Always feeling tired and low in energy, no matter how much you rest? Learn how to uncover the root causes of low energy so you can feel vibrant again.
Do you often:
- Feel tired even after a full night’s sleep?
- Experience afternoon crashes or need caffeine to get through the day?
- Struggle with stamina for exercise or daily activities?
- Feel “wired but tired” at night?
If you said “yes” to 2 or more, fatigue can be linked to nutrient deficiencies, mitochondrial issues, thyroid/adrenal imbalance, or chronic inflammation.
| Test | Provider | Reasoning | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic Acids Test (OAT) | Nutripath | Reveals mitochondrial function, B-vitamin status, detox pathways. | Lord RS, Bralley JA. Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine (2008). |
| Comprehensive Thyroid Profile | Nutripath | Checks TSH, free T4/T3, antibodies — uncovering hidden thyroid issues behind fatigue. Check against these associated symptoms, which make thyroid issues a more likely root cause of your symptoms. | Gaitonde DY et al. 2012 |
| DUTCH Complete | Precision Analytical Inc. | Evaluates cortisol patterns, adrenal health, hormone metabolism. | Here’s the Truth About “Adrenal Fatigue”. Cleveland Clinic (Feb 2025) |
Disclaimer: These are specialised functional tests to identify root causes of your symptom(s). Functional testing should be considered as a complement to conventional medical evaluations from your healthcare provider. We recommend pursuing these specialised assessments after standard medical tests have been done to rule out common conditions, or when conventional testing indicates normal results despite your persistent symptoms.
Conventional tests may include these (not exhaustive), depending on your other symptom(s):
| Tests | Reasonings (In brief, not exhaustive) |
| Full Blood Count (FBC) or Complete Blood Count (CBC) | Assess general basic nutritional health. For eg. 1. Haemoglobin and its indices (to diagnosis anaemia) 2. White cell count- raised in infection 3. Platelet count- Low in conditions like liver failure, Raised in refractory reaction to bleeding All of which, can cause fatigue |
| Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) +/- C- Reactive Protein (CRP) | Raised in infection and inflammation of various causes- So helpful to know if body is undergoing stress and working harder, but doesn’t pin-point the exact cause. |
| Urea & Electrolyes (also known as Renal Profile, Renal Function Test) | Assess kidneys filtration health and electrolytes levels- commonly Sodium, Potassium, Urea, Chloride- Imbalances can cause fatigue and poor concentration |
| Liver Function Test | Assess liver health, by measuring enzymes produced by the liver- deranged levels can cause fatigue and poor concentration |
| Thyroid function tests | Test includes Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), T4, T3 levels. This assess the function of the thyroid gland which can affect energy levels. In the presence of normal levels, with persisting symptoms, more detailed tests (as above) can be done |
| Iron profile- inc. ferritin | Measures Iron stores in the body- Low ferritin indicates iron deficiency anaemia. High levels is less specific and can be caused by infection, inflammation, autoimune, cancer, liver damage. |
| Vitamin B12, folate | Assess vitamin levels crucial for energy production |
| Vitamin D | Low level has been linked with fatigue and low mood |
| HbA1c | Measures average blood sugar level over the immediate 3 months prior- helpful to diagnose diabetes. However, as it is a measure of average, it does not tell us the peaks, where inflammation and metabolic damage happens. |
| Lipid Profile | A standard lipid profile measures total amount of different types of fats (lipids) in the blood. However, it doesn’t assess the quality of those fats- which is more important for measure of heart health and risk of stroke or heart attack. |