Testing
Getting a Baseline
Once, annual physicals checked knees, throats, and did basic tests. Now visits focus on quick symptom–medication fixes and insurance-driven screenings. If you had a defined treatment (for kidney stones), you likely have test results and follow-up plans. If you healed more at your own direction, you may want to guide your own follow-up as well.
What assessments can we use for our mind and body?
This module builds an overview of the diagnostics available to gather a baseline data set. Past and current symptoms guide the way.
Testing Frequency
Are you being over-tested, over-diagnosed and confused? Or avoiding tests entirely? Between ignoring your health and constant annual checkups is another option: spacing tests by a decade. Many of us avoid testing for reasons like routine, anger over past poor care, or fear of bad news. Your brain can help you seek tests that can help point to root causes in your current lifestyle.
Start From the Head
Because a rational optimistic Mind is helpful for healing and an irrational depressed Mind is not.
Brain • Mental • Emotional Diagnostics
Neurochemical
Primary Markers: Clinical Tracking Scales (PHQ-9/GAD-7), Urine Organic Acids (Metabolite Testing), Methylation Profile, Saliva Neurotransmitter Testing
What It Checks For:
Affective & Behavioral Stability: Utilizes standardized tracking scales (PHQ-9/GAD-7) and neurotransmitter testing to evaluate biological markers driving clinical anxiety, depression, irrationality, and acute aggression.
Metabolic Neurochemical Breakdown: Employs urine organic acid testing to analyze downstream neurotransmitter metabolites, checking for imbalances in dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine pathways common in ADHD.
Epigenetic Processing: Assesses the methylation profile to identify functional biochemical blocks that directly impair the synthesis, transport, and clearing of mood-regulating signaling molecules.
Cognitive Function
Primary Markers: Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Quantitative EEG (qEEG) Brain Mapping, ApoE Genetic Risk Screening, Micronutrient Screening (Serum/Cellular $B_{12}$)
What It Checks For:
Cortical & Structural Status: Employs the MoCA to establish baseline objective scoring across memory, executive function, and spatial orientation to screen for active cognitive decline or early-stage dementia.
Electrophysiological Velocity: Utilizes qEEG brain mapping to analyze subcortical processing speeds, network connectivity, and altered brainwave patterns associated with neurodegenerative conditions.
Genetic Vulnerability: Identifies the presence of specific ApoE alleles to stratify lifetime susceptibility to late-onset neurodegenerative pathologies and beta-amyloid accumulation.
Axonal & Myelin Protection: Measures active micronutrient levels ($B_{12}$ and methylmalonic acid) to rule out functional nutritional deficiencies that manifest as cognitive fog or pseudo-dementia.
Visual & Auditory Processing
Primary Markers: High-Resolution Brain MRI (Structural Screening), Polysomnography (Sleep Architecture), Metabolic Toxicity Profile
What It Checks For:
Structural Trajectory: Employs high-resolution neural imaging to rule out physical lesions, structural white matter asymmetries, or mass effect anomalies that trigger auditory or visual hallucinations and dyslexia.
Neurological Recovery & Architecture: Utilizes polysomnography to analyze sleep staging and micro-arousals, identifying sleep-deprivation or REM-behavior disruptions that compromise sensory processing centers.
Encephalopathic Stress: Tracks the metabolic toxicity profile to catch systemic chemical burdens, heavy metal accumulations, or organic acids that can breach the blood-brain barrier and cause sensory distortions.
Assessment Checklist
Symptom Survey — Neurological Baseline
Body • Brain • Head Diagnostics
Visual (Eye Function)
Primary Markers: Comprehensive Eye Exam (Visual Acuity & Refraction), Tonometry, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Visual Evoked Potential (VEP)
What It Checks For:
Refractive & Focal Precision: Utilizes standard acuity and refraction mapping to evaluate the structural focusing power of the lens and cornea, tracking changes in near, distance, and astigmatic vision.
Intraocular Pressure Dynamics: Employs tonometry to measure the fluid pressure inside the eye, acting as a critical early radar for optical nerve compression and glaucoma risk.
Retinal & Macular Architecture: Utilizes OCT to produce micrometer-resolution, cross-sectional maps of the retina, screening for deep-layer cellular thinning, macular degeneration, or fluid leakage.
Neural Pathway Conductivity: Measures VEP to track the speed and integrity of the electrical signals traveling along the optic nerve from the retina directly to the occipital cortex, ruling out central demyelination or conduction delays.
Auditory (Hearing)
Primary Markers: Pure-Tone Audiometry & Tympanometry, Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE), Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
What It Checks For:
Acoustic Threshold & Conductive Integrity: Utilizes pure-tone tracking and tympanometry to determine frequency-specific hearing limits while physically evaluating the mechanical movement of the eardrum and middle ear bones.
Cochlear Hair Cell Vitality: Employs OAE testing to capture the microscopic acoustic feedback emitted by the inner ear's outer hair cells, verifying functional sensory responsiveness.
Ascending Brainstem Conduction: Uses ABR scans to map the neural electrical path from the auditory nerve through the brainstem, isolating whether hearing deficits are sensory or driven by central neurological pathway disruptions.
Dental & Oral Microbiome
Primary Markers: Periodontal Charting & Full-Mouth Digital X-Rays, Oral Microbiome DNA Sequencing, Cone Beam CT (CBCT)
What It Checks For:
Gingival Attachments & Crestal Bone Density: Pairs millimeter pocket depths (periodontal charting) with digital radiographs to monitor for active soft-tissue recession and localized bone destruction.
Systemic Pathogenic Colonization: Utilizes advanced oral DNA sequencing to profile anaerobic bacteria, identifying specific microbial strains that breach the oral-vascular barrier to drive systemic cardiovascular and neurological inflammation.
Ischemic Jawbone & Endodontic Pathology: Employs high-definition 3D CBCT imaging to rule out silent, necrotic root canal infections or hidden jawbone cavitations that bypass traditional two-dimensional X-rays.
Olfactory (Smell & Sinuses)
Primary Markers: University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) / Sniffin' Sticks, Nasal Endoscopy, Low-Dose Sinus CT Scan
What It Checks For:
Early Neurodegenerative Tracking: Uses standardized olfactory identification metrics (UPSIT) as a highly sensitive functional proxy to catch early cranial nerve I (olfactory bulb) degradation, a known prodromal marker for central neurodegenerative shifts.
Mucosal & Structural Patency: Utilizes direct endoscopy to visually inspect the nasal passages for physical obstructions, tissue hypertrophy, or polyps.
Parenchymal Differentiation: Reconstructs sinus anatomy via low-dose CT to definitively separate mechanical airway blockages or chronic rhinosinusitis from true sensory-neurological olfactory decline.
Hair (Integumentary Vitality)
Primary Markers: Trichoscopy, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA), Fasting Serum Ferritin & Total Iron Panel
What It Checks For:
Follicular Miniaturization & Pigment Kinetics: Uses high-magnification trichoscopy to analyze follicle density, hair shaft diameter variations, and melanocyte depletion patterns to differentiate between cyclical shedding and pattern thinning.
Intracellular Mineral Excretion & Xenobiotic Burden: Utilizes HTMA to analyze the cellular deposition of trace minerals and heavy metal toxicities over a multi-month window, providing a timeline of metabolic expenditure and environmental exposure.
Nutritional Matrix Storage: Tracks serum ferritin and circulating iron fractions to ensure the metabolic engines of the hair follicles have the baseline iron-saturation levels required to maintain the active anagen (growth) phase.
Pricing the Tests
US Cash Pay Lab Pricing Estimates
Use these download files to plan and budget your testing. The 28 Organ Test List organizes every Primary Marker by body system for easy reference. The Lab Pricing Script shows you how to get state-specific cost estimates using any general ai platform. Regional variations and whether you're paying out-of-pocket or through insurance can be investigated during your queries. Data as of May 2026.
Alpha Organ Testing List
Body • Organ Diagnostics
Adrenals Glands
Primary Markers: 4-Point Salivary or Urinary Cortisol, DHEA-S
What It Checks For:
HPA-Axis Adaptation: Evaluates central communication between the brain and the adrenal cortex to identify states of acute hyper-cortisolemia (high stress) versus functional adrenal exhaustion (low baseline output).
Circadian Rhythm Integrity: Maps the diurnal cortisol curve to verify if energy hormones rise properly in the morning and drop predictably at night for restorative sleep.
Androgenic Resilience: Measures DHEA-S levels to determine foundational hormonal reserves and the capacity to structurally counteract chronic stress.
Appendix
Primary Markers: White Blood Cell Count (WBC) with Differential, High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP), Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC)
What It Checks For:
Acute Inflammatory Activation: Evaluates shifts in total WBC and hs-CRP to detect rapid-onset immune reactivity and localized tissue inflammation within the cecal region.
Bacterial Pathogen Defense: Tracks the Absolute Neutrophil Count to monitor active immunological recruitment against acute microbial imbalances or physical obstructions in the appendiceal lumen.
Mucosal Immune Surveillance: Serves as a downstream proxy indicator evaluating the appendix's role in storing and seeding beneficial biofilms to maintain gut microbiome homeostasis after systemic clearance events.
Bladder
Primary Markers: Standard Urinalysis (pH, Leukocyte Esterase, Nitrites), Urine Culture, Epithelial Cells
What It Checks For:
Urothelium Tissue Integrity: Screens for the presence of microscopic blood, excessive epithelial sloughing, or protein spilling to detect physical irritation or structural breakdown of the bladder lining.
Microbial Overgrowth & Stagnation: Monitors nitrites, leukocyte esterase, and targeted cultures to rule out pathogenic bacterial colonization or incomplete urinary clearance.
Chemical & Metabolic Toxicity: Evaluates urine pH and specific gravity to assess the concentration of acidic metabolic wastes, toxic residues, and crystal formations stressing the lower urinary tract architecture.
Brain Components (Subcortical Structures)
Primary Markers: High-Resolution Brain MRI (3T), Functional MRI (fMRI), Neurotransmitter Metabolite Panels, Quantitative EEG (qEEG)
What It Checks For:
Deep Structural Integrity: Utilizes neuroimaging to screen for structural changes, volume loss, or microvascular lesions within the deep white and gray matter structures (such as the basal ganglia, hippocampus, and thalamus).
Neuroendocrine Feedback Control: Evaluates the functional output of the master signaling centers (the hypothalamus and pituitary gland) to check how effectively the inner brain is governing systemic hormones, body temperature, metabolic regulation, and circadian rhythms.
Memory Consolidation & Neuroplasticity: Assesses the integrity and metabolic activity of the hippocampus and amygdala to monitor emotional processing, memory storage capacities, and resilience against chronic stress or neurodegenerative decay.
Motor Circuitry & Central Dopaminergic Flow: Tracks the performance of the basal ganglia network to verify smooth motor coordination, habit formation, and the prevention of central dopamine-driven signaling imbalances.
Breast Mammary Glands
Primary Markers: Screening Mammography, Breast Ultrasound, High-Resolution Breast MRI, Duct Epithelial Cellular Evaluation
What It Checks For:
Structural Architecture & Density: Utilizes radiographic imaging (mammography) to screen for micro-calcifications, architectural distortions, or dense tissue patterns that require closer surveillance.
Lesion Differentiation & Patency: Employs ultrasound fluid dynamics to differentiate between benign, fluid-filled cysts and solid, vascularized tissue masses within the lobules.
Oncological Risk & Tissue Mutations: Uses high-resolution contrast imaging (MRI) to detect early-stage ductal anomalies or abnormal hyper-vascularity indicative of cellular mutation.
Ductal Epithelial Integrity: Screens the lining of the milk ducts for proliferative changes, hyperplasia, or localized inflammatory fluid retention driven by hormonal imbalances or environmental stressors.
Colon (Large Intestine)
Primary Markers: Screening Colonoscopy or Cologuard, Functional Stool Analysis (Microbiome Balance, Short-Chain Fatty Acids), Fecal Calprotectin
What It Checks For:
Structural Architecture & Neoplasia: Utilizes optical imaging (colonoscopy) or stool DNA markers (Cologuard) to screen for physical polyps, mucosal abnormalities, or early-stage precancerous cellular mutations.
Microbiome Ecosystem Equilibrium: Employs functional profiling to map the diversity and balance of beneficial vs. opportunistic bacterial phyla, identifying states of dysbiosis or pathogenic overgrowth.
Metabolic Byproduct Synthesis: Tracks short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs like butyrate, acetate, and propionate) to evaluate the gut's fuel production capacity for colonocytes, mucosal barrier integrity, and systemic anti-inflammatory signaling.
Luminal Inflammatory Strain: Measures markers like fecal calprotectin to differentiate between functional tissue irritability and active, deep-layer structural inflammation within the large intestine.
Gallbladder
Total & Direct Bilirubin: Evaluates conjugation efficiency and the physical flow of bile through the gallbladder. Abdominal Ultrasound or a HIDA Scan (to measure gallbladder ejection fraction)
Heart & Vasculature
Primary Markers: ApoB (Apolipoprotein B), hs-CRP, Homocysteine
What It Checks For:
Atherogenic Particle Count: Measures ApoB to quantify the exact number of plaque-carrying lipoprotein particles in circulation, delivering a far more precise metric of vascular risk than traditional cholesterol totals.
Endothelial Inflammation: Utilizes hs-CRP to detect microscopic irritation and localized inflammatory fires within the blood vessel walls.
Vascular Shear Stress: Identifies elevations in homocysteine that physically scratch the arterial lining while signaling systemic methylation deficits and B-vitamin depletion.
Kidneys
Primary Markers: Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN), Creatinine, Uric Acid, Standard Urinalysis
What It Checks For:
Filtration Capacity: Utilizes eGFR and creatinine clearance to evaluate the fundamental rate at which the kidneys filter waste products out of the bloodstream.
Protein Byproduct Clearance: Tracks BUN to monitor protein metabolism breakdown and real-time fluid balance status.
Metabolic Crystalline Stress: Evaluates uric acid levels to detect micro-crystalline accumulation, localized vascular kidney pressure, and systemic metabolic waste clearance.
Tissue Integrity Screen: Employs a standard urinalysis to physically screen for cellular damage, protein spilling, or pH imbalances within the renal architecture.
Liver & Gallbladder
Primary Markers: GGT, ALT, AST, ALP, Total & Direct Bilirubin
What It Checks For:
Detoxification Pathway Stress: Employs GGT as a highly sensitive indicator of chemical, toxic, or xenobiotic exposure, directly reflecting the depletion of intracellular glutathione.
Hepatocellular Injury: Screens ALT and AST to catch acute cellular stress, structural damage, or leaking enzymes from liver tissue.
Biliary Flow Dynamics: Measures ALP and bilirubin fractions to confirm that bile is flowing freely through the gallbladder, ensuring fat-soluble toxins are bound and fully excreted through the stool.
Lungs
Primary Markers: Spirometry (FEV1/FVC Ratio), Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO), Pulse Oximetry ($SpO_2$), Chest X-Ray or CT Scan
What It Checks For:
Ventilatory Capacity & Airflow: Utilizes spirometry tracking to measure active lung volumes and flow rates, identifying restrictive or obstructive patterns in airway mechanics.
Airway Inflammatory Stress: Measures FeNO levels to detect eosinophilic airway inflammation, indicating allergic or hyper-reactive immune signaling within the bronchial tree.
Gas Exchange Efficiency: Employs pulse oximetry to assess the direct transfer of oxygen from alveolar spaces into arterial hemoglobin circulation.
Parenchymal Architecture & Pathology: Uses structural imaging to screen for physical tissue abnormalities, fluid accumulation, fibrosis, or structural lesions within the lung fields.
Ileum (Small Intestine)
Primary Markers: Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin), Methylmalonic Acid (MMA), Secretory IgA (sIgA), Breath Testing (Lactulose/Glucose SIBO)
What It Checks For:
Micronutrient Assimilation: Tracks systemic Vitamin B12 and MMA levels to assess the terminal ileum's specific capacity to absorb vital cobalamin-intrinsic factor complexes.
Mucosal Immune Defense: Measures secretory IgA to evaluate the secretory antibody response of Peyer's patches—the concentrated lymphatic tissues in the ileum tracking intestinal pathogens.
Bacterial Stagnation & Overgrowth: Utilizes breath gas testing to rule out the backflow of colonic microbes into the small intestine, checking the functional barrier efficiency of the ileocecal valve.
Bile Acid Recirculation: Screens for structural or chemical malabsorption by verifying that bile salts are being properly reabsorbed and recycled back to the liver rather than slipping into the colon.
Pancreas & Metabolic Core
Primary Markers: Fasting Insulin, HbA1c, C-Peptide
What It Checks For:
Early Insulin Resistance: Evaluates fasting insulin to catch a compensating, overworked pancreas years before baseline fasting glucose levels begin to rise or fail.
Cellular Glycation Burden: Tracks HbA1c to measure the 3-month average of circulating blood sugar, assessing the generation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) that prematurely age tissue.
Beta-Cell Output: Utilizes C-Peptide as a highly stable, direct proxy to measure exactly how much native insulin the pancreatic beta cells are actively manufacturing.Penis & Testicles – Physical exam, testicular self-exams, and Scrotal Ultrasound if structural anomalies or lumps are found
Prostrate
Primary Markers: Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Fractions (Free & Total PSA), Free-to-Total PSA Ratio, Digital Rectal Exam (DRE), Prostate Health Index (PHI)
What It Checks For:
Tissue Hyperplasia & Patency: Evaluates elevations in Total PSA to detect physical enlargement, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or structural changes causing urinary flow obstruction.
Oncological Risk Stratification: Tracks the Free-to-Total PSA Ratio and advanced metrics like the PHI to help differentiate between benign tissue growth and active malignant cellular mutations.
Glandular Inflammation & Infection: Screens for sudden PSA spikes or localized tenderness to identify prostatitis—acute or chronic inflammation driven by microbial entry or chemical irritation.
Structural Boundaries: Utilizes physical screening (DRE) to assess the size, symmetry, texture, and physical margins of the gland for hard nodules or structural asymmetry.
Spleen
Primary Markers: Complete Blood Count (WBC, RBC, Platelets), Manual Blood Smear (Howell-Jolly Bodies), Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), Abdominal Ultrasound
What It Checks For:
Hematological Clearance & Recycling: Evaluates red blood cell and platelet counts to determine how effectively the spleen is filtering, storing, and recycling worn-out blood elements through its splenic cords.
Sequestration & Glandular Hypertrophy: Utilizes structural imaging and blood counts to catch splenomegaly (enlargement), checking if the organ is abnormally trapping platelets and erythrocytes due to portal hypertension or systemic infection.
Immunological Filtration & Quality Control: Screens the peripheral blood smear for abnormal cellular remnants (like Howell-Jolly bodies) to measure the spleen's functional capacity to "pit" and clear damaged cells and encapsulated bacterial pathogens from circulation.
Systemic Lymphoid Reactivity: Tracks markers like LDH to detect rapid cellular turnover or structural congestion within the white pulp, signaling active, deep-layer lymphatic stress or lymphoproliferative responses.
Stomach
Primary Markers: Gastrin, Pepsinogen I & II (and the Pepsinogen Ratio), Helicobacter pylori Antibodies/Breath Test, Functional Gastric Acid Analysis
What It Checks For:
Mucosal Architecture & Atrophy: Evaluates the Pepsinogen I/II ratio and fasting gastrin levels to detect chronic atrophic gastritis or the loss of acid-producing parietal cells.
Pathogenic Colonization: Utilizes targeted antibodies, stool antigens, or urea breath testing to rule out H. pylori infection—a major driver of mucosal degradation, ulcers, and systemic nutrient malabsorption.
Hydrochloric Acid Secretion Capacity: Assesses stomach acid production kinetics to identify states of hypochlorhydria (low acid) or achlorhydria (no acid), which severely impair protein breakdown and the ionization of minerals like iron and $B_{12}$.
Gastrointestinal Barrier Integrity: Tracks localized inflammatory markers and structural cell signaling to verify that the stomach's protective mucosal layer is shielding the underlying tissue from auto-digestion and chemical erosion.
Thymus & Lymphatic System
Primary Markers: Absolute T-Cell Subsets (CD4+/CD8+ Ratio), TGF-Beta 1, Thymusin Peptide Markers
What It Checks For:
Immunological Maturation: Assesses absolute T-cell subsets to determine how effectively the thymus gland is training and balancing defensive white blood cells.
Immune Tolerance Regulation: Measures the cytokine TGF-Beta 1 to check the integrity of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) that actively prevent the immune system from attacking its own healthy tissues.
Thymic Involution Tracking: Monitors native thymic peptide output to gauge the functional vitality of the gland against age-related or toxin-induced shrinking.
Thyroid Gland
Primary Markers: TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, Thyroid Antibodies (TPO & TgAb)
What It Checks For:
Central Feedback Signaling: Measures TSH to evaluate how urgently the pituitary gland is stimulating the thyroid to manufacture hormone assets.
Bioavailable Cellular Velocity: Checks Free T4 (storage) and Free T3 (active) to measure the exact amount of unbound hormone interacting with cellular receptors to drive mitochondrial speed.
Systemic Energy Shunting: Evaluates Reverse T3 to see if the body is actively misrouting active hormones into an unusable, inactive form due to chronic toxic strain, heavy metals, or persistent mental pressure.
Tissue Self-Attack: Screens for TPO and TgAb antibodies to rule out a mistaken autoimmune immune response targeting the physical architecture of the gland.
Uterus & Ovaries
Primary Markers: Estradiol ($E_2$), Progesterone ($P_4$), Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH), Pelvic Ultrasound
What It Checks For:
Neuroendocrine Feedback Coordination: Evaluates the cyclical production of estradiol and progesterone to assess how effectively the brain (HPO-axis) communicating with ovarian tissue for ovulation and endometrial signaling.
Follicular Reserve & Ovarian Age: Measures AMH levels to evaluate remaining primordial follicle pools and overall functional ovarian lifespan.
Endometrial Architecture & Patency: Utilizes pelvic imaging to screen for structural abnormalities like fibroids, polyps, or changes in endometrial thickness across the menstrual cycle phases.
Tissue Proliferative Control: Tracks hormone ratios to screen for states of estrogen dominance or progesterone deficiency that trigger abnormal tissue proliferation, cysts, or localized pelvic discomfort.
Pricing the Tests
US Cash Pay Lab Pricing Estimates
Use these download files to plan and budget your testing. The 28 Organ Test List organizes every Primary Marker by body system for easy reference. The Lab Pricing Script shows you how to get state-specific cost estimates using any general ai platform. Regional variations and whether you're paying out-of-pocket or through insurance can be investigated during your queries. Data as of May 2026.