01 · The map
70+ markers, one picture
Energy, mood chemistry, gut microbes, B-vitamins, detox — a broad metabolic snapshot that's ideal when fatigue and brain fog have no obvious cause.
+ Functional Testing
Urine · At-home
The Organic Acids Test — one urine sample, your whole metabolism
When energy, mood and focus are the problem but nothing obvious shows on standard tests, the answer is often one level deeper — in how your cells actually make energy and process everything else. The organic acids test reads the by-products of that metabolism from a single morning urine sample.
At How It Heals we run this as NutriPATH's Organic Acids profile — 70+ markers covering cell energy, brain chemistry, gut bugs, B-vitamins and detox — collected at home and interpreted for you.
+ What the test sees
Your metabolism, from one sample
Organic acids are the by-products your cells leave behind. Read 70+ of them from a single morning urine and you can see where a pathway is stalling — long before it shows on a standard test.
02 · The energy cycle
How your cells make energy
These markers show whether you're actually turning food into usable energy — the engine room underneath real, bone-deep fatigue.
03 · Mood chemistry
The chemistry behind mood
The traces serotonin and dopamine leave behind hint at where motivation, focus and calm are being made — or aren't.
04 · The gut signal
Gut yeast, seen in urine
Certain markers flag a yeast or bacterial overgrowth from a simple urine sample — a gut clue that often explains the cravings and the fog.
+ What it measures
70+ markers, from one morning sample
Organic acids are the metabolic “exhaust” your cells leave behind. Read them and you can see where a pathway is stalling long before it shows up as a disease.
Cellular energy
Whether your cells are actually turning food into usable energy — the engine-room stuff underneath real, bone-deep fatigue.
Mood chemistry
The traces that serotonin and dopamine leave behind — the brain chemistry behind mood, motivation and focus.
Gut yeast & overgrowth
Signs of yeast or bacterial overgrowth in your gut that quietly show up in your urine — often the missing piece behind cravings and fog.
B-vitamins
Whether you're actually using the B vitamins — B6, B12, folate — you eat and take, or just passing them straight through.
Cellular wear & tear
The signs of cellular “rust” — how much strain your system is under, and how hard your body is working to keep up.
Detox
How well your body is clearing everyday toxins — what decides your total load.
+ When it's worth running
When an OAT earns its place
The OAT is the test we reach for when the problem is energy, brain and mood, and the usual panels came back unremarkable.
- Fatigue that isn't explained by your bloods
- Brain fog, poor focus or word-finding trouble
- Low mood, flat motivation or anxiety
- Sugar or carb cravings you can't out-willpower
- Gut symptoms alongside the fatigue
- Sensitivity to lots of foods or supplements
- Chronic fatigue or a long post-viral tail
- “Doing everything right” and still depleted
+ How the test works
First-morning urine, collected at home
One sample, first thing in the morning. No fasting drama, no clinic.
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Kit to your door
After your consult we order the panel and post a collection kit anywhere in Australia.
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Collect at home
A single first-morning urine sample, following simple prep the day before. Freeze and pack as directed.
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Post & interpret
Pre-paid return to the lab. We read the metabolic map with you — what's stalling and what to do about it.
Urine Sample
At home Collection
~2–3 wks Turnaround
70+ Markers
+ How we read it
A metabolic map is only as good as the reading
Seventy markers is a lot of red and green. Without someone to connect them, it's just anxiety in PDF form.
The skill with an OAT is pattern recognition: a low energy marker sitting beside a high yeast marker beside a struggling mood-chemistry marker usually isn't three problems — it's one story with a clear first move. Chase every marker and you'll be on a dozen supplements; read the pattern and you'll be on the two that matter.
At How It Heals your OAT is interpreted against your symptoms and your other results — a gut yeast signal here often lines up with a gut or hormone finding there — and turned into a short, staged protocol.
You leave knowing which pathway we're supporting first, why, and when we'll retest to confirm it moved.
+ Common questions
The organic acids test, answered
The questions we get asked most, answered straight.
What does an organic acids test show?
It reads 70+ markers from your urine — covering how your cells make energy, your mood chemistry, gut yeast and bacterial overgrowth, whether you're using your B vitamins, cellular wear and tear, and detox. It's a broad snapshot that's especially useful for unexplained fatigue, low mood and brain fog.
Is the OAT the same as a mitochondrial or gut test?
It overlaps with both. It includes cell-energy markers and gut markers, which is why it's such an efficient first look — but it doesn't replace a full stool panel if the gut is the main event. We'll tell you when a stool test is the better spend.
Do I need a referral, and can I do it from anywhere in Australia?
No referral needed — we order it directly — and it's collected at home and posted back, so it works Australia-wide with a telehealth consult.
Why did my bloods look fine but I still feel exhausted?
Standard bloods check whether organs are failing; they're not built to see whether your cells are making energy efficiently. The OAT looks one level down, at the metabolism itself — which is often where the answer to unexplained fatigue actually sits.
+ Keep reading
From the library
The thinking behind this test, in plain language.
+ A test on its own changes nothing
The map points the way. The plan walks it.
An OAT is only worth running if it changes what you do on Monday. Your results feed a short, staged protocol — the highest-leverage pathway first — reviewed as you retest. That's how a metabolic map becomes real energy, not more reading.