Latest / hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic / 7 Blood Tests You Need After 40 (That Doctors Often Miss)
Transcript
- [00:00:00] Dr. Taz: This episode is sponsored by Hol+ a holistic health platform built around [00:00:05] education, personalization, and integrative care. Hol+ blends [00:00:10] holistic, integrative, and functional medicine clinics with learning resources like blogs, [00:00:15] YouTube videos, and of course this podcast, so you're not just treated, you're informed.[00:00:20] The platform also includes holistic health quizzes and a curated wellness shop, helping you [00:00:25] make choices that support your body at the root level. Hol+ is [00:00:30] holistic healthcare designed for real life. Visit us at holplus.co [00:00:35] to learn more about the platform. Again, that's [00:00:40] holplus.co Standard annual blood work often stops at a basic metabolic panel [00:00:45] and cholesterol. A more complete midlife panel adds fasting insulin, [00:00:50] also adds in things like a hemoglobin A1C, a ferritin, vitamin D, [00:00:55] and a full thyroid panel. Sometimes you'll also see a CRP and [00:01:00] sex hormones. These markers frequently reveal early dysfunction [00:01:05] years before standard panel flags disease. Normal is not a [00:01:10] diagnosis. It is a range built from a population that includes a lot of [00:01:15] unwell people. If you are over 40 and something feels off, these are the [00:01:20] markers that catch dysfunction while it's still reversible. The standard [00:01:25] physical usually checks a very narrow set, a basic metabolic panel, a blood [00:01:30] count, and cholesterol. Screening is designed to catch disease, not to [00:01:35] catch the decade of drift that precedes it. Fasting glucose alone misses [00:01:40] early insulin resistance, often by many years. Normal [00:01:45] ends the conversation even when you don't feel normal. What we try [00:01:50] to do in functional medicine and holistic medicine is really close that gap. We [00:01:55] understand that dysfunction is a gradual slope. It's not a switch. The goal is to catch the [00:02:00] slope while it's happening. The optimal ranges are narrower than traditional [00:02:05] lab ranges, and they're a lot more useful in midlife. Markers are usually [00:02:10] interpreted together to tell a story. There's not a single value alone. Most of what these [00:02:15] tests reveal is modifiable, which is exactly why it's worth knowing early. [00:02:20] So here are the markers that are actually worth asking for, and [00:02:25] again, a great place for you to take notes. Fasting insulin, which actually [00:02:30] catches insulin resistance years before glucose rises, is the most underused [00:02:35] tool in medicine. A hemoglobin A1c, and we look at these all the time. [00:02:40] These also are super helpful in looking at your average blood sugar over [00:02:45] three months, not just a single morning. A ferritin, looking at [00:02:50] iron storage, is commonly missed as a source of fatigue and hair loss in women. [00:02:55] A vitamin D level, which is often low and tied to immunity, mood, and bone [00:03:00] health. A full thyroid panel, including a TSH, a free T3, a [00:03:05] free T4, an rT3, and antibodies, and a high-sensitivity [00:03:10] CRP, which is a window into chronic low-grade inflammation. The sex hormones are important as [00:03:15] well, with estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which shift meaningfully [00:03:20] through your forties. When we get into the functional medicine root cause framework, we [00:03:25] understand that labs answer a question, they don't necessarily close one, and this is why a holistic [00:03:30] approach matters as well. Ev- early insulin resistance really [00:03:35] underlies a lot of midlife change, the weight, the energy, the cardiovascular [00:03:40] risk. Nutrient depletion starts quietly through decades of dieting, [00:03:45] cycles, and pregnancies. Hormonal transitions often start earlier than [00:03:50] most expect, and this in turn impacts how every other system behaves.[00:03:55] Chronic inflammation accelerates all of it, which is why an hsCRP is [00:04:00] worth tracking. Your stress load shapes nearly every marker on this list. [00:04:05] Context matters when interpreting results Now, when it comes to what [00:04:10] we do at hol+ and what I do in clinical practice, here are a couple things that might help you [00:04:15] as well. First of all, write this list down and bring it in. We know that specific requests are [00:04:20] usually likely to be honored in any exam room. Ask for your actual [00:04:25] numbers and keep them year on year, and then look at these trends over time. A [00:04:30] value drifting within a trend still tells you something. It tells you that maybe something is [00:04:35] changing with your health. And then we wanna retest under consistent conditions, [00:04:40] fasting, same time of day, same lab. And then pairing these results with how you [00:04:45] feel, the labs describe terrain, your overall environment, your [00:04:50] symptoms tell you where you're standing. Work with a provider who interprets [00:04:55] optimally, not just diagnostically. The point of testing is [00:05:00] not to worry sooner, it's to have options while you still have them. I wonder if you've [00:05:05] had any of these symptoms of inflammation that have been slow and creeping, but have [00:05:10] never had the opportunity to look at your labs and your patterns to catch it [00:05:15] before it turned to disease. To connect the dots on your own story and understand [00:05:20] which markers really matter for you, schedule a consultation with one of our hol+ [00:05:25] providers who can dig into your personal health journey and your challenges at [00:05:30] holplus.co/appointments.