Understanding Your Blood Work: 4 Important Levels to Monitor for Health

Functional medicine is a form of medicine that views the body as one whole, integrated system. In conventional medicine, deficiencies and steps leading up to a disorder are often overlooked. Unlike conventional Western medicine, which divides the body up into multiple systems, functional medicine looks at how these systems relate to one another. While functional medicine excels at treating chronic disorders, it is also used in preventative care.

How to Read Functional Lab Work

While conventional medicine primarily uses lab data only for diagnosis, functional medicine will view the entire spectrum of a disorder to both prevent and treat disease. I specialize in Functional lab analysis. Functional lab ranges generally run wider or tighter than conventional labs. This is because functional medicine looks at the entire spectrum of a disorder, making it easier to prevent and treat disease.

Conventional medicine, on the other hand, uses lab data for diagnosis alone. While diagnosis is valuable, all the deficiencies and steps leading up to a disorder are often overlooked.

Here are some key things to look for on your next lab panel:

1- Iron

For women, the most common thing that you will see out of range is iron. Severely low iron is what is known as anemia. Even borderline low levels of iron can contribute to many of the symptoms related to anemia. Low energy is one of the most common signs that iron levels are not where they should be. Another common sign is frequent bouts of the flu.

If you are interested in strengthening your iron levels, skip the traditional iron supplements in the supermarket. Otherwise known as ferrous sulfate, these supplements are notorious for causing constipation. I especially caution against men taking an iron supplement. Unlike women in their childbearing years who bleed every month, men have no outlet if their iron levels rise too high.

Foods that enhance iron levels in the body include:

• • The darker and greener the vegetable, the better. Think of sturdy greens like kale and spinach.
  • Microalgae are functional foods that can therapeutically build iron levels in the body. A good example of iron-rich microalgae is Spirulina. The most absorbable form of Spirulina is fermented.
  • Seaweeds are an excellent source of iron. I recommend placing a large strip of kombu in the soup as it cooks. Ocean vegetables are also available in powder or capsule form like Ocean Plant Extract.
  • Nettle, which you can easily brew as sun tea, is an excellent source of iron.

2- Vitamin D

We usually hear it a lot in terms of bone health, but vitamin D is very critical for the immune system. People who have low levels of vitamin D are more susceptible to infection. When vitamin D levels drop below 50, you are more likely to fall ill.

Besides evading the common cold and flu, vitamin D dramatically impacts the body’s ability to fend off cancer, in particular breast and prostate cancer.

The best source of Vitamin D is the sun. During fall and winter, when we get less sun exposure, vitamin D levels naturally drop.

The optimal “sun prescription” for Vitamin D is:

1. aim to be in the sun for 20 minutes before 11am or after 4 pm at least a few days a week, exposing yourself to most of the beneficial rays and less of any harmful rays
2. have enough body exposure to uptake the vitamin D, optimally shorts and a tank top or less
3. You can wear sunscreen on your face but not on your body

While vitamin D deficiency is common, I recommend that you first run a panel and check vitamin D levels before taking a supplement that offers anything higher than 2,000 iu (international units).

If you want to bring vitamin D levels up, try to:

• • Find opportunities to spend time in the sun.
  • Gravitate toward those foods that are richest in vitamin D, such as eggs, fish, and grass-fed butter.
  • Switch over to cod liver oil if you are already taking an omega-3 supplement. Cod liver oil contains high levels of naturally occurring vitamin D and is a great overall tonic for the immune system.

3- WBC, or White Blood Cells

White blood cell count is something else that your physician may look at. White blood cells, or leukocytes, defend the body against infection, disease-causing bugs, and foreign material. The optimal and functional range is wider than the conventional model, somewhere between 5 or 8. If your WBC falls under 5, this can indicate that your immune system is weak. This could be due to stress, underlying infections, or low levels of flora.

In this case, I recommend:

1. • Probiotics. Just by increasing beneficial bacteria, you are going to make an immediate impact on your white blood cells. The best sources of probiotics are fermented foods and probiotic beverages.
   • Vitamin C. Vitamin C can lower oxidative stress. Inflammation makes you more vulnerable to infection. If you want to take a vitamin C supplement, find a whole food supplement like Acerola cherry, Camu or Amla berry.
   • Medicinal mushrooms, especially Turkey Tail and Maitake can nourish our immune system. When taking medicinal mushrooms, it is important to get an extract.

4- TSH, or Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone

An easy way to check immune function is to look at TSH levels. This is especially true if you have a history of an under active thyroid or a family history of hypothyroidism.

Because hypothyroidism affects the immune system and regulated metabolic function, it is a good idea to check the thyroid if you find that you are especially susceptible to infection.

In order to determine the health of your thyroid, a physician will look at TSH levels in the blood. The functional range for TSH, is 1.0-3.0 which is lower than the conventional laboratory range of 4.0 or even 5.0, at that a person could have been suffering with many of the symptoms of hypothyroid but still fall within a normal lab range being left unsupported.

If your thyroid is under active, you may want to consider:

• • Get a little (or a lot) more vitamin D in your diet. It turns out that the thyroid responds to vitamin D levels in the body. One easy way to give your thyroid a boost is make sure your vitamin D levels are high.
  • Incorporate sea vegetables and Ocean Plant Extract. Besides boosting iron levels, seaweed supports a healthy thyroid.

What To Remember Most About This Article:

Functional medicine differs from conventional Western medicine in that it views the body as a complete system. Functional medicine can be used in preventative care to treat the entire spectrum of a disorder, making it easier to prevent disease.

Here are several helpful guidelines you can use today to read functional blood work on your next lab panel:

1. Check iron levels. Women are especially susceptible to low iron levels, otherwise known as anemia. One of the most common related symptoms is low energy.
2. Check vitamin D levels. Having low levels of vitamin D will make you more susceptible to infection. Vitamin D is critical to fight the common cold and flu and even fend off breast and prostate cancer.
3. Check white blood cell count. The optimal functional range is between 5-8; any lower, and it indicates that your immune system is weak due to underlying infection, stress, or low levels of flora.
4. Check TSH levels. You can easily gauge your immune function by looking at TSH levels, especially if your family has a history of hypothyroidism. The functional range for TSH is from 1.0-3.0.