FUNCTIONAL
TESTING
TESTING THAT POINTS THE WAY
Doing everything right and still not feeling your best? Functional testing helps us understand why. Instead of guessing, we look at how your body is working right now, using blood, stool, saliva or urine tests depending on what you're experiencing. Each one tells us something useful about what's going on inside, so I can build a plan around you and what your body needs, and your effort goes where it counts.
LABS PARTNERED WITH SANDRA TODD NUTRITION
From symptoms to answers
Symptoms only tell us part of the story
Tiredness, bloating, low mood and stubborn weight can each have several different causes, and they often overlap. Testing helps us narrow down what's most likely behind how you feel, so we're not relying on symptoms alone.
Thyroid Testing
Tired, cold, foggy or finding your weight harder to manage? Your thyroid influences energy, metabolism and mood.
A full thyroid panel looks beyond a single marker, covering TSH, the thyroid hormones T4 and T3, and thyroid antibodies, so we can see how your thyroid is working as a whole.
Once we have your results, I'll talk you through what they mean in plain English and put together a plan to support your thyroid. That might include making sure you're getting enough of the nutrients it needs through food, targeted supplements where your results show a shortfall, and looking at the things that affect thyroid function, such as stress, sleep, blood sugar balance and gut health. If you're already taking thyroid medication, I'll work alongside your GP's care, not in place of it, and if your results suggest something that needs medical attention, I'll write to your GP with your consent.
Cholesterol
Total cholesterol is only the headline. Two people with the same number can have very different pictures underneath.
A detailed lipid profile breaks this down into LDL, HDL and triglycerides, and can include ApoB, which reflects the number of cholesterol-carrying particles, and lipoprotein(a), which is largely inherited.
I often look at blood sugar and insulin markers too, because cholesterol and metabolic health are closely linked. This gives a much fuller view of your heart health and helps us focus on the food and lifestyle changes most likely to make a difference.
I often look at blood sugar and insulin markers too, because cholesterol and metabolic health are closely linked. This gives a much fuller view of your heart health.
Once we have your results, I'll explain what each marker means for you and build a plan around them. If you're taking a statin or other medication, I'll work alongside your GP's care, and if your results need medical attention, I'll write to your GP with your consent.
Stool Testing
Bloating, wind, irregular bowels or discomfort after eating are some of the most common reasons people come to see me. A stool test, collected at home, gives a detailed look at what's happening.
Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria, known as your microbiome, and they do far more than help with digestion. They break down fibre, produce vitamins and compounds that nourish your gut lining, and work closely with your immune system, much of which sits in the gut. Research also links the microbiome with mood, blood sugar, weight and the way your body processes hormones such as oestrogen.
Everyone's microbiome is different, and it's shaped by diet, stress, illness, antibiotics and other medication. Symptoms alone can't tell us which bacteria are thriving, which are low and whether anything is there that shouldn't be. Testing can, and that matters because the right approach depends on what we find. A plan that suits one person can make another feel worse.
Alongside your microbiome, the test shows how well you're breaking down and absorbing your food, and includes markers of inflammation and gut immunity.
Once we have your results, I'll explain what they mean and build a plan to match. Persistent changes in bowel habits should always be checked by your GP first.
Complete hormone & stress profile
Hormones are your body's messengers, and when they shift, you feel it. Irregular or heavy periods, PMS, hot flushes, poor sleep, low energy, changes in weight or a mood that doesn't feel like you can all be signs that something is out of step.
Depending on your symptoms, testing can look at oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA, along with the stress hormone cortisol across the day. Some tests also show how your body processes and clears hormones, not just how much is there, which tells us a great deal more than a single blood reading.
Once we have your results, I'll explain what they mean and build a plan to match. That might include foods that support hormone balance and clearance, steadier blood sugar, support for your gut and liver, and practical changes around stress, sleep and movement, with targeted supplements where appropriate.
If you're taking HRT or other medication, I'll work alongside your GP's care, and if your results need medical attention, I'll write to your GP with your consent.
Woman's Health MOT
Do you feel tired all the time, even after a good night's sleep? Maybe you're running on empty by mid-afternoon, struggling to concentrate, or feeling low, flat or more anxious than usual. Perhaps your hair is thinning, your nails are brittle, you pick up every cold going, your periods have changed, or your weight is creeping up despite your best efforts. Or it may be nothing you can put your finger on. You just don't feel like yourself.
A general health check is a good place to start if any of that sounds familiar, or if you're not sure what to test. It's also useful if you feel well and want to stay that way, have a family history you'd like to keep an eye on, or haven't had your bloods checked in a long while.
This blood test covers the key areas of women's health in one go: a full blood count, iron stores, vitamin D, B12 and folate, thyroid function, blood sugar, cholesterol, liver and kidney function, inflammation and key female hormones. Together these give a broad overview of your health today and can highlight areas that need attention before they become a problem.
Once we have your results, I'll go through them with you and explain what each one means. Where something is low or out of range, I'll build a plan around it using food, lifestyle and targeted supplements, and we can retest later to check your progress. If anything needs medical attention, I'll write to your GP with your consent.
Nutrigenomics:
Your Personal Blueprint
Have you ever wondered why a way of eating that works brilliantly for a friend does nothing for you? Why caffeine keeps you awake for hours, why you seem more affected by stress than others, or why certain health patterns run in your family? Part of the answer is in your genes.
Nutrigenomics looks at small variations in your DNA that influence how your body works: how you absorb and use vitamins, how you handle fats and sugars, how you process hormones, and how you respond to stress. I use Lifecode Gx, a UK specialist in this type of testing. Their core report covers your personal response to nutrients, and specialist reports look in more depth at areas such as hormones, thyroid, the nervous system, methylation, detoxification and histamine.
Your genes aren't your destiny. They show tendencies, not certainties, and food, sleep, stress and movement all influence how those tendencies play out. That's what makes this test so useful: it shows where your body may need extra support, so we know where to focus.
Once we have your report, I'll go through it with you and explain what it means in everyday terms. I'll look at it alongside your symptoms, health history and any other test results, then build a nutrition and lifestyle plan designed around how your body works. Because your DNA doesn't change, this is a test you only need once, and we can keep coming back to it. It isn't a diagnostic test and doesn't replace medical advice.