What is it?
Is it worth having a blood test done?
Is it worth spending time and money on it?
For many, getting one’s blood tested sounds like a hassle. It takes time and money. Not to mention, your doctor is, again, highly likely to tell you there is nothing wrong with your health despite your unwellness.
So, is a blood test worth it?
Diseases: how do they show up
First, let’s look at how diseases appear.
Illnesses don’t happen overnight. It all starts with a slight physiological imbalance. Over time, when nothing is done to fix it, this imbalance becomes a minor ailment: uncomfortable symptoms, but they are still manageable. If it is not treated yet, this ailment turns into a condition, then, later on, a chronic disease. And sometimes, it may go to death.
The longer you wait, the harder it will be to reverse the process.
The different approaches to disease
Conventional medicine or allopathic medicine’s primary goal is to diagnose and CURE. Therefore, it will only be concerned with the late stage of the illness.
Naturopathic, functional medicine, among many others, will focus on the early stage of the illness. Why? Because they act as preventative medicine. They want to pinpoint the root cause of the issue and treat it immediately.
Blood Test: how does an illness show up on a lab test results?
On a blood test, you will find the biomarkers on your right. A biomarker represents one or more body systems. The figure next to it stands for the body system’s status.
The figure lies in a specific range: the standard lab range. Besides, they slightly vary from a laboratory to another. Not to mention the calculations that may differ as well.
The standard lab range corresponds to the conventional medicine approach.
So, if you consult your doctor and you’re told everything is normal, it’s just because the figures fall within the standard lab range. Your unwellness hasn’t reached the late stage of the illness.
But when we switch to the functional view of medicine, it’s a different story. We won’t use the standard lab range. Instead, we’ll use the optimal range: it is narrower as we want to know the optimal health degree of the organ’s system.
One of the biomarkers that give us a clue on B12 status is MCV (Mean Corpuscular Volume).
MCV: standard range (conventional approach): 79-98 fl
MCV’s optimal range (functional approach): 82-89.9 fl
If your figure is 80, it falls within the standard range. But it is below the optimal range. Therefore, it is an indicator of a potential B12 deficiency in its early stage.
In the functional and preventative approach, we look at all the systems together. That’s why we’ll look at all the other biomarkers related to B12 status: hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC, MCH, MCHC…
Once you know from your blood test that you suffer from a B12 deficiency, you can take proactive steps by adjusting your diet and/or taking supplements. You can easily reverse all your symptoms. You will avoid the risk of getting much worse diseases, difficult to heal, such as GERD, stomach ulcers…
And if you’ve been diagnosed with a condition, the blood test gives you insights on the condition’s state and your treatment’s efficacy.
So, is it worth having a blood test done?
Yes, especially if you use the functional approach. When using it, the blood work can reveal bright insights on your body system’s health status:
- Thyroid, liver, adrenal, kidneys, blood sugar regulation…
- Hidden underlying causes connecting different body systems
- Nutritional deficiencies, such as iron, B6, B12, B9, D…
- Auto-immune processes
- Heavy metals
- Parasites, microbes
- Tissue hydration
- Fat status
And so much more…
Going to the lab once a year is a minimum recommendation.
I can provide you with a comprehensive Functional Blood Chemistry Report and Analysis.
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