If you or anyone you know suffers from depression, fertility issues, chronic fatigue, inexplicable weight gain or inability to lose weight, have trouble sleeping or have serious allergies, and have tried all sorts of cures and interventions, the solution to that probably lies NOT in more potent medications, extra hours of exercise, extreme diets or invasive procedures.
What's causing it could in fact be a correctible chemical imbalance in your body. Which can be addressed by taking vitamins, the right diet, and most important - a change in mind set. Let me explain:
These are the vitamins I take in the morning, noon and evening.
I love that they are packed as morning, noon and evening vitamins, because it makes taking my vitamins so easy. Just open the foil pack, and that's it. No more twisting caps open, while thinking if I missed something I should have taken, or have taken something I already have.
They are so convenient too in the sense that I can just pack them along when we travel. No need for those weekly pillboxes that I have to manually fill by day.
But the genius in these vitamins isn't in how convenient they are. These vitamins are personalized for me, based on the nutrients that my body needs for optimal health and wellness. These vitamins aren't just fancy supplements. They are meant to address my current health concerns like low energy, poor memory, anemia, food intolerances, difficulty in sleeping, etc. How did I find out which vitamins I need?
Before you dismiss this as another MFO is mid-lifeing and taking all these tests she doesn't need, let me clear this out by saying, this is LIFE CHANGING STUFF! What I'm saying is, it's better that we take preventive measures now, rather than go to the hospital because we are seriously sick na. You know what I mean?
Let me put it this way. Here are three reasons why you should consider doing this test, especially if you're having any of the health issues I mentioned earlier.
1) Prevention rather than cure. It is waaaay better to take care of our health while our issues aren't life threatening or serious yet. Do we have to wait for a near death experience to take our health seriously? No? Thought so.
2) Every time we complain about something, an ache or a pain, we are told to take medicine. The problem with this is, what is being treated is the symptom, and not the root cause. A migraine isn't always just because of stress or lack of sleep. Fatigue isn't just because of your long work hours. Infertility isn't just because of PCOS. It could also be because of deficiencies or toxicities in our system, as these manifest in signs and symptoms that lead to serious health conditions.
3) We are always told we are unique. Which is true, there is nobody else like you and me. But how come when it comes to vitamin supplements, it's always "one size, fits all". We all take the same multi-vitamins. The same iron, calcium and vitamin C supplements. There's no uniqueness in that. Let your vitamins work for you, and you alone.
I guess you know where my verdict is leading to by now, but let me explain the hows and whys.
The Product: BioBalance Nutrient and Metabolic Testing
The Promise: Most of the time, despite your best efforts to do research on and to consume the “right” vitamins and other supplements for yourself, your body may still be deficient or in excess of several vitamins, minerals, co-factors, amino acids, and essential fats. A nutrient deficiency or toxicity signals an imbalance in your body. When this is unaddressed, your body can still function at sub-optimal levels for months, even years. When this imbalance progresses, however, it will eventually manifest in signs and symptoms that may lead to serious health conditions.
Nutrient balancing is about correcting subtle deficiencies and borderline toxicities of the macro- and micronutrients contained within the body’s complex cellular biochemical networks. Correct one imbalance, and you will affect everything else in the cascade. The devil is in the details of the inner workings of the network of biochemical pathways.
A portion of the how our biochemical pathways looks like. Kaloka.
So how do you correct imbalances within a network? Through Measured Wellness®.
Each of you has a different body make-up, lifestyle and health state. So in nutritional supplementation, one size does not fit all. Your nutritional requirements are as unique and as personal as your own fingerprints! Just like an Illness Medicine Doctor runs diagnostic tests before giving any drugs, BioBalance® Wellness Doctors recommend nutrient and metabolic tests before giving any supplements. This practice is called Measured Wellness®. Your body is unique in its biochemistry. The Measured Wellness® approach removes the guesswork on specific nutrients your body needs and allows the correction of nutrient imbalances within cellular biochemical networks. You can be assured that you’re taking the right food and vitamins and other supplements to achieve your optimal health and to manage current diseases and predispositions in a way that is totally tailored for you. Measured Wellness® allows the practice of true personalized pharmacology!
Put to the Test: No, I was not made to go through a battery of tests. The Metabolic Analysis Profile is just one urine test. That's about it. I was just asked to refrain from taking any supplements days prior to submitting my urine specimen one early morning, before I could drink anything or take my breakfast.
But before any tests are done, the process begins with having to fill up a Client Info Sheet, which basically asks about our current state of health.
This is the receiving area where I had to fill up the info sheet. It feels like the receiving room of a spa in here.
The next step is a talk/consultation with a BioBalance Wellness Doctor who will discuss health concerns you bring up. The doctor will assess if you will benefit from a test.
Consultations are done in a more private room where you can discuss your health issues with the Wellness Doctor
To further look into my current state of health, they also had me take the InBody Test which gives a baseline of our body composition, water weight, muscle and body mess. InBody tells me I am underweight but with a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI). Whew.
InBody also tells us our visceral fat level, which signals if we are predisposed to vascular diseases. Which thankfully, I don't have to worry about at this point.
This test is also great prior to going on a training regimen because it shows us which parts of our body we need to work on. This is not a stress test ha. I just stood there holding the handles, easy peasy, until I was told to step off the plate. I got the results, mere minutes after this.
My urine sample was sent out to the US, where Genova Diagnostics, who runs the test, sends back my Metabolic Analysis Profile two to three weeks after.
Of course, I again paid a visit to BioBalance to discuss the results as soon as it came out.
Two weeks later, I had a consultation with Dr. Stan Chua of BioBalance, who explained the 13 page report to me. It was quite thorough. For example, I was told I was low in B vitamins, which are a source of energy. This explains why I get tired fast. I was then told to eat lots of dark, leafy green vegetables, better if raw.
As we further discussed my vitamin and mineral deficiencies, it turns out, my consumption of Vitamin B was high because it was linked to my inefficient metabolism. Instead of getting my energy from three sources: carbs, fats and protein, I was mainly getting it through protein because of inefficiencies in producing energy from carbs and fats. This was also the main reason why I have trouble gaining weight aka, inability to build muscle mass.
While this is ideal now, because, who in her right mind wouldn't want to not gain weight, the problem starts when my metabolism starts slowing down because I do not have enough muscle structure to maintain my metabolism. In short, tataba din ako in time. And I do not want to get to that stage. Hehe.
Hence, I am now on a high protein diet, but I am also supplementing this with my personalised stash of vitamins to help me break down carbs and fats efficiently.
Of course, the results and vitamins vary depending on your body makeup. Dr. Chua shares many couples have gone to him with fertility concerns, folks with weight issues or chronic diseases and many have been helped. It's worth a try going in to have yourself tested, especially when you've before you've exhausted all means to find out what's troubling you.
Passing the Verdict: A month after taking my prescribed cocktail of vitamins morning, noon and night, I gotta admit, I haven't gotten sick since. I even have energy to go to Pilates early in the morning, when I would normally stay in bed till 10 am because I fell asleep at 3 am.
I also notice that when I take my vitamins coupled with the probiotics I bought at BioBalance, I can afford to indulge in items in my food intolerance red zone without having to suffer horribly for it. Of course, I still try to stay disciplined and avoid bawal food as much as I can.
The vitamins are pricey yes, but they are worth it.
I also have to hand it to the
BioBalance Wellness Team, composed of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, and medical technologists who are specifically trained in the BioBalance Measured Wellness® solution. They were very professional without being clinical. I really felt comfortable having my tests done there.
Practical Tip: According to Mel Gillego, who handles marketing for BioBalance, clients don't have to get their vitamins from their pharmacy and one doesn't have to take the test to buy vitamins from them.
The quality of their vitamins is superb though, and if you are looking for probiotics as well as a good Folic Acid, get it at BioBalance. L-MethylFolate, the Biobalance Folic Acid, is formulated to be absorbed by the body right away.
If you have already taken the Food Intolerance Test, it is complementary to this Metabolic Test as it gives a bigger picture of your health. Do let your Wellness Doctor know about it, so she/he can advice you on how to work around your intolerances.
BioBalance Wellness Institute
3F Soho Central
748 Shaw Boulevard, Greenfield District
Mandaluyong, Metro Manila
Tel. No. +632 650 4858
Mobile No. +63917 521 4860
Email: info@biobalanceinstitute.com
