Blood Panels are widely used for their comprehensive and accurate information provided in one quick blood draw. You can see so much from your blood sugar to nutritional deficiencies to liver health and thyroid function. (It’s all related by the way…)
Here’s the thing, though, those lab ranges your doctor/hospital/lab provides, are not telling you the whole story…
Information You Can Get on a Blood Panel
When looking at your blood panels functionally, we can get a true picture of the following systems and organs in your body. But functional ranges or optimal ranges are important for truly feeling your best.
- Blood sugar handling
- Thyroid Health and Function
- Cardiovascular Health (that LDL number might not be as concerning as you may think)
- Red blood cells
- Anemias
- Nutrition status and nutritional deficiencies
- Liver and gall bladder health (detoxification health and status, as well as digestion and blood sugar handling)
- Immune Health
- Systemic Inflammation
- Kidney health
- Adrenal health
- Hydration status
- Oxidative stress levels
Lab vs. Functional Ranges
Lab ranges are really there to signal a state of disease. Not to mention, these ranges are based on the population of the folks (often sick or unhealthy) getting these tests run. Which, if you’re paying attention, you would know this population is getting sicker and sicker. So it’s really looking at what’s common but not necessarily what is considered healthy. And until you are already in that state of disease, suboptimal levels are going unnoticed which can leave you feeling confused, gaslit, and, most importantly, sick with no answers.
Fortunately, there is a lot of research supporting what optimal or functional ranges really are AND some nutritional tweaks may be all you need to start feeling much better. These optimal ranges can also help us detect when your health is just beginning on a suboptimal trend so we can support your body in reversing this before it become pathological.
Another Reason Why you want a Functional look at your labs
Let’s look at just one example – Homocysteine
- Not usually included in your doctor’s standard CBC or CMP unless you are 60 years or older or have a family history of cardiovascular disease
- Lab range for females may allow for as high as 14/15 but usually less than 10.4 for females and less than 11.5 for males
- Optimal range is bio-individual but functionally it should be above 4 and less than 7!
- Homocysteine can easily be supported with the right nutrients, eg. B vitamins!
- Tells us about cardiovascular disease but ALSO detoxification health (liver health), methylation status (important for nutrient absorption and detoxification!), vitamin B status, risk of stroke
- The risk of stroke goes by 74% with levels above 11…
- Linked to increased risk for Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis
- Can be caused by Liver disease, kidney disease, medications, diet/nutrient deficiencies, & genetic disorders
Where can you find more information?
Schedule a free call with me here.
Disclaimer: As a nutrition therapy practitioner, the information on your blood panels will not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent medical conditions or disease. Only to identify imbalances that can be supported with therapeutic diet, supplementation, and lifestyle changes.
