BLOOD CHEMISTRY FROM A NUTRITIONAL PERSPECTIVE
In my practice, I look at bloodwork using functional ranges to recognize potential red flags and imbalances from a nutritional perspective.
Conventional blood chemistry uses pathological ranges to identify and diagnose medical conditions once they are already present in a person. So, as you can imagine this might be a problem! You might find yourself feeling off or anything less than normal and when you visit your doctor’s office, they tell you “everything looks normal” - chances are you likely fall outside of a condition and diagnosis but are in an in-between grey area and so this type of approach may not be helpful.
In using functional ranges, bloodwork is looked at from a more narrow lens that can help identify clues and patterns that provide more insight into potential root causes of your health concerns and symptoms and why they might be happening. Functional ranges also can reflect optimal health and since dysfunction in the body happens on a spectrum, we can also try to catch red flags and imbalances before they become advanced.
I offer affordable comprehensive and basic wellness lab panels as well as some individual markers for those who are in the US. Please reach out at hi@teresatao.com to see what makes sense for you and your situation.* If you would prefer to order your bloodwork through your primary care provider, I can provide you a list of markers but please reach out to your insurance company beforehand to see how much will be covered - going through your PCP/insurance can sometimes end up being more expensive and I would hate for you to have a big bill.
So, getting bloodwork in this way can be especially helpful if:
You have been told “everything looks normal” but you know something isn’t right and are still experiencing symptoms and have health concerns
Your doctor won’t order the markers you ask for
You want to understand your bloodwork using functional ranges from a root cause perspective
It’s been awhile since you’ve had bloodwork done
* Note, if you are in NY, RI, NJ or outside of the US, we will need to make alternative arrangements with any of the testing. I am not a doctor. I do not diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease.