The Lab Report

Dr. Lauryn Lax is a Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Clinical Nutritionist, Functional Medicine Practitioner, Certified Personal Trainer, author, and journalist. With over 20 years of clinical and personal experience, she’s on a mission to help patients feel good - inside and out. But what sets Dr. Lauryn apart is her life-long journey of illness and healing. It’s a story of joy, pain, bravery, and...

The topic of intestinal parasites and their prevalence is hotly debated in functional medicine. Furthermore, the increasing trend of people performing a ‘parasite cleanse’ of the GI tract can be dangerous. Parasites are diagnosed in the stool using microscopy, direct exam, and PCR – but even then, not all parasites should be treated. Some can cause significant illness, yet others are not invasive,...

Methane is often in the news as a greenhouse gas, but guess what? Your gut microbiome also makes it. Specific organisms called methanogens are responsible for the production of methane in the GI tract. High levels of methane can locally affect gut motility and contribute to constipation. In addition to constipation, methane affects gut immunity and has some interesting systemic implications.  In t...

Living with acne, or any chronic skin condition, can be incredibly distressing. Skin is the largest organ in our body and is forward-facing for the world to see. Conventional medicine offers creams, gels, and antibiotics. But in personalized medicine, we know that acne is multi-factorial and has several root causes. Lienna May is a board-certified clinical nutrition specialist who is dedicated to...

Lacey Dunn is a functional medicine dietitian and personal trainer who is passionate about helping women look and feel their best. Lacey is the founder of Uplift Fit Nutrition (an online platform for personalized support), host of the Uplift Fit Nutrition Podcast, and author of the book “The Women’s Guide to Hormonal Harmony – How to Rebalance Your Hormones, Master Your Metabolism, and Become the...

Dr. Mike T Nelson is an exercise physiologist, researcher, speaker, author, personal trainer, and coach. In the world of sports optimization, his approach to coaching world-class athletes is innovative and science-driven. Dr. Mike’s years of research and coaching experience, paired with an open mind to new ideas, have garnered his clients amazing results. A teacher at heart, he also offers several...

Here at Genova, we are incredibly proud of the high standards set by our laboratory director and the brilliant minds that work in the lab to keep things running smoothly. As clinicians, and consumers, many of us don’t give the inner workings of the lab a second thought. We take for granted that samples are sent, results are generated, and we can clinically act on those findings. Most of our profil...

The importance of B-vitamins can not be overstated. They are used as cofactors in just about every biochemical pathway in the body. Overt B-vitamin deficiencies are not common, though many diet and lifestyle factors can influence levels and lead to insufficiencies. Symptoms of B-vitamin deficiencies are widely variable and not often recognized. Many people choose to take B-vitamin supplements. But...

Eating disorders have long been stigmatized and treatments have been limited – until now. Dr. Michael Lutter is a medical psychiatrist and PhD researcher working toward new solutions and therapies to offer hope for those suffering with psychiatric illness.  Using the latest advancements in genetic and metabolic testing, Dr. Lutter helps patients understand how their unique biology plays a role in...

Elite professional athletes are often held up as the healthy ideal. But many of us don’t realize the wear and tear and physical toll that sport takes on the body. That’s where Jaclyn Sklaver comes in. As a nationally recognized sports nutrition specialist, she combines functional medicine with personalized nutrition to create coaching plans for long-term success. Today we meet Jaclyn Sklaver and h...

Autoimmune conditions are exponentially on the rise. Toxic exposures, declining food quality, stress, and unhealthy lifestyle factors are all contributors. Dr. Akil Palanisamy is a Harvard-trained physician, author, and holistic medicine expert in integrative and functional medicine. Through years of experience in root-cause medicine, he’s helped thousands of patients find relief and remission of...

Melatonin is known as the sleep hormone, but it is SO much more than that. Yes, it is produced in the brain and controls the day/night cycle. However, what many people don’t realize is that is also produced in other places in the body such as the gastrointestinal tract, skin, bone marrow, and more where it exerts important local effects that are important for health. Additionally, it is a powerful...

If you’ve seen the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma,” you’ll recognize today’s guest. Dr. Anna Lembke is an addiction specialist from Stanford University, a New York Times best-selling author, and was featured on that Netflix special. Addiction takes many forms – not only alcohol and illicit drugs, but also social media, exercise, shopping, and workaholism. But, where’s the line between hab...

Dr. Sheila Dean is one of the nation’s premier integrative nutritionists. She is a co-founder of the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy and has practiced functional medicine for two decades. Her insight has not only changed the lives of many patients, but her teaching and mentoring has inspired and empowered a new generation of nutrition specialists and health professionals. In today’s e...

After years of working with collegiate and professional athletes, Pratik Patel has gained significant wisdom when it comes to optimal health. The continuous strain placed on the body of professional athletes can take its toll. Keeping those athletes healthy is no easy task. Pratik has worked with some of the most elite athletes in the world. In today’s episode, dietitian and conditioning coach, Pr...

Interpreting the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Profile can be complicated. Here at Genova, we do a lot of educational outreach, one-on-one consults, group consults, and we compile lots of support materials to help – support guides, report review videos, charts, and more. Even with that, some clinicians still continue to misinterpret biomarker results and draw conclusions on their own which may no...

Amino acids are the building blocks of life. They can be categorized as essential or nonessential. Essential amino acids must come from the diet, while nonessential amino acids can be made in the body. Of the essential amino acids, there is a subgroup called the ‘branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs).’ There are three BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These three amino acids have different mole...

In last week’s episode, we did a high-level review of nutrient testing – who might need it and why. We also introduced you to Genova’s Metabolomix+ profile. This nutritional profile is a non-invasive at-home collection with easy, actionable nutrient recommendations you can start implementing right away tailored for your personal metabolic fingerprint! Today we dive a bit deeper into the biochemist...

We know nutrition is important. But with all of the confusion around different diet camps out there, (Mediterranean, paleo, vegetarian, keto) many of us don’t know where to start. How do we know if we’re getting proper nutrition to keep us healthy? Are you keeping up with how your body uses nutrients due to exercise, growth, or wound healing? Is a nutrient insufficiency causing your depression or...

Rachel Gregory is a board-certified nutrition specialist, strength and conditioning coach, podcaster, author, and founder of MetFlex Life. She inspires and guides women to transform their lives through proper education, awareness, and accountability in nutrition and fitness. Through her unique approach, she helps women all across the world learn how to ditch the restrictive all-or-nothing mindset...

There is a lot of debate and controversy when it comes to nutrition. Many of us are entrenched in our diet camps and with that, some nutrients are unfairly vilified. One such nutrient is phytoestrogen. Phytoestrogens are chemical compounds found in plants that can stimulate and block estrogen receptors in the body – a concept that is poorly misunderstood. In today’s episode, we talk about phytoest...

Dr. Sara Gottfried is a key opinion leader as it relates to hormone balance. As a New York Times best-selling author, practicing medical doctor, researcher, university professor, and popular speaker, she offers an evidence-based approach to hormones and nutrition. Her upcoming book “Women, Food, & Hormones” outlines the latest research combined with her vast clinical experience to help women l...

If there’s one thing we’ve learned, the world of diet and nutrition is full of controversy. People are deeply entrenched in their diet camps and routinely, various nutrients become vilified. Though, it’s never that simple. Today we take on the topic of antinutrients. Antinutrients are plant-made chemicals that bind and potentially prevent the absorption of important vitamins and minerals. The most...

Ayurvedic medicine is one of the oldest holistic healing systems. It was developed thousands of years ago in India and is still practiced throughout the world both exclusively and in conjunction with Western medicine. Ayurveda works to find balance between our innate constitution and how we adapt to our world. Dr. Gillian Ehrlich is extensively trained in conventional and functional medicine but a...

Dr. Molly Maloof has been leading and innovating in the personalized medicine space for years. Her entrepreneurial spirit lends itself to looking at healthcare in very forward-thinking ways. After years of research and clinical practice, she’s finally put all of her knowledge down on paper and is soon to release her new book, “ The Spark Factor: The Secret to Supercharging Energy, Becoming Resilie...