The only thing certain about a blood test is that nothing is certain. With that said, there is a tremendous amount of data that can be extracted from a blood test, providing that one has an understanding of how to interpret it.
Ultimately, I use blood test results to identify a person’s best nutritional course of action so that they can start feeling better immediately. I have no interest in, nor use for interpreting blood tests for diagnostic purposes.
A major problem with interpreting blood tests, is that conventional “normal” reference ranges are most of the time not accurate. Laboratory “healthy and normal” reference ranges are actually statistical averages, and do not necessarily reflect ideal values. When using conventional reference ranges, it is very easy to overlook critical data that could reveal information about the body and the health problems you may be experiencing.
If interpreted correctly by someone with an understanding of what to look for, blood tests can reveal data that often times gets overlooked.
For example, a typical, “normal”, “conventional” reference range for BUN (Blood, Urea, Nitrogen) is anywhere between 7-25. This range is far from accurate. A person with a BUN level of 7 will have a variety of health issues. Someone with that low of a BUN level is extremely under-nourishing themselves. A BUN level of 7 is a strong indicator of the progression of several degenerative processes. A BUN level of 25 indicates kidney stress, dehydration and possible electrolyte insufficiency.
Neither 7 nor 25 are healthy values. And yet, neither may indicate a definitive diagnosis of pathology by conventional medicine standards.
One primary reason why certain lab values get overlooked is because most physicians are not trained to interpret laboratory tests from a functional perspective. Doctors are trained to identify disease states, many of which have been in progress for a long time.
This is the difference between a pathological view of the body and a functional view of the body.
A Functional interpretation of the body involves taking into account that:
- A person is biochemically unique
- The body functions through a highly complex network, involving numerous systems
- A person is a holistic being, comprised of an integrated network involving body, mind and spirit
From a functional perspective, individual blood chemistry factors should be taken into account with other blood chemistry factors. Isolating ONLY glucose, without considering other, important glucose metabolism factors such as INSULIN and HEMOGLOBIN A1C falls short of understanding what is really taking place in the body.
When I work with people, I always take into account a person’s health status, symptoms, health history, as well as the relationship of various systems in the body.
From a Functional Perspective, a blood test can yield a great amount of information, which ultimately is used to identify a Nutritional course of action.