What Working With Me Looks Like/What To Expect
Jaclyn Downs, MS, HHP, Functional Genomic Nutritionist
I work with clients that come to me for a wide array of reasons, with the common factor being their goal to get to the root cause of their conditions. I educate my clients so they know how to nourish and cleanse their bodies, which affects all parts and systems of the body, right down to the cells.
Although I enjoy helping all kinds of clients, my passion and specialty is with helping families achieve a wanted pregnancy. I have been passionate about pregnancy, birth and reproductive health since I decided to become a certified doula and apprentice with a midwife in 2003.
Health History Intake / First Visit:
We discuss your period and reproductive history, digestive health, toxin exposure, diet, water source, sleep habits, physical and emotional stressors, and supplement/medication lists. This is a very specific physical, emotional and biochemical assessment to discover some of the minor and major factors affecting your health and fertility, and it gives me an idea of which areas of fertility need support.
At the end of the first visit, I generally provide a “plan of action” by listing the top three things we should address first.
Education With Customized And Targeted Recommendations, Backed By Evidence-Based Scientific Research:
Inflammation can create damage to cells through a process called oxidative stress. This damage particularly affects reproductive functioning because sperm and eggs are cells that are especially vulnerable to oxidative stress!
Oxidative stress can affect many areas of infertility. It can cause implantation problems and repeated miscarriage, as well as endometriosis, hormonal imbalance, IVF failure and autoimmune disorders (references available).
We discuss improving food quality, digestion/gut health, and nutrient deficiencies. I also help you to achieve optimal blood sugar regulation, reduce exposure to toxins in and around the home, and upgrade lifestyle (sleep quality, physical movement, self-care). Addressing these factors lowers inflammation and oxidative stress.
Understanding these factors and creating a plan in each consult will create healthier cells, leading to a healthier body now, and into older age.
Without Testing, We Are Guessing; My Top 5 Recommended Tests:
Testing can get expensive, but it helps give us concrete answers upon which to base our health plan so goals can be achieved more efficiently.
The tests below can identify markers for causes of inflammation. These are extremely helpful, but not required. The order of importance varies from person to person and is based on your health history.
1. Your Genomic Resource Genetic Test Kit ($250) – With the results from this test, we can see genetic predispositions for causes of inflammation (i.e. detoxification ability, fat utilization, etc), nutrient deficiencies, and where potential problems may reside. This test can indicate where problems may be stemming from and can give an idea of what further tests may be recommended.
2. ENVIROtox – This kit is a combination of three different urine tests
OAT – Urine Organic Acid Test: A snapshot of what is currently happening in the body. Looks at over 70 markers relating to fat utilization, mitochondrial functioning, nutrient insufficiencies, and gut health/dysbiosis.
GPL-TOX – Exposure to environmental pollutants has been linked to infertility and many chronic diseases (scientific references available). This test screens for 172 different environmental pollutants including organophosphate pesticides, phthalates, benzene, xylene, vinyl chloride, pyrethroid insecticides, acrylamide, and perchlorate. This test may be especially important to those living on or near farmland.
Glyphosate – Glyphosate has been linked to hormonal disruption and impaired fertility in both men and women (1,2,3,4,5,6). Genetics can affect one’s ability to effectively clear pesticides.
3. Iron Panel with CBC, CMP, and Lipids – Plus add-on for ferritin and ceruloplasmin. Copper and Iron dysregulation are root causes for many downstream issues in the body.
4. Stool – Detailed test on microbiome health and gut integrity. If our guts are inflamed or overgrown with opportunistic bacteria/fungus/parasites, we may have immune dysfunction and nutrient, hormonal and chemical imbalances and will not have optimal health or vitality.
5. Hair Mineral/Metal – Results may reveal mineral deficiencies/excesses and accumulated heavy metals. If we have deficiencies in certain nutrients, our bodies won’t have enough to properly support pregnancy/fetal growth. Conversely, the toxins we have in our bodies absolutely get passed to our babies and can lead to various health and cognitive issues (scientific references available).
I don’t usually do thyroid and hormone testing right off the bat. I recommend diet and lifestyle, home environment and body care upgrades first, then do baseline testing 3-6 months down the road to see what our hormones are doing when not affected by toxins, plastics, nutrient deficiencies.
I make some general dietary upgrade recommendations (GMO-free, organic, good fats vs bad fats, etc), as well as dietary recommendations based upon symptoms and lab results (low histamine, low oxalate, gluten free, etc).
$150 for initial visit, 60 minutes
Follow Up visits - $150 for 60 minutes, $75 for 30 minutes.
Toxicology. 2009 Aug 21;262(3):184-91. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2009.06.006. Epub 2009 Jun 17.
Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Jun;113(6):716-20.
Defarge N, Mesnage R, Gress S, Séralini GE. (2012) Letter to the editor: developmental and reproductive outcomes of roundup and glyphosate in humans and animals. J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev. 2012;15(7):433-7.
Nutritional Perspectives: Journal of the Council on Nutrition . Jan2014, Vol. 37 Issue 1, p5-12. 8p.