Optimal Blood Ranges
It’s extremely frustrating to go to your GP with a concern and be told everything is ‘normal’.
Perhaps you’ve gone back multiple times because the feelings of fatigue/PMS/nausea/inability to lose weight/ill health continue on despite being told there is nothing going on. This can leave you feeling unheard and lost for the next solution. While you don’t have a chronic condition that needs to be diagnosed or medicated, you are clearly not in full health.
The concern with blood tests is that the ‘normal’ reference range is not optimal and is not designed to prevent disease. Too often people have to persevere with their feeling of ill-health until their levels then fall into the ‘high/low’ reference range for something to be done. Certainly there are some Doctor’s who will act when levels fall on the outer edges of the reference ranges but in most cases we see clinically this is not the case.
It’s important to understand that reference ranges are designed to fit 95% of the population within the ‘normal’ range. This would assume that only 5% of our population is unhealthy. Interesting when 1 in 4 New Zealanders have more than 1 chronic health condition. Not exactly a healthy population and far from being optimal!
Blood markers should also not be considered in isolation but as a complete picture. There may not be one marker that’s drastically out of range but a handful of markers that are close to being out of range and this cumulative load on the body can contribute to an environment in the body that prevents full health.
When we view health through a health lens as opposed to a sickness lens we are more concerned with reaching optimal health and preventing disease as opposed to identifying sickness and treating that. This is where using different reference ranges can be so beneficial as we can identify imbalances early on and act before they progress into something more serious. It also helps us to support individuals who are actually out of the normal ranges to continue improving their health picture until it’s optimal, as opposed to JUST in the clear.
We totally understand that our medical system is not set up in this way and can’t necessarily deal with the massive load that would come their way if optimal ranges were used in practice. This is why reaching out to alternative practitioners can be the best solution if you’re not getting the solutions you need through the traditional route.
Our WOF service is fantastic for having a comprehensive review of your blood tests from an optimal perspective. We will create a detailed report so that you understand what your blood tests mean and the implications of your current levels. You’ll then receive detailed and practical solutions to address anything that isn’t optimal. This will involve dietary advice, lifestyle advice and supplement recommendations.
