At Maven Health, we know that health isn’t just about eating right or exercising. Sometimes, despite doing “everything right,” people still feel off. That was the case for one of our recent clients — a postmenopausal woman struggling with low energy, poor sleep, brain fog, and ongoing digestive issues.
Testing for Deeper Answers
To investigate potential underlying causes, her practitioner ordered the Metabolic Insights test. The saliva-based panel offers a snapshot of core metabolic pathways, including energy metabolism, gut microbiome health, and neurotransmitter precursor levels.
Her results revealed:
Overall good metabolic health (score of 84; benchmark at 88)
Slightly reduced microbiome activity, particularly lower levels of L-fucose and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
Low levels of L-tyrosine and L-phenylalanine, two amino acids essential for synthesizing dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine
These findings provided a possible biochemical explanation for her low mood, poor focus, and fatigue — pointing to disruptions in both gut and neurotransmitter pathways.
Personalized Intervention and Progress
Based on these results, her practitioner recommended:
Prebiotic and probiotic supplementation (Mind and Mood + PHGG by Invivo Healthcare)
L-Tyrosine supplementation
Dietary adjustments to support microbiome diversity and SCFA production
After two months, the client reported significant improvements in:
Sleep quality and duration
Energy stability, particularly in the mornings
Emotional wellbeing and ability to focus
Digestive issues, however, remained — potentially linked to a suspected bacterial infection from travel in 2023. Her GP later prescribed antibiotics (metronidazole), which had not yet been initiated at the time of follow-up.
Connecting the Dots: Gut, Brain, and Mood
This case highlights the interconnected nature of the gut-brain axis. A disrupted microbiome can impair the absorption or synthesis of critical compounds involved in neurotransmitter production. In this instance, insufficient availability of L-tyrosine and L-phenylalanine may have reduced dopamine and norepinephrine synthesis, contributing to the client’s mood and focus challenges.
Meanwhile, low SCFA production — indicators of a less active or diverse microbiome — may have further affected both gut and brain health.
Supporting Smarter Interventions
Metabolic testing offers a clearer view into these complex relationships. With just a small saliva sample, clinicians can gain insights that help them design more personalized, targeted interventions — especially for clients experiencing “vague” symptoms that don’t fit neatly into conventional diagnoses.
At Maven Health, we believe these kinds of insights can reshape the way we support health — moving from symptom management to true root-cause discovery.
Read our full Case Study here: Case-study-4-Neurotransmitter-synthesis-and-gut-health
