Have you ever felt off, sick, or unwell despite receiving "normal" results on your blood tests? Discover how Individualized Lab Testing can unveil the truth.
Many people experience symptoms of illness or discomfort even when their standard blood tests indicate everything is normal. This can be incredibly frustrating and perplexing. The issue often lies in the fact that conventional blood tests are designed to detect diseases, not functional problems. To get to the root of your health issues, a more comprehensive and functional approach may be required.
Apply Optimal/Functional Reference Ranges
Conventional reference ranges (seen on standard blood tests) are meant to discern diseases, not functional issues. Therefore, when your problems are more functional rather than pathological, they can be missed.
Optimal or functional reference ranges are aimed at detecting functional problems. When values are high normal or low normal, it's pointing to a functional issue.
For example, the normal TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) range is around 0.45-4.5. But when the number is above 2.5, people often start to show hypothyroid symptoms of fatigue, weight gain, and hair loss. Clinically, they don't have hypothyroidism but functionally, their thyroid functions are at the lower end.
Conduct Comprehensive and Individualized Lab Testing
Oftentimes, we need to check several systems, if not all, to identify the root causes. When we only check 2-3 systems, underlying problems are often missed.
The above graph is a list of commonly tested areas when we run individualized lab testing. How we select markers will depend on a various of factors like your previous lab results, family history, personal health history, diet, and lifestyle.
Recognize That Blood Tests Alone Aren't Always Enough
Some functional problems can't be revealed with blood tests alone; functional tests or genetic testing might be needed.
Examples of functional tests include:
Organic Acid Tests: Assess various metabolic pathways and analyze intestinal microbial overgrowth, neurotransmitter metabolites, nutritional markers, and detoxification markers.
Environmental Toxin Tests: Evaluate environmental hormones, pesticides and herbicides, heavy metals, and mycotoxins.
IgG Food Allergy Tests: checking chronic food allergies. (Most food allergy tests conducted in hospitals are IgE (acute) food allergy tests, and they don't reveal more subtle and chronic allergies.)
Hormone Panels: Assess male and female hormones and stress hormones like cortisol and DHEA.
Conclusion
The purpose of these tests is to identify functional issues, not to diagnose diseases. By taking a more comprehensive and functional approach to your health, you may uncover the underlying causes of your symptoms and find a path to feeling better. Don't settle for "normal" when you don't feel normal; seek a deeper understanding of your body's unique needs.
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