You health is more than a reference range on a blood test!
Blood tests are interesting things. There are a couple of things you need to know when you are looking at them. Don’t just rely on your doc to tell you they are fine.
When you want to know why you do not feel as good as you should, your Doctor may be looking to rule out disease. There is a big continuum between disease and feeling lousy!and if you know what you are looking for the blood results can help to make sense of it. So always take your blood test results to your naturopathic appointment as we can help to decipher the bigger picture.
Let’s just take a common example: B12
Your blood results may be a reflection of what is going on in your blood and what you often need to know is what is going on inside the cells. They are not the same thing. E.g. If your blood test tells you your B12 levels are low/normal this may actually mean your cells are much lower in B12 and already suffering causing symptoms such as tiredness, pain, liver issues. That may be why some people feel better taking a B complex. It is because even although the blood test says you are fine. actually the cells are not getting enough.
What about Iron?
If your blood test always comes back low or low normal yet you do not have a heavy period and eat meat what can this tell us? After asking a few questions we can usually infer that your digestion is not strong and so you are not absorbing the iron. Don’t just take an iron supplement, you need help to normalise your digestion as you will not be absorbing many other essential nutrients. Many people say that even when they take the iron they are still tired ant his is usually why!
What about Thyroid?
This one would take days for me to do it justice! Just remember this test is only good for picking up overt Thyroid disease and many people have VERY average if not down right poor thyroid function which makes it difficult to function and yet it never gets picked up on the blood test. However if your T4 is low or high normal and if your TSH is over 2 then it is fair to say you need to consider what impact thyroid is having on your health. If you feel tired you really may want to find out more.
I wont’ go on! But suffice to say there really is more to blood tests than meets the eye so make sure you when they say everything is fine, just remember they mean there is no disease. You need your naturopath to help you understand whether they are in fact FINE!