Are Unreliable Lab Tests Stealing Your Money?

Have you ever felt betrayed by the health community?

We’ve worked with a lot of betrayed clients in our 1-on-1 private consulting program. 

These are clients who spent thousands of dollars on tests… desperate to figure out what’s going on with their health. These were tests that turned out to be completely unreliable and useless.

So, today we’re gettin’ serious and sharing the only labs we use right now so you can save money and avoid using unreliable test results to make critical decisions about your health…

The Problem with Testing in the Alternative Health World

Recently, I wrote about wasting money on the wrong medical tests, which is frustrating in and of itself. There are literally thousands of medical tests out there… and depending on who you see, they’ll likely recommend different ones. So, how can you make sense of all these recommendations and know where to spend your hard-earned money?

We like the methodology Chris Kresser follows for deciding whether or not a test is worth ordering. He likes to ask, “Would the results of this test change the treatment protocol?” 

I like the approach because it instantly rules out unnecessary testing. If you spend money on a test that doesn’t’ give you enough info to change your treatment plan… it’s basically wasting your time.

Now, I want you to imagine spending $1,000’s on the “right tests” that will likely change your treatment plan.

Imagine you’ve got the “right information” in your hands and you’re working with someone that “gets it.”

And when the test results come back in you start a therapeutic program based on what you found.

But imagine you don’t get better… and it just doesn’t make sense.

In fact, imagine you start to get worse. What could possibly be going on?

The truth is: many test results are unreliable.

Knowing which tests to order is important, but once you have a good idea where to spend your money, choosing the wrong lab will still waste a substantial amount of money.

And the worst part is… you may never get the therapeutic treatment you need if your whole plan is based on false results. That’s the betrayal I’m talking about today.

That’s what we’re seeing with some of our private clients. But let me start by sharing an example of when I felt betrayed by an unreliable test result.

Betrayed By Unreliable Saliva Hormone Results

A while back, I was exhausted. My energy was low. It was hard to get out of bed. I couldn’t work out. I wasn’t sleeping well. And I knew something was up with my hormones.

I spent $273 on “the right” saliva hormone panel. It was the first time I was testing my hormones and I was excited about exploring this new area of my health that was probably broken for a long time.

So, when the test results came in I was confused. Everything was normal. Granted, it was on the low end of normal, but there was no obvious Adrenal Fatigue. The cortisol rhythm was good and total cortisol was good.

Here’s a screenshot:

But it just didn’t add up. These results didn’t jive with how I was feeling.

Next up, I ordered a new saliva hormone panel from BioHealth labs, which our trusted practitioner friends confided was the most reliable.

The results?

Stage 3 adrenal fatigue… here’s a screenshot:

These results finally lined up with how I was actually feeling.

And we used these results to treat my adrenal fatigue… which transformed how I felt. It was like having a whole new body!

In doing our research, BioHealth labs is the trusted lab we use with our clients for Saliva Hormone Panels. It’s also the lab of choice among our trusted circle of mentors and practitioners.

Why are they more reliable?

I can’t speak officially, but our insider info suggests other labs use serum (blood) hormone test kits and modify them for saliva, therefore creating the unreliability in the results. Things may change if something happens with ownership or company direction, but for right now, we use BioHealth for saliva testing with all our clients.

Betrayed By Unreliable Stool Test Results

Most of our clients have digestive problems, so the majority of people working with us have spent $100’s on stool testing in the past.

They come to us saying, “I’ve already been tested for gut infections and they didn’t find anything.”

For example, one of our clients, which I’ll keep anonymous and call her June, had stool tests in the past and nothing turned up. She is an incredible woman working hard to take control of her health and it’s been incredible working with her on this journey.

I had this conversation with her about stool testing betrayal… about how most conventional stool tests are unreliable. They may find some infections, but it’s just not enough for what we’re dealing with.

Don’t get me wrong, stool testing is notoriously hard. So, I explained to her how we do stool testing with our clients…

We use two different GI stool testing technologies to gather the most reliable information we can.

First, we order the #401H from BioHealth. This is a stool culture test. The test uses 3 stool samples, one each day for three days, and cultures the samples in a lab to see what grows.

Next, we always order a 2^nd test along with it and that would be the Doctor’s Data Parasitology x3. This is also a growth-based culture, the standard of practice in clinical microbiology. It also uses sensitive biochemical assays and microscopy, and thoroughly evaluates the status of beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms including aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, yeast and parasites.

Together, this 1-2 punch of testing is the most reliable solution we know of right now. It’s also being used among our circle of friends and health practitioner mentors.

Rewind back to our case study June. Her symptoms suggested she likely had a GI infection, so she went forward with the testing we normally recommend. Here’s her #2105 from Metametrix (no longer recommended), which showed positive for H. pylori and Endolimax nana:

And here’s the #401H, which showed positive for a Cryptosporidium infection:

You’ll notice these tests were done at the same time and showed very different results. They each found different species that were infecting June, even with clean test results in the past. She’s now in the process of taking care of these 3 infections, but imagine if she only ordered one of these tests. It would have only been half the picture.

Both of these tests are from very reliable lab companies using very reliable GI stool testing technology, but done independently would have missed some critical information for a treatment program.

How to Avoid Test Result Betrayal

The best way to avoid wasting money on unreliable test results is to work with a skilled practitioner who knows which lab companies can be trusted right now.

Right now is the key word there… companies are always changing and we have to be aware of our options when new and more effective methods of testing come out. In fact, this post could likely be outdated in 6 months. (Note: As you can see, we’ve updated to reflect our current recommendations as we’re no longer telling people to order the Metametrix #2105.)

Look, we’ve been there. We’ve wasted money on the WRONG tests and we’ve wasted money on the WRONG labs. It wasn’t until we started working with people that showed us the RIGHT labs to order and the RIGHT companies to use that we finally started to find some health breakthroughs.

If you’d like to find out whether or not these BioHealth or Doctor’s Data tests are right for you, I invite you to work 1-on-1 with one of our recommended practitioners. After being betrayed by test results for so many years, we’re so grateful to save you the experience.

–> Book a case review with one of our recommended practitioners

In good health,

Jordan