Biomarkers I am optimizing based on recent lab results
My personal lab results and what I am doing to improve my health.
Earlier in January I wrote about the comprehensive set of blood tests that I do every year, and I thought now would be a good time to share the results. There are two important reasons why I do regular bloodwork: to prevent disease and to have information about biomarkers I can optimize in order to feel my best (energy, mood, physical & mental performance, etc.)
Many of the most common chronic diseases that significantly contribute to mortality worldwide are preventable. Heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain types of cancer develop over time and it can take many years for symptoms to appear. If you wait until you’re symptomatic, the risk of dying from these diseases is also higher. But if you test regularly, you become empowered with information that can help you make decisions to reduce that risk. The medical establishment has a bias against incidental findings and our brains are programmed to fear, but when it comes to health, I believe that more information is better. It’s a simple, yet powerful mental shift to start looking at bloodwork and annual tests as something you can control rather than something to panic about.
Having more data is also helpful in figuring out the small tweaks I can make (diet, supplements, lifestyle interventions) that can get me from feeling ‘meh’ to feeling great. While I'm not an advocate for biohacking every facet of my existence, I also reject the notion of passively accepting symptoms such as fatigue or pain as inevitable. Should your medical provider suggest (as they often do) that deteriorating with age is 'normal,' remember that you have far greater control over your health and wellness than you might have been led to believe.
My results:
The majority of my labs came back in optimal ranges which is a direct result of not having any health conditions and of living a healthy lifestyle focused on prevention. The biomarkers that are suboptimal are lipids, blood sugar and iron. I will cover the specifics, along with practical steps for improving each of them in detail.
Inflammation: optimal
ESR - 6
hsCRP - < 0.3
Thyroid: optimal
TSH - 1.86
Free T4 - 1
Free T3 - 2.7
AntiMicrosomal Ab(Thyroid Peroxidase)TPO - <1
Reproductive health: optimal
Testosterone, Total - 25
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin - 45
*Estrogen and progesterone are measured more accurately in urine or saliva than blood and I do a separate test for this called DUTCH. This test looks at sex hormones and their metabolites, the overall diurnal pattern of free cortisol, and the total distribution of cortisol metabolites. If you do test sex hormones with blood, make sure to do it around day 3 of your menstrual cycle for estrogen and around day 21 for progesterone.
Liver function: optimal
AST - 17
ALT - 16
GGT - 9
Nutrients and Toxins: mostly optimal
Vitamin D3 - 65
B12 - 645
Homocysteine - 5
Folate - 676
RBC Magnesium - 5.1
Zinc - 68
Selenium - 115
Ferritin - 17 (low)
Iron - 76 (low)
Mercury - <4
Lead - <1
*Many women have low levels of iron and I’ve struggled to keep my ferritin levels up in the past. Iron and ferritin deficiencies can lead to fatigue, compromised immune function, hair loss, mood issues and pregnancy complications. At the time of testing I was experiencing more fatigue than normal.
Blood Sugar: normal, but suboptimal
Hemoglobin A1C - 5
Fasting glucose - 89 (borderline)
Fasting insulin - 6.1 (borderline)
*My blood sugar labs normally come back in optimal ranges, but fasting glucose and fasting insulin can sometimes be influenced by the meal you had the night before your blood draw, poor sleep or stress. In my case, I also have a genetic predisposition for blood sugar dysregulation. Since my A1C (the average glucose in my blood over the past 3 months) is in a healthy range, I am not reading too much into the other two results, but I will repeat in three months to make sure this is not a trend.
Heart health: suboptimal
LDL - 145 (high)
ApoB - 95 (high)
HDL - 74
Triglycerides - 59
*While my HDL and triglycerides look perfect, my LDL and ApoB are too high. Since my diet is very low in saturated fat and processed foods, these are mostly influenced by genetic factors. But given heart disease is the number one killer in women, I take these results very seriously.
What I’m doing with my results to improve my energy, blood sugar health and prevent heart disease:
For low iron, I am supplementing with OptiFerin-C and adding more iron-rich foods to my diet including organ meats (chicken livers), poultry, fatty fish (salmon), lentils, pumpkin seeds and dark leafy greens (spinach, kale). Tea and coffee can inhibit non-heme iron absorption, so I try to take my iron supplements away from any caffeinated beverages. I will repeat this test in 3 months to assess.
For borderline raised blood sugar and fasting insulin I am completely eliminating all processed foods and lowering my carb-intake (no refined carbohydrates like flour, sugar or grains). I usually eat a mostly Paleo diet rich in protein, healthy fats and fiber (vegetables and low-glycemic fruit) anyway, but I will pay attention to not deviate from it. I will repeat these in 3 months to assess.
The high LDL and ApoB are the biomarkers I am most concerned about. My diet is already very low in saturated fat and processed foods, but I will run an experiment to completely avoid both for the next 3 months to see if that moves the needle any amount. I am also supplementing with Berberine, L-Carnitine and ALA and increasing my fiber and polyphenol intake through both foods and supplements such as this one and this one. When it comes to LDL and ApoB, diet and lifestyle interventions can only take you so far, especially if higher levels are influenced by genetics. My current ten-year risk of developing heart disease is very low, but since I care about long-term risk, not just the immediate future, when the time is right, I will consider taking a statin to bring my lipids in a healthier range.
I am always thinking about making these posts as insightful and relevant as possible, so I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions on future topics to explore. Feel free to drop me a line or DM me on social any time.