Glyphosate test.
Book a discovery call to decide which test is more suitable for you.
See the sample reports below:
Heavy and essential metals test (check sample report)
Toxic non-metal chemicals test (check sample report)
Mycotoxin test (check sample report)
EnviroTox Complete test (Bundle of the 3 tests above)
What is included in the Environmental Toxic Chemicals test package?
The investments for the Environmental Toxic Chemicals tests are as follows:
- Heavy and essential metals test: £375
- Toxic non-metal chemicals test: £495
- Mycotoxin test: £595
- EnviroTox Complete test (includes four different tests): £1,199
Why is Environmental Toxins Testing important?
Every day we are exposed to more toxic chemicals than ever before in human history. While some individuals are better equipped to detoxify their accumulating daily exposures, others may struggle with detoxification for a number of reasons. Accumulating toxic chemicals may cause a wide range of symptoms from neurological (i.e. brain fog, body aches, tingling, depression) to cardio-metabolic (inability to lose weight, fatty liver disease and even certain cancers).
The Environmental Toxic Chemicals test would allow you to:
- Identify if you have an ongoing toxic exposure or had a recent toxic exposure. That would help with removing the source of exposure.
- Evaluate your detoxification capabilities by assessing your diet and lifestyle.
- Develop personalised and targeted detoxification strategies based on the result of your test to reduce the risk of developing any chronic conditions.
FAQs
The urine Toxic & Essential elements test is traditionally used to evaluate exposure to potentially toxic elements and wasting of nutrient elements. Additionally, the comparison of urine element concentrations before and after the administration of a chelator can be used to estimate net retention of potentially toxic elements.
The urine Toxic & Essential elements test is useful for the following conditions:
Alopecia
Bone Density
Cardiovascular Disease
Depression
Dermatitis or Poor Wound Healing
Detoxification Therapy
Fatigue
Gastrointestinal Symptoms
Hypertension
Immune Function
Impaired Glucose Tolerance
Inflammation
Kidney Function
Nutritional Deficiencies
Parkinson’s-like Symptoms
The toxic non-metal chemical test screens for 173 different environmental pollutants using 18 different metabolites, all from a single urine sample. The test analyses 173 different toxic chemicals including organophosphate pesticides, phthalates, benzene, xylene, vinyl chloride, pyrethroid insecticides, acrylamide, perchlorate, diphenyl phosphate, ethylene oxide, acrylonitrile, and more. This profile also includes Tiglylglycine (TG), a marker for mitochondrial disorders resulting from mutations of mitochondrial DNA. These mutations can be caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, infections, inflammation, and nutritional deficiencies.
Mycotoxins (toxins from mould) are some of the most prevalent toxins in the environment. Mycotoxins are metabolites produced by fungi like mould, which can infest buildings, vehicles, and foodstuffs. Most mycotoxin exposures in North America, Europe, and Australia are through airborne exposure.
Diseases and symptoms linked to mycotoxin exposure include fever, pneumonia-like symptoms, heart disease, rheumatic disease, asthma, sinusitis, cancer, memory loss, vision loss, chronic fatigue, skin rashes, depression, ADHD, anxiety, and liver damage. With this test we can identify mycotoxin exposures and make recommendations for detoxification treatments that have been effective.
The test screens for eleven different mycotoxins, from 40 species of mould, in one urine sample, including:
Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1)
Chaetoglobosin A
Citrinin
Enniatin B
Gliotoxin
Mycophenolic Acid
Ochratoxin A (OTA)
Roridin E
Sterigmatocystin (STG)
Verrucarin A
Zearalenone (ZEA)
Once you know which Environmental Toxic Chemicals test you would like to order, a test kit will be posted to your home address. The kit includes all the necessary equipment for urine collection. It will include detailed collection instructions. The frozen urine samples will be posted with an ice pack directly to the lab for analysis.
The results will be available within 2-3 weeks of the lab receiving your sample. Your practitioner will then invite you to book your Interpretation Consultation to go through the results and develop your health optimisation strategy.
It depends on your insurance provider, you should check with them to confirm the coverage.
Once your test results are back from the lab, your practitioner will be in touch to arrange a 60 minutes interpretation consultation to go through the test results with you and develop your personalised detoxification strategy based on dietary, lifestyle and supplementation interventions.
Testimonials
What My Happy Clients Say!
“Elena has inspired me to start my health optimisation journey. She has done several functional tests for me (microbiome etc) and helped identify and treat a few issues they showed. It transpired I had candida (which explained some issues I had for years) and through following Elena’s advice, this has been sorted.
She has also tweaked my diet, encouraging me to include food groups I used to ignore and making sure my morning smoothies were balanced, teaching me optimum nutrition for better health. She has also given me advice on sleep, stress management, and weight loss. I have now lost 6kg following Elena’s recommendations and have never felt better.”
