Dr. Mary Pardee, ND

Functional testing is the practice of ordering tests that are evidence-based and looking at Labs with more narrow ranges to reduce the risk for disease.
 
Transcript: "This is such a great question, what does functional testing entail? And this answer is going to be different depending on the practitioner. So I'm a functional medicine doctor, naturopathic doctor, and I do different testing than other functional medicine doctors that are there. So for me, I'm a big advocate of not over testing, meaning I don't do a lot of the typical functional medicine tests that other doctors may do. I rarely do a comprehensive stool analysis or organic acid testing or things like that. The reason behind that is I don't believe that a lot of it has the research to back its use, and these are usually expensive tests, and so we want to make sure we're using the patient's money effectively. And so what functional testing means to me is that I do comprehensive testing. So I'm going to do more testing than your primary care doctor typically. For instance, if we're doing a lipid panel to look at cholesterol, I'm usually also ordering something called ApoB or LDL particle number, LP little a, homocysteine levels. I'm doing a more comprehensive assessment that is evidence-based, so we know that ApoB is tied to a cardiovascular disease risk profile. I'm also sending people out for dexascans to look at their body composition, how much muscle mass they have. I even send people out for VO2 max testing to look at their exercise capacity. So we're doing more in-depth testing, but I really try to stick to the evidence-based testing. I also look at labs differently, so I'm not using the lab ranges that the LabCorp or Quest give. I'm using more narrow ranges for some of the markers, so we want ApoB to be in a really good spot to reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, for example."

The average American consumes about 15 grams of fiber per day, while the RDA is 25-30 grams. Considering hunter-gatherer societies ate up to 150 grams per day, I suggest people increase their fiber intake slowly and try high fiber foods such as navy beans, lentils, spinach, artichoke hearts, Brussels sprouts, etc.
 
Transcript: "I've been asked this a lot of times, so I created this visual a while ago and I think it's a good representation of just the things that we should be considering. So the average American consumes about 15 grams of fiber per day. The RDA, the recommended dietary allowance, is about 25 to 30 grams per day. And there's been research that shows that hunter-gatherer societies may have eaten up to 150 grams per day by looking at the hunter-gatherer societies that still exist, including the Hazda tribe. And so when I talk to people about how much should you be eating, really looking at 30 grams or more per day. And some people can tolerate more, some people have to be careful because of GI symptoms that they'll have, bloating with increased amounts of fiber. But I tell people, increase slowly over time and build your tolerance that way. And just some high-fiber foods to consider. Navy beans, lentils, spinach, artichoke hearts, Brussels sprouts, some of my favorites."

I'm Dr. Mary Party, a naturopathic doctor and certified functional medicine doctor from Los Angeles, California. I specialize in integrative treatments for gastrointestinal issues, longevity medicine and weight loss. I founded modern Meadow virtual Telehealth company.
 
Transcript: "I'm Dr. Mary Partee. I'm a naturopathic doctor and certified functional medicine doctor based out of Los Angeles, California. I'm the founder of Modern Med, a virtual telehealth company. I specialize in integrative treatments for gastrointestinal issues, things like irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, reflux, anything in the GI tract. I also specialize in longevity medicine and weight loss."
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