While how we feel can help us make a general assumption about our health, true progress towards living an optimal life can’t start until we address the root cause. That is where diagnostic testing comes in. Whether you have a chronic disease you want to resolve or if you are seriously proactive about your health and preventing issues, these essential blood tests will give you the tools needed to get started.
1. Critical nutrients: Natural compounds your body needs for disease prevention and growth
Micronutrients such as iron, vitamin C, vitamin D , vitamin B12 and magnesium are important for optimal bodily function. While all of these nutrients can be found in different food sources in varying sources, it can be difficult to ensure that you are getting all the nutrients that you need. It is therefore important to test their levels and supplement them when they are not optimal. Nutrient deficiency can be responsible for symptoms including fatigue, poor sleep, skin conditions, kidney damage and more, so tracking levels and working towards optimal levels can be completely life-altering.
2. Complete blood count and organ health markers: How well your key organs are performing
A complete blood count measures different features of your blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin and hematocrit – vital to detect disorders, including anemia, infection, clotting issues and leukemia. Testing levels of liver and kidney enzymes are vital to understanding heart kidney function and liver function. As an example an increase in AST levels may indicate liver damage, disease or muscle damage.
3. Hormone panel: Your body’s messengers
Hormones are chemical messengers our bodies produce through the glands in our endocrine system (i.e., thyroid, pancreas, testes, ovaries, etc.). These hormones have powerful effects on many of our bodies’ basic processes, from regulating hunger to influencing our reproductive systems. They affect our moods, our weight, our sleep patterns—you name it. There are many hormones at work in your body , but there are six key players that play a key role: progesterone, oestrogen, testosterone, cortisol, thyroid and insulin. No hormone works in isolation: they work in synergy and ideally in balance – highlighting the importance of testing.
4. Metabolic markers: How cleanly and efficiently is your body converting food into energy
Metabolic markers are essential to understanding how a person is processing the macronutrients that they eat. A lipid panel measures cholesterol and triglycerides – which are important for cell health, but they can be harmful when they build up in the blood vessels and arteries, increasing your risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and stroke. The HbA1c is a measurement of blood glucose level average over the past 90 days or so, but it is also a relative marker of oxidation in the body – or damage to proteins, DNA, and tissues in our bodies over time. In addition to diabetes, a high HbA1C marker may also increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cancer— making the test a good predictor of overall longevity.
5. Inflammatory markers: Overall systematic health and potential for future health issues
You may not be able to see it happening, but inflammation is the body’s interior defense mechanism toward anything going wrong. If it goes untreated, chronic inflammation can lead to a host of other issues – for the heart, long-standing inflammation is linked with heart disease and in the brain, it can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. hsCRP is the most direct look at your inflammation levels as it determines how high two pro-inflammatory proteins are in your body: C-reactive protein and IL-6. An elevation can tell us that there is an inflammatory response happening in the body that needs to be addressed.
Personalised Insights And Actionable Information
At Expand Health , we understand how complicated health can be and how unique we all are. Our comprehensive blood panel looks at everything from inflammatory markers to autoimmunity, critical nutrients, hormone levels and more. We can then use this information to create a personalised health plan, recommending lifestyle or dietary changes, supplements , and, when needed, prescriptions to improve your every day and long-term health.
