Urinalysis History

Testing urine is an ancient, time-honored practice. Records from ancient China and India mention observations of urine from 1,000-2,000 BC, In 500 BC, Hippocrates himself recorded observations of the changes in urine in health and sickness.

Urinalysis is no less important now than it was then. Up until the late 1970’s, the use of chemical tests for examining urine was a standard part of medical testing. Unfortunately, modern technology has now taken precedence over these well-established tests. Today, only procedures that can be done quickly and with a dipstick are routinely performed in screening for serious diseases like liver and kidney disease and urinary tract infections.

Because our current healthcare system has become more interested in measuring disease processes rather than the maintenance of normal body processes, 24-hour urinalysis are no longer routinely requested in hospitals, and many healthcare practitioners are no longer familiar with them and may not immediately recognize their value. However, all health care practitioners recognize that urine reflects the food and drink we consume.

Why Urinalysis?

Health is the result of being able to maintain certain constant conditions within the body. Your body will do whatever is necessary to maintain these conditions. In other words, it will hoard what it is deficient in and will discard what it has too much of. The body filters the blood through the kidneys and uses the formation of urine to cleanse the blood. It discards excess acid and alkali to maintain a normal pH balance within the blood. This filtration also maintains a proper balance between water and salt in the blood, discarding the excess in the urine. Waste products and toxic substances, such as drugs and alcohol, are also removed.

A 24-hour Integrative Urinalysis Panel (IUP) can tell whether you are adequately digesting the food you eat, absorbing and using the nutrients you’ve digested, and if you are getting rid of the body’s wastes properly.

How does a 24-Hour Urinalysis Work?

Peak Performance Chiropractic will give you specific instructions and a collection kit. Patients must eat and drink the way they normally do while collecting all urine output over a 24 hour period in order to provide the most accurate information. After sending a sample to a certified laboratory, a multi-faceted report is generated, including:

• Standard screening tests (the same as performed in hospitals) which checks for diabetes, liver and kidney disease, urinary infection, and inflammation.
• Physical tests for color, cloudiness, volume, and specific gravity. This is used to recognize abnormalities, including the kidney’s ability to clean the blood.
• Chemistry tests including an Indican evaluation, which measures the presence of food in the colon that is putrefying, which causes pain and inflammation.
• Digestion tests which evaluates urinary sediment for excessive crystal formations that indicate problems with digestion or excessive consumption of protein, sugar, or fat.
• Other tests such as pH, calcium, and vitamin C levels are also included

What Comes Next?

A 24-Hour Urinalysis gives your health care practitioner biochemical evidence of how well your body is processing your dietary choices and what food(s) your body is having a difficult time digesting and assimilating. There is an unmistakable connection between the importance of proper digestion and the occurrence of many chronic and nagging health complaints such as allergies, migraine headaches, and digestive disorders. With the information from your report, you will be able to readily modify your diet according to your body’s needs and introduce targeted digestive enzymes into your routine to help support digestion where needed. An IUA can provide invaluable information about where your body may be experiencing stress so you can address them before you experience disease.

This screening procedure is one of the best available today; it provides a way to identify the reasons behind the symptoms rather than simply covering them up. It is an invaluable way to develop a clear plan for returning to a healthy state and ward-off the long-term effects of poor digestion. Please call our office with any questions about the IUP process or to schedule yours today.

 

Source:

Food Enzyme Institute. (2015). 24 Hour Urinalysis What It Can Do For You [Brochure]. Publisher Unknown.