Urine has been used since ancient times for the detection of metabolic abnormalities. Early medical practitioners would pour urine on the ground and observe it to determine whether or not it would attract insects. If insects were attracted to the urine, it indicated �honey urine,� which we now know in modern times to be a symptom of diabetes. In the sixteen and seventeen hundreds, it was common practice for physicians to actually taste their patient�s urine. Fortunately, today�s clinicians no longer have to become quite so intimate with their patients� body fluids and can rely on sophisticated analytical techniques to uncover the wealth of information found in a simple urine sample. For instance, urine sampling is an excellent method of evaluating:
- Hydration status
- Acid/Base balance
- Blood sugar regulation
- Existence of certain cancers
- Existence of pregnancy and complications of pregnancy
- Liver diseases
- Infections
- Functional nutritional status
Two main purposes exist for urinalysis:
1. The first is to diagnosis actual damage or disease to the physical kidney itself. In this instance, substances normally found in urine will be increased or decreased. This reflects alterations in the filtration system of the kidney due to disease. This is the basis for the standard urinalysis screen.
2. The second is to detect disturbances such as endocrine or metabolic abnormalities. In this instance, the kidneys function normally but excrete abnormal amounts of metabolic end products, indicating alterations in metabolic pathways. This second function is the application that is used in the PrivaTest offered by Ideal Health.
The three areas evaluated in the PrivaTest are major areas of concern for any person living in our industrialized society. The three compounds measured in your urine at the laboratory give you vital information about:
- Your body�s ability to detoxify toxic substances.
- Your body�s ability to balance the production of an important regulatory compound influencing immune, nervous, and vascular system function.
- Your body�s ability to handle challenges to its antioxidant systems. Each one of these areas can be manipulated favorably by personalized nutritional supplementation.