Clinicians & Laboratories
Introduction to Our Services
Bio-Center Laboratory (BCL) was established in 1975 and has dedicated itself to providing accurate clinical assays focusing on nutritional medicine. We specialize in a wide variety of nutritional tests including many vitamins, minerals, RBC fatty acids, and amino acids. We also test for urine pyrroles, whole blood histamine, and many others.
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Don’t rely solely on the information you gather from conversations with your patient
to create a nutrition and supplement plan – make decisions based on real data!
Client service representatives are available Monday through Thursday from 8 AM to 5 PM and Friday 9 AM to 4 PM CST. Our toll-free telephone number is 800-494-7785. For local calls, please call 316-684-7784. Our fax number is 316-682-2062.
| Profiles Available Include: | ||
| Real Health Discovery | Nutrition | Mega |
| Methylation | Heart Health | Energy |
| Brain Health | Inflammation | Breast Health |
| Pre-Conception | Prostate Health | Eye Health |
| Pre-Diabetic | Skin, Hair, and Nail | Bone Health |
| CREATE YOUR OWN – ask us how! |
Nutrient deficiencies have been shown to suppress immune system function, which contributes to chronic disease. Don’t wait until a chronic illness develops in your patient, act now while information about PREVENTION can make a difference. Mainstream medicine does not normally test for vitamin, mineral and other nutrient deficiencies – don’t be left in the dark!
People with degenerative diseases can still receive benefits from these nutritional profiles. By increasing nutrients to optimal levels a better response to treatment may occur.
What Are The Benefits?
The intention of most laboratory tests is to detect or monitor disease. Only a few of these tests will tell you the “nutritional” status of your body, yet the literature is filled with thousands of reports showing that many degenerative diseases can be prevented by having adequate levels of certain nutrients in the body, especially antioxidants. Over 4,000 reports have been written on vitamin C (ascorbic acid) alone.
It is much less expensive to prevent a disease than to treat it!
Research has shown that certain nutrients may delay or prevent the onset of these diseases. By measuring blood levels of these nutrients, we can also tell if your patients are absorbing what they eat.
Nutrition Profile
Nutrient testing is at the core of what we do at the Riordan Clinic. Because every person is biochemically unique we all have different nutritional needs based on hereditary factors, environment, diet, lifestyle choices and every stage of life. The Bio-Center Laboratory’s signature Nutrition Profile focuses on the direct measurement of nutrients and their clinical relevance in fighting or preventing disease.
Heart Health Profile
Let’s look at “Heart Biomarkers.” There are many nutrients and other factors (stress) that are important to prevent heart disease. There are over 2,600 deaths each day from heart disease, yet 50% of the heart attack victims had no abnormalities in the traditional heart disease markers. Vitamins E and C prevent bad LDL from oxidizing; therefore, it cannot attach to the artery wall and form plaques. CoQ10 is a nutrient that is used by the mitochondria of cells to make ATP, or energy. It is also a very strong antioxidant. CoQ10 prevents heart attack and hypertension.
Magnesium is a mineral that is important to just about everything in the body. It is hard to absorb, and 74% of Americans fail to meet the RDA. In a study performed on patients just entering the hospital after a heart attack, of all the interventions tried on the patients, those having the best statistical chance of survival were the ones given intravenous magnesium chloride.
Homocysteine, a metabolite of the amino acid methionine, is a good predictor of heart disease. It can damage the heart and brain arteries similar to low-density lipoprotein (LDL). A 4.0 mM/L increase in homocysteine is equivalent to 20 mg/dL increase in cholesterol. Elevated homocysteine in men makes them three times as likely to have a heart attack, and it can usually be brought back down to acceptable levels by taking vitamins B12, B6, and folic acid.
Another test that is gaining more and more interest in heart health is the ultra-sensitive C Reactive Protein, or CRP-hs. This is an indicator of inflammation at a very low level. Since plaque formation is a type of inflammation, an elevated CRP could indicate early problems with the arteries in the heart (and brain). Other tests included in the Heart Health Profile are lipoprotein(a), lycopene, lipid profile, red blood cell selenium, and urine vitamin C.
Breast Health Profile
Many women may not have enough vitamin D. This fat-soluble vitamin has anti-estrogen activity. It is necessary for normal cell growth and suppresses cancer cell growth.
Selenium is a mineral that is included in many of the profiles. This mineral supports a very important antioxidant enzyme that destroys hydrogen peroxide. A government study was done on 1,312 people over a 4-1/2 year period. Half of the people received 200 micrograms of selenium in yeast; the other half received a sugar pill. Those getting the selenium had a 50% reduction in cancer mortality.
High CoQ10 levels can mean a lower cancer risk. Folic acid deficiency is associated with cancers of the epithelial cells, including the ductile tissue of the breasts. Taken appropriately, selenium, CoQ10, folic acid, and vitamin D appear to increase your protection against breast cancer. Other nutrients measured in this health profile are vitamins A, C, and B6, lycopene, and urine vitamin C. Vitamin C is important against all cancers in that it destroys free radicals and inhibits the formation of carcinogens.
Eye Health Profile
One in 25 people over the age of 65 has significant vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Cataract surgery is the most common surgical procedure performed in the U.S. Both of these conditions can be delayed, if not prevented, with proper nutrition.
The National Eye Institute conducted a study to see if nutrients would have any effect on AMD or cataracts. The nutrients used were 500 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E, 80 mg of zinc oxide, 2 mg of copper oxide, and 15 mg of beta carotene. Although the study showed little or no effect on cataract formation (probably because the doses of nutrients were too low), it did show a reduced risk of AMD by 25% and vision loss by 19%.
Other studies have shown that lutein, a carotenoid responsible for macular pigment optical density (MPOD), alone or in combination with antioxidant vitamins and minerals, improved the MPOD and near visual acuity, slowed the progression of AMD, and improved the central vision of patients with existing AMD. It is also interesting to note that the vitamin C concentration in the front part of the eye is about six times that in the blood.
Prostate Health Profile
These include vitamins A, C, and E, urine vitamin C, lycopene, selenium, and zinc. More than 180,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. More than 40,000 men will die from the disease. It is increasing at a rate of 6.4% a year among men 59 to 79 years old.
Lycopene, a carotenoid found in red tomatoes and watermelon, etc., is a very strong antioxidant and is probably in the highest concentration of any antioxidant in the tissue. Several studies have shown that men in Italy have 60% less prostate cancer than men in the U.S., England, and Ireland. It is thought this is related to the number of tomatoes and tomato products Italian men eat.
Brain Health Profile
For those with a family history of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, a Brain Health Profile might be in order. From 65-74 years of age, 3% of people have Alzheimer’s; 75-84 years, 19% have the disease; and above 84 years, 47% of people have it. This profile contains vitamins A, C, E, B1, B3, B6, and B12, folic acid, fatty acids, CoQ10, homocysteine, amino acids, lipid profile, CRP-hs, selenium, magnesium, zinc, and urine vitamin C and pyrroles.
Vitamin B deficiencies result in memory loss and ataxia. People with increased homocysteine have 2 to 4 times the risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Homocysteine also causes vascular disease of the cerebral arteries and is a neurotoxin to the brain. Vitamin A protects the brain cell membranes, while vitamin E protects the cells from lipid peroxidation and may protect from a stroke. A form of vitamin B1 is important for some enzymes in the brain. Many of these enzymes have been found to be low in the brains of patients who have died with Alzheimer’s.
Low levels of selenium and vitamin E increase the risk of stroke by 4 times in men. CoQ10 increases HDL and decreases lipoprotein(a). Zinc is involved in over 100 enzymes in the brain.
Amino acids are important for brain health. Taurine is most prevalent in the brain. Leucine and isoleucine stimulate the upper brain and make you more alert. Low levels of lysine lead to an inability to concentrate. Methionine clears the brain of metabolic and toxic wastes (cadmium and mercury). Phenylalanine brightens mood and improves long-term memory. Tryptophan is the precursor of serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter. Valine promotes a calming effect on our emotions. Certain fatty acids are useful in preventing Alzheimer’s disease, and some fatty acids are low in children with ADHD.
Other Profiles Available
- Real Health Discovery
- Mega
- Skin, Hair, and Nail
- Bone Health
- Energy Health
- Pre-Diabetic
- Inflammation
