Better health with personalized supplementation?

PERSONALIZED medicine has been a buzzword in modern medical field as more and more doctors realized that no one standard prescription will work for every patient with a certain disease or condition. They realized that when designing a treatment plan they should also consider patients’ current condition in the context of their lifestyle and medical history.

This concept of personalized medicine is now being extended to the field of nutrition as experts found there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all supplementation that could effectively address an individual’s requirement.

“Personalized supplementation ensures that an individual will be getting all of the vitamins and minerals he/she needs at the right amount. This is achieved based on an evaluation of a person’s lifestyle, health state and body makeup, which could be determined via tests of urine or blood samples provided,” explained Mel Gillego, marketing and business development officer of BioBalance Interventional Wellness Institute.

Three steps

Gillego said the approach of the institute, located at the third floor of Soho Central on Shaw Boulevard, Greenfield District, has three steps: talking with the individual, conducting the tests, and providing the solution.

“The first step involves sitting with our BioBalance medical staff in order to identify and align wellness goals,” said Gillego.

The next step will involve providing the individual with the institute’s line of nutrient test packages—called BioBalance Wellness Packages— that provide insights on each body’s nutrient deficiencies and toxicities.

“The basic test package we could provide will measure an individual’s level of antioxidants (Vitamin A/ carotene, Vitamin C and Vitamin E/mixed tocopherols; level of B complex (Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9 and B12); level of minerals (magnesium, manganese, molybdenum and zinc); level of fatty acid and amino acid metabolites; malabsorption and dysbiosis markers; and toxin and detoxification markers.

The institute could also provide more advanced wellness profile that could determine one’s level of antioxidants (Vitamin A, carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, alpha lipoic acid, and CoQ10); B complex (Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9 and B12); minerals (manganese, magnesium, zinc and molybdenum); amino acids (20 essential and nonessential amino acids); fatty acid metabolites; malabsorption and dysbiosis markers; and toxin and detoxification markers.

Comprehensive

There’s also the Comprehensive Wellness Profile that could provide important information on the individual’s level of antioxidants (Vitamin A, carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, alpha lipoic acid and CoQ10); B Complex (Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9 and B12); minerals (manganese, magnesium, zinc, molybdenum, potassium, selenium and copper); toxic elements (cadmium, antimony, arsenic, mercury, tin, lead); fatty acids (Omega 3,6,9, Omega 6:3 ratio, saturated and monounsaturated); amino acids (20 essential and nonessential amino acids); oxidative stress markers (glutathione, lipid peroxides); malabsorption and dysbiosis markers; IGg allergy profile (delayed or nonatopic food reactions).

“We could also provide the IgG4 and IgE Food Antibodies Test that could reveal an individual’s reactions to certain food due to intestinal permeability (leaky gut) issues. The IgG4 antibodies or ‘delayed’ food-specific allergies that exacerbate or contribute to many different health problems and IgE food-specific allergies that may cause ‘immediate’ and fatal body reactions,” said Gillego.

Another more specialized test the institute could provide is the proper Gastrointestinal (GI) function, which is critical to adequate nutritional status and can impact all aspects of body function. The GI Effects Stool Profile addresses key components of proper GI health including measurement of beneficial microbial flora; opportunistic bacteria and yeast; parasitic infection; markers of inflammation; immune function; and digestion and absorption.

Need for tests

“Why do we require these tests? Research shows that nutrient imbalance is the root cause of several illness symptoms and chronic diseases. Sadly, mainstream medical tests are mostly intended to detect and monitor specific diseases and illnesses, but not nutrient imbalances that can affect our body in so many ways. Even before complaints and diseases manifest, disturbances on nutrient balance can already be detected in our bodies. Testing these levels of nutrients will help provide early opportunities for intervention and prevention,” said Gillego.

Once test results have arrived from the institute’s partner laboratories in the United States, BioBalance will now issue the individual with handy packages containing the required supplementation (packets may be labeled morning, noon and evening for ease of compliance).

“We always remind our clients that our custom supplementation plans guarantee that they are not taking in vitamins and minerals that they don’t actually need. Many people have the attitude ‘ more is better’ when it comes to multivitamins, assuming that even if a vitamin isn’t strictly necessary, it can’t hurt. This is quite dangerous. Moreover, our custom multivitamins also ensure that patients aren’t taking nutritional supplements that contain vitamins or minerals that interact with their other medications,” assured Gillego.