THE OAT TEST
Many clients come to me with "normal" lab work but still feel off. Either they struggle with low energy, anxiety, depression, gut issues, or can't figure out the food piece after chronic dieting, much less know how to crack their Unique Food Code™ {UFC}.
This is how your body, belly, brain, and metabolism prefer to be nourished. It includes meal times, portion sizes, meal composition, and types of food (texture, temperature, consistency, etc).
Cracking your {UFC}™ can keep every organ happy from top to tail.
As a dietitian who's well-versed in balancing macronutrients for optimal health, I prefer to use diagnostic tools like the OAT test. It is a comprehensive metabolic snapshot of your overall health and an opportunity for us to assess you internally by looking at eight different systems including:
* metabolic imbalances
* gut dysfunction
* oxidative stress
* liver inflammation
* neurotransmitter imbalance
* yeast and bacterial toxins
* vitamin/mineral deficiencies
* amino acid deficiency
* genetic/metabolic disorders
From a nutrition perspective, understanding how your body is using the food or macronutrients you eat (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) has been incredibly helpful for me to crack your {UFC™}. The OAT test can help you learn how to create and eat a balanced amount of carbs, protein, or fat for your Unique Food Code™.
The OAT test can help you learn how to create and eat a balanced amount of carbs, protein, or fat for your {UFC™}.
While my ego would love to boast that I can look at a client's food journal and recognize exactly how to correct any obvious-to-the-trained-eye imbalance, this test allows me to peek under the hood so to speak, and be more strategic with nutrition advice and recommendations.
In essence, I let your body tell me what to do so we can crack your Unique Food Code™ easier. And faster.
THE OAT TEST
Many clients come to me with "normal" lab work but still feel off. Either they struggle with low energy, anxiety, depression, gut issues, or can't figure out the food piece after chronic dieting, much less crack what I call your Unique Food Code™ or UFC.
Your UFC is how your body, belly, brain, and metabolism prefer to be nourished. It includes meal times, portion sizes, meal composition, and types of food (texture, temperature, consistency, etc). Cracking and nourishing your UFC can keep every organ happy from top to tail.
As a dietitian who's well-versed in how to balance a client's macronutrients for optimal health, I prefer to use diagnostic tools like the OAT test because it is a comprehensive metabolic snapshot of your overall health and an opportunity for us to assess you internally by looking at eight different systems including:
* metabolic imbalances (how you're utilizing the protein, carbs, and fat that you eat)
* gut dysfunction
* oxidative stress
* liver inflammation
* neurotransmitter imbalance
* yeast and bacterial toxins
* vitamin/mineral deficiencies
* amino acid deficiency or genetic/metabolic disorders
From a nutrition perspective, understanding how your body is using the food or macronutrients you eat (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) has been incredibly helpful for me to crack your UFC. The OAT test can help you learn how to create and eat a balanced amount of carbs, protein, or fat for your UFC.
While my ego would love to boast that I can look at a client's food journal and recognize exactly how to correct any obvious-to-the-trained-eye imbalance, this test allows me to peek under the hood so to speak, and be more strategic with nutrition recommendations. In essence, I let your body tell me what to do so we can crack your Unique Food Code™ easier. And faster.
People who might benefit from the OAT test include those struggling with:
* ADD/ADHD
* Chronic stress
* Insomnia
* Anxiety and/or depression
* Chronic GI dysfunction
* Metabolic conditions
* Chronic fatigue immune
* Intestinal yeast and bacteria
* Kidney stones/Oxalate conditions
Abnormally high levels of urine markers for specific microorganisms can cause or increase GI issues, behavior disorders, hyperactivity, fatigue, immune function, hormonal balance and more.
Many clients struggling with chronic illnesses and/or neurological disorders often excrete a variety of abnormal organic acids via the urine. Factors that can cause high levels could include things like oral antibiotic use, high sugar, carbohydrate, protein, or fat diets, acquired infections, as well as genetic factors.
While I have been helping clients assess their metabolic state with the OAT test for years, I failed to do it myself. Half of my resistance was "I already listen to my Intelligent Belly Wisdom™ and cracked my Unique Food Code™ long ago!" And the other half was having to avoid certain foods and substances for 48-hours that can influence your results like caffeine and other fave foods that I eat regularly including avocado, tomatoes, walnuts and pecans.
I finally set calendar reminders for my test day, printed the "foods to avoid" list, and posted them in the kitchen. The test results are typically more valuable than you can imagine, so it's worth the inconvenience and planning if you're ready to crack your UFC™.
In full disclosure, when it came time to review my test results with the lab, the dietitian {ego} part of me expected the doctor I consult with to say, "Wow! Everyone at the lab wondered who these stellar OAT results were from!" A far cry from what actually happened.
One of her comments that stuck out was "you're eating way too much fat and not enough carbohydrates - your biochemistry and metabolism are not designed for a ketogenic diet."
And NO, I was NOT doing keto!
I was just eating a lot of heathy fats: avocado, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, olives, peanut butter, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, as well as dairy-free alternative like cheese, ice cream, yogurt and cashew nacho cheese, etc.
When I thoroughly reviewed the test results with Dr. G, part of me was a tad defensive and in disbelief because, just like my clients, I thought I was doing a good job with my daily food choices.
But after the initial sting wore off that as the food expert, I was not (Hnat) eating "perfectly" I was able to honestly reflect on my food choices. My gut instinct and intuition reminded me that whenever I ate a high-fat diet in the past, even "healthy" fats, too much still felt like too much.
And yes, I was way overeating vegan butter, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, and more.
And so then I made the conscious decision to eat more high fiber carbohydrates (think beans, legumes, whole grain bread/pasta, sweet potatoes, etc) and mindfully reduced the portion sizes of my favorite fats. Not in a restrictive way to lose weight, but so that my liver wouldn't be so stressed out.
I also needed a handful of supplements to balance and support several systems and can tell they are working more efficiently because my hormones are balanced again, I sleep deeper, have steady energy (I struggled with crippling anemia), have a more stable mood, and as a bonus, and I stress the word bonus, I can tell my clothes fit differently.
Partly because I had the energy and motivation to start moving my body daily again, and also shifted my food choices around to honor my Unique Food Code™.
I didn't realize just how out of balance I was because I was struggling with low energy from the anemia. Once I made a couple of changes, I could feel the results. The OAT test helped me reconnect to my UFC™ to feel balanced and energized because I was giving my body the nutrients that help my brain, gut, and metabolism feel happy and like myself again!
People who might benefit from the OAT test include those struggling with:
* ADD/ADHD
* Chronic stress
* Insomnia
* Anxiety and/or depression
* Chronic GI dysfunction
* Metabolic conditions (pre-diabetes, diabetes, PCOS)
* Chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction
* Intestinal yeast and bacteria overgrowth
* Kidney stones/Oxalate related conditions
Abnormally high levels of urine markers for specific microorganisms can cause or increase GI issues, behavior disorders, hyperactivity, fatigue, immune function, hormonal balance and more. Many clients struggling with chronic illnesses and/or neurological disorders often excrete a variety of abnormal organic acids via the urine. Factors that can cause high levels could include things like oral antibiotic use, high sugar, carbohydrate, protein, or fat diets, acquired infections, as well as genetic factors.
While I have been helping clients assess their metabolic state with the OAT test for years, I failed to take it myself and wanted to experience it from the other side. For 48-hours prior to the test, you have to avoid foods and substances that can influence your test results like caffeine and foods that I eat all the time including avocado, tomatoes, walnuts and pecans. I can't tell you the number of times I ate walnuts at breakfast, out of habit, and would have to start over.
I finally set calendar reminders for my test days, printed the "foods to avoid" list, and posted them in the kitchen and pantry. I had to plan to be successful, so I understand the struggle for clients as well. The test results are typically more valuable than you can imagine, so it's worth the inconvenience and planning if you are ready to learn about your internal health and wellness so that we can crack your Unique Food Code {UFC™}.
In full disclosure, when it came time to review my test results with the lab, the dietitian part of me expected the doctor I consult with to say, "Wow! Jennifer! Everyone at the lab said these were the best results they've seen! We're going to frame them!"
But that was far from what actually happened.
One of her comments that stuck out was, "your results are indicating that you are eating too much fat and not enough carbohydrates; your personal biochemistry and metabolism are not designed for a ketogenic diet."
And just for the record, I don't diet and definitely was NOT doing keto!
Instead, I was just eating a lot of "heathy" fats because I love them: avocado, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, olives, peanut butter, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, as well as dairy-free alternative like cheese, ice cream, yogurt and cashew nacho cheese, etc.
When I thoroughly reviewed the test results with Dr. G, part of me (my RDN ego) was in disbelief and shock because, just like my clients, you think you are doing a good job with your daily food choices. I mean, I AM a dietitian!
But after the initial humbling sting wore off, I did a deeper dive and honest reflection of my food choice and recognized that my diet-culture-driven perfectionism mindset was indeed triggered (lol, that ego who wanted perfect test results). My gut instinct reminded me that whenever I ate a high-fat diet in the past, even "healthy" fats, too much still felt like too much.
And so then I made the conscious decision to eat more carbohydrates (think beans, legumes, whole grain bread/pasta, sweet potatoes, etc) and mindfully reduced the portion sizes of my favorite fats. Not in an effort to lose weight or body fat, but to decrease the amount of work on my stressed out liver. It's possible that a compromised liver can lead to a hormone imbalance as well as anemia and weight gain.
I also needed a handful of supplements to get back into balance. I can tell my systems are working more efficiently because I sleep deeper, experience steady energy levels (I was really struggling with crippling anemia), have a more stable mood, and as a bonus, I can tell my clothes fit differently.
Partly because I shifted my food choices around to honor my Unique Food Code™ based on my test results and then had the energy and motivation to start moving my body daily again with activities that felt joyful and fun instead of feeling like a chore or checking something off a list. BIG mental reframe!
