Are your yearly blood tests “normal”?
Have you ever gotten your “yearly bloodwork”, received the results and your doctor says you’re normal, but you still feel like something is off? Or, do you go get tested because you don’t feel normal, your bloodwork comes back as normal, and now you’re on a hamster “normal” wheel, but know something is wrong?
Why do I often-times ask for you to get blood testing done? Because blood tests tell me “why” you are feeling the way you do (good and bad), and give us clues as to what the root cause is of why certain symptoms may be presenting themselves. When done properly, blood tests are a window inside your body and your health.
Understanding that there is a “normal” range, but more importantly, that there is an OPTIMAL range, is even more important. And that’s what we do, we look for Optimal ranges. Think about it this way, if your liver is normal (under a range of 10-30) and you are at 11, you are “normal”. But, I think we can all agree that you’re only two points away from being “abnormal”, and having a “condition”. We look for OPTIMAL numbers in my centers, to find out where you should be in true health, and attack it BEFORE you develop a condition or disease. This truly sets us apart, and why we get such amazing and better results for our patients.
To continue with our “What is Functional Medicine?” series, let’s take a look at blood testing and the interesting things we can discover about your body…..
Regular blood testing is one of the most important ways to keep track of your overall physical well-being. Getting tested at routine intervals can allow you to see the way your body changes over time, and empower you to make informed decisions about your health. Blood testing is usually partially or fully covered by insurance.
How often should you get Routine Blood work?
I will typically recommend that you get routine blood work at least once a year for a “healthy individual”; and sometimes for someone who we treat, it can be monthly, depending on their diseases or conditions. We use blood as a close finger on the pulse to monitor and assess what direction we are headed next. Depending on your situation, a blood test can be employed for diagnosis, screening, or monitoring.
Diagnosis happens after symptoms have started and is the process used to determine the cause. Because blood tests include a collection of many different measurements, they can be prescribed in the diagnosis of many different types of symptoms.
Screening is attempting to find health problems before symptoms occur. Blood tests may be prescribed as part of a routine health check-up to look for indications of underlying issues.
Monitoring is the process of seeing how a patient’s situation changes. Blood tests can be used to see if test levels go up or down over time, including after treatment. The test can also help check for side effects of medications, especially those that have the potential to affect the liver or kidneys.
There are several major reasons you may want to get blood tests more often than that:
You’re experiencing unusual, persistent symptoms. These could include anything from fatigue, to abnormal weight gain, to new pain.
You want to optimize your health. Knowing levels of various blood components can allow you to tweak your diet or fitness plan to minimize unhealthy habits (that you may not even realize are unhealthy). This can also maximize the nutrients you put in your body and more.
You want to reduce your risk of disease or complications. Regular blood tests can catch the warning signs of almost any disease early. Many heart, lung, and kidney conditions can be diagnosed using blood tests.
For Example….
Luckily, my Dad has been receiving routine blood testing for the past 20+ years. When one of his latest health screening tests came back with high cholesterol, we were able to go back and reference his cholesterol levels over the past several years. After a review, his cholesterol has been inching it’s way up the chart year after year, but it wasn’t alarming from my viewpoint. But what was concerning, was another of his metabolic test results. We were then able to order a more specific Boston Heart blood test and discovered some inflammation that needs attention. So as an example, we have now moved my Dad into the health monitoring phase with him periodically getting a specific blood test to make sure he is on the path to better health. In this way, we can keep him off of harmful drugs that will just cause more problems by masking the underlining problem, and help him make smarter lifestyle decisions to improve his health for good.
What is a Live Blood Analysis?
The most accurate picture of your health comes from the cellular level, and is best obtained through “Live Blood Analysis”.
With a quick yet accurate procedure, we take from your fingertip a drop of blood, and analyze it through a dark-field microscope. This method allows for the your blood to be evaluated live, before it dries, enabling detection of deficiencies, toxicity, and more.
The examination of living cells facilitates detection of nutritional imbalances well before symptoms appear. By giving a painless sample of blood, then magnified 30,000 times, we are able to assess how your body is living, working, and, of course, playing.
Potential Live Blood Diagnoses:
Vitamin deficiencies
Toxicity in the body
pH imbalance
Mineral imbalances
Fungus in the body
Yeast in the body
Oxidative stress
Liver health
Inflammation in the body
Why do some Blood Tests require Fasting?
Everything you eat and drink contains vitamins, proteins, and other nutrients that can cause the related levels in your blood to temporarily spike or drop. Fasting for 8–12 hours helps ensure that blood test results are free from these variables, making your test results as accurate as possible.
Some common tests that may require fasting include:
cholesterol tests
blood sugar tests
liver function tests
kidney function tests
basic metabolic panel
glucose tests
How long does it take to get Blood Test results?
Results may take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to become available. Here’s an overview of how long some of the most common tests may take:
complete blood count (CBC): 24 hours
basic metabolic panel: 24 hours
complete metabolic panel: 24–72 hours
lipid panel: 24 hours
This can depend on the specific lab where you get tested or how many tests you get done at once. We have our own lab here at FLHC, and run many of our own labs inhouse. If multiple tests are prescribed, you may not get the complete results until all of the tests are completed. Sometimes an outside lab will only release results to your doctor, who reviews them, and then releases them to you.
What are some of the Routine Blood Tests that I prescribe?
(CBC): A routine complete blood count (CBC) test checks for levels of 10 different components of every major cell in your blood: white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Important components measured by this test include red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. A complete blood count (CBC) is a blood test used to evaluate your overall health and detect a wide range of disorders, including anemia, infection and leukemia. The white blood cell “differential” will usually tell you whether you have a bacterial infection or a viral infection. Abnormal levels of (CBC) test components may indicate:
nutritional deficiencies, such as vitamin B-6 or B-12
iron deficiency
bone marrow issues
tissue inflammation
infection
heart conditions
cancer
(CMP): A comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) is a blood test with 14 different measurements. It is often used to evaluate liver function, kidney function, and nutrient levels. A complete metabolic panel (CMP) includes all the measurements of a BMP, as well as additional proteins and substances related to liver function. As a result, it may be prescribed in a number of contexts, including to help diagnose and monitor conditions like diabetes and kidney and liver disease. Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) is a series of blood tests that give your doctor a snapshot of your body’s chemistry and the way it’s using energy (your metabolism). It’s also called a chemistry panel of Chem-14, chemistry 14, or chemistry screen. Most people get a (CMP) as part of their yearly checkup to check for problems, keep track of any chronic conditions you have, or make sure certain medications aren’t hurting your liver or kidneys. The CMP test can reveal:
How your kidneys and liver are working
Your blood sugar levels
Your electrolyte levels
How much protein is in your blood
The balance of acid and base in your blood
How your metabolism is working
(TSH and T4): The best way to initially test thyroid function is to measure the (TSH) level in a blood sample. Changes in (TSH) can serve as an “early warning system” – often occurring before the actual level of thyroid hormones in the body becomes too high or too low. A high (TSH) level indicates that the thyroid gland is not making enough thyroid hormone (primary hypothyroidism). The opposite situation, in which the (TSH) level is low, usually indicates that the thyroid is producing too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism). Occasionally, a low (TSH) may result from an abnormality in the pituitary gland, which prevents it from making enough (TSH) to stimulate the thyroid (secondary hypothyroidism). In most healthy individuals, a normal (TSH) value means that the thyroid is functioning properly. There are 6 additional thyroid-related values that we can check for our patients: Free T4, Total T3, Free T3, Reverse T3, anti TPO Ab and anti Thyroglobluin Ab. If any of these blood tests values are not optimal, we can start our patients on a program to prevent full-blown thyroid disfunction or disease.
(Methylmalonic acid B12 test): When you have symptoms of anemia (weakness, tiredness, pale skin) and/or of neuropathy (tingling or itching sensations, eye twitching, memory loss, altered mental status), we will test your vitamin B12 levels; as well as when you have abnormal results on a complete blood count (CBC) showing large red blood cells (macrocytosis) or abnormal (hypersegmented) neutrophils.
(25-hydroxy vitamin D): The most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body is using the 25-hydroxy Vitamin D blood test. Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D deficiency. However, for many people, the symptoms are subtle. Yet, even without symptoms, too little vitamin D can pose health risks. Low blood levels of vitamin D have been associated with the following:
Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease
Cognitive impairment in older adults
Severe asthma in children
Cancer
(IgE, ELISA or RAST): The (IgE, ELISA or RAST) allergy test is a blood test that is used to see if an individual’s blood contains antibodies for a specific substance, such as peanuts or pollen. These antibodies are called immunoglobulin E, or IgE antibodies. If a person’s blood contains lgE antibodies that are specific to a certain substance, it means they are allergic to that substance. These antibodies cause the rashes, itching, sneezing, and other symptoms that a person experiences when they come into contact with an allergen. Once the allergy is pinpointed, we can then adjust your diet and/or lifestyle to minimize allergy symptoms.
(Boston Heart): Boston Heart blood tests go beyond the “good” and “bad” cholesterol assessment to give a more complete picture of your health, with a unique set of specialized blood tests broken into four categories—lipids, inflammation, metabolics, genetics—that help us understand your heart disease or risk of disease. These special tests help us better understand your heart health and overall disease risk factors. With these diagnostic insights, we can create a targeted therapy and lifestyle plan that will best help you achieve your heart health goals.
THE BOTTOM LINE
From a Functional Medicine perspective, blood tests help us uncover the root or core causes of illness and disease, as well as monitor your health over time. In this way, we can facilitate natural ways of bringing the body system and vital substances back into balance and thereby reducing and eliminating illness and disease without medications. The practice of Functional Medicine revolves around natural healing and long term wellness facilitated by living a healthy lifestyle. When everything is well nourished and functioning well, we come to that place of wellness and bliss. If you’re hungry to know more, stay tuned over the next few weeks for further newsletters where we’ll dive into greater detail on how illness forms in the body and what we can do to get and stay well.
We will explore the challenging questions of why cancers develop, how chronic diseases are caused, how allergies start, why our beliefs about bacteria and viruses are flawed, and how the mainstream medical profession way of treating disease is in desperate need of updating. The Functional Medicine approach to your health allows us to treat your overall health by not merely treating the symptoms, but solving the underlying problems!
If you have a health issue, think you may have an illness, or have someone in your family that is struggling with their health, please reach out to us! It’s important to work with a Functional Medicine healthcare doctor to create and start a treatment plan that will solve the problem, once and for all.