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As we get older and start to lose our hormones, it puts us at risk for things like insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cognitive decline and other complication.
Blood work is the key. It’s accessible, and it’s used by most conventional doctors, blood work is valuable when it’s interpreted under a functional health lens, it can give us a lot of information, such as your immune health, digestive health, thyroid function, metabolic health, inflammation, risk of cardiovascular disease and more.
- CBC (Complete Blood Count) is the first one that is a complete blood count with differentials. That’s going to be used to evaluate these cells in your blood, like red blood cells, white blood cells. It’s going to look at hemoglobin, hematocrit platelets, as well as neutrophils, basophils, lymphocytes and so on. And this can reflect your if you have any acute or chronic infections going on, allergies as well as overall immune health.
- CMP (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel), and that’s going to include 14 different measurements which are used to evaluate your glucose level, or blood sugar, as well as liver function, kidney function, your body’s fluid balance or electrolyte levels.
- CNP (C-type Natriuretic Peptide) blood sugar markers in addition to glucose. This test looks at your insulin, which is a hormone, and you want to do that in a fasted state, as well as HBA 1c and this is an average of your blood sugar, again, glucose, over the past two to three months, and it is used to diagnose type two diabetes.
- CRP (C-reactive protein) to look at is some inflammatory markers.
- ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate)
- Iron panels; TIBC, (Total Iron Binding Capacity) and UIBC (Unsaturated Iron Binding Capacity) notice that your doctor may only test ferritin. Please know that that is not an indicative marker of your iron status. It’s important to get a full iron panel.
- Lipid Panel, to look at total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, LDL P, APOB and LPA, and these are used to detect your risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, arrhythmia and so on. Assessing your cardiovascular risk is incredibly important in this stage of life, as we lose estrogen, it increases the risk of CVD or cardiovascular disease. And while many women are concerned about breast cancer, which is super warranted, of course, because it does kill about 40,000 women per year in the US, heart disease, though, is the number one killer of women at any age in 2021 heart disease was responsible for the deaths of about 310,000
- T3, T4, TSH, anti-TPO, and anti-TG; to look at your pituitary hormone and your antibodies, to look for autoimmunity.
- Vitamin D test levels
- HTMA, (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) test that measures the mineral content of a hair sample. It provides insights into nutrient and toxic element levels in the body tissue, reflecting longer-term trends unlike blood tests. HTMA is used by doctors, naturopaths, and nutritional therapists as a screening tool for various health concerns.
- GI-MAP (Gastrointestinal Microbial Assay Plus) is a stool test that analyzes the gut microbiome, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites, to assess overall digestive health and identify potential imbalances or dysbiosis. It can also assess digestive function, inflammation markers, and immune activity in the gut.
It’s important to remember that a single lab drawer is going to capture one single point in time, so you don’t want to make any major decisions based on one lab draw a stressful event, viral illness, maybe even a high fat dinner, or if you were drinking alcohol, those things can all affect your lab results. Try to schedule your blood work when you’re in a somewhat normal routine, and if anything is out of range, try not to freak out about it. Just monitor it. Retest in a couple months, if you can.
In summary I’m suggesting variety of medical tests, each serving a specific purpose in evaluating different aspects of health. A Complete Blood Count (CBC) gives insights into overall health by measuring components in the blood, such as red and white blood cells and platelets. A Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) assesses organ function, particularly the liver and kidneys, and balances of critical electrolytes. C-type Natriuretic Peptide (CNP) levels can indicate heart function and fluid balance. HbA1c measures average blood glucose levels over the past two to three months, crucial for diabetes management. C-reactive protein (CRP) and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) are markers of inflammation in the body. Iron panels, including TIBC and UIBC, help diagnose iron deficiency or overload. Lipid panels assess cholesterol levels, including HDL, LDL, and other markers like APOB, crucial for cardiovascular health. Thyroid function tests, such as T3, T4, TSH, anti-TPO, and anti-TG, evaluate thyroid health. Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) provides insights into mineral and heavy metal levels in the body. Finally, the GI-MAP (Gastrointestinal Microbial Assay Plus) analyzes the gut microbiome, offering information on digestive health and potential imbalances. Each of these tests plays a vital role in understanding and maintaining overall health.
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