Discover the Nutritional Story in Your Blood Test
THERE IS NO OTHER SCREENING TEST that is more efficient, effective and affordable than a comprehensive blood chemistry panel. It is truly the ultimate tool in biomedical laboratory sciences to assess your health across multiple systems. One single blood draw can suggest the probability of many conditions, including various types of anemia, gut, viral and bacterial infections, liver and kidney issues, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, diabetes, thyroid, adrenal problems and many more. Below is a brief description of the difference between a pathological and a functional range. This will help you better understand the functional appreciation of your lab results.
There are two main types of ranges in the field of blood chemistry: a pathological range and a functional range. The pathological range is used to diagnose disease. The functional range is used to assess risk for disease before disease develops. The references that are provided with laboratory test results are referred to as “the pathological range”, because if the test results are out of range, it usually indicates potential for pathology or disease. “The functional range” is a tighter ranger, a healthier range, and when lab results fall within the patterns of a functional imbalance, strategies such as lifestyle, diet, nutrition, and other non-invasive therapies can be recommended.
Functional medicine practitioners approach patient management differently than many other medical disciplines. Rather than waiting for a condition to be clinically diagnosable and then warranting a specific medication, in this model our goal is to address the underlying mechanism that is dysfunctional early enough to negate the disease process. Rather than giving a specific medication or herbal compound for a specific condition, our goal is to try to fix the system’s core physiological mechanisms and feedback loops for the purpose of resolving the area that is dysfunctional.
We offer ridiculously cheap blood panels so we can keep track of your progress without any hassle.
The Underlying Root cause of your Health Complaint lies in your own Blood Test
- Blood Sugar Imbalances
- Inflammation
- Functional Low Thyroid
- Low Stomach Acid
- Detox (Methylation) Support Need
- Vitamind D Need
- Dysbiosis
- Electrolyte Imbalance
- Autoimmunity
- Increased Intestinal Permeability
Blood Chemistry: Functional Ranges vs Lab Ranges
Many doctors dismiss people’s health complaints because of an incomplete blood test that only looks for full-blown diseases instead of trends toward disease. In functional medicine, however, we use a blood test for assessing risk of disease before it develops. This way you can do something about it before it’s too late. For instance, a fasting blood glucose over 100 mg/dL can identify a risk for diabetes long before a diagnosis. Or more complete thyroid testing can explain hypothyroid symptoms when a standard test shows results are “normal.”
In contrast, the ranges most doctors use are based on a bell-curve analysis of all the people who visited that lab over a certain period of time, many of whom are very sick. These lab ranges have broadened over the last few decades as health of the American population has declined. As a result, more and more people with real health problems are told they are fine because their lab results fall within these wide ranges.
Do you really want to evaluate your health in comparison to all the sick people who visited your lab, or do you want to look at a blood test for what constitutes good health?
- Blood Sugar Markers
- Inflammation Markers
- Thyroid Markers
- Digestion Markers
- Liver/GB Markers
- Liver/GB Markers
- Anemia Markers
- Adrenal Markers
- Electrolyte Markers
- Immune Markers
Blood Chemistry Patterns
Because functional medicine is based on an in-depth knowledge of human physiology and how various systems in the body work together, we also look at a blood test for patterns instead of just looking at individual markers. By doing this, we see how these different systems influence one another to cause a constellation of symptoms.
For instance, looking at different white blood cells reveals whether an immune reaction is chronic or acute, and whether a virus, a bacterial infection, allergies, or parasite may be causing it. Other patterns can help us identify fatty liver, leaky gut, different types of anemia, or even a possible autoimmune disorder.
Functional Blood Tests are More Thorough
A blood test for functional medicine also includes more markers that standard blood tests. For instance, many doctors only look at TSH, a basic thyroid marker, when running a blood test for hypothyroidism. In functional medicine, however, we know that Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that attacks and destroys the thyroid gland, is responsible for 90 percent of hypothyroid cases in the United States. Therefore we also test thyroid antibodies to screen for autoimmunity along with other thyroid markers for more information.
A blood test for a functional medicine approach can also help us know what other tests may be necessary, such as a gastrointestinal panel or further testing for anemia.
Principles of Functional Medicine
The first step for all new clients is a comprehensive functional blood chemistry BioScreen.
There is no less expensive way to get a broad perspective on things that may be affecting your health. The lab testing brokerage companies make complete panels available for a cash price of about $285.00 on what would cost about $1500.00 if processed through insurance companies. This group of tests can suggest the probability of many conditions, including various types of anemia, gut, viral and bacterial infections, liver and kidney issues, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, diabetes, thyroid, adrenal problems and many more.
All new clients are encouraged to take advantage of our relationship with Principal Lab and LabCorp. Substantial discounts are given to clients outside of the insurance industry. We are contracted to be able to offer our clients cost-effective, comprehensive blood panels at less than 10% of insurance list fees.
