Have you asked yourself this question..."Why does my doctor keep telling me my lab tests are normal...but I feel horrible?"
The answer to that question may be more obvious then you think. The truth of the matter is that our medical system is based on a disease model meaning that when you see your physician the primary objective is to discover if you have an active disease process. The question of how you may be able to improve your health is never really the focus. It is vital to understand that your body does not know that the difference between having diabetes and not having diabetes is whether you fasting blood sugar is above or below 126. We have an arbitrary set of numbers that classifies whether you have disease or not. I can assure you that if your fasting blood sugar is at 110 you will not be feeling as "optimal" as you would at 95. Before I get too far into this, let's go back to how these lab ranges are established (from here on out I will refer to lab ranges as "sick ranges").
Lab ranges are based off of a bell curve of everyone that goes in to have blood work done. Think about this for a minute. The majority of people that go into a lab for testing are sick! So, they are comparing your lab results to those who are SICK!!! This is what makes me different, I use what is called a functional range when it comes to looking at your blood work. A functional, or healthy, range is the optimal range your body should be in. Once you go outside of this range, you are or will become sick!
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In the above picture, you will see where there is a functional range, with a green edge around it. Then you will see the red (sick) range. Your doctors are only concerned with your lab values if you are in their RED/SICK range. This red range is where you have to be to be diagnosed with a disease. If you are in the the functional range (in the green shaded area), you are probably experiencing symptoms but your doctor is not concerned yet. Not until you are in their SICK range! See how that works?
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In the above picture you will notice a patient's lab results when compared with the SICK (Lab) range and the HEALTHY (Functional) range.
So, if your glucose (blood sugar) was measured at 73, your doctor would not be concerned. However, with a fasting blood glucose of 73 you could be feeling tired, fatigued, light headed when standing up, and getting headaches between meals. You might notice that you feel better after you eat a meal. This would be considered reactive hypoglycemia.
If your TSH is measured at 4.2, your doctor will tell you it is within the "normal" range. However, you could be experiencing symptoms of fatigue, depression, lack of motivation and weight gain. If you look at the functional (healthy) range, you will see your TSH is well outside our optimal range. You are suffering from functional hypothyroidism.
You should be seeing a pattern by now. If you are not looking at your lab results from a functional perspective, you might be missing some big pieces of your puzzle! This is why when you come into my office we will evaluate all of your results using both the lab range model and the functional range model. I don't just care about what areas of your body are already diseased. I want to promote optimal health in all the areas of your body. This allows for your body to operate like a well oiled machine, and in my opinion is the only way to begin unwinding chronic health conditions.
As always if you would like to receive more information about my office and the care that we offer you can reach us at 763-398-7770 or by email at drhuffman@moundsviewchiro.com.
Sincerely in Health,
Dr. Joshua Huffman
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