FIVE BLOOD TESTS FOR AN OPTIMIZED LIFE
“Life is not about who you once were, it is about who you are right now, and the person you have the potential to be.”
You are the result of all your past decisions. The decisions you made in regards to your health, your relationships and your career. As you sit there reading this article, where you are was determined by how you responded to the the controllable and uncontrollable events in your life. However, this is not a death sentence and where you are today can drastically change based on the decisions you make moving forward from here.
The best part about your history is that it tells the story of how you got here. It is the blueprint of things that you had success with and things that you have failed with. In regards to your health, we can see how lifestyle, nutrition and training all have had positive or negative effects on your life. This is where blood testing can play a major role in providing us with a snapshot of our current physiology. An understanding of where you are and how you got there can be a blueprint for where you want to go.
“Your Biology Becomes Your Biography” - JC Simo
What Gets Measured, Gets Managed
When I work with clients I record every rep, set and weight that was performed in each workout. With that I can calculate how much work they are doing in a session. If that session has not progressed the next exposure to the workout I have evidence that their recovery was not good enough to be stronger that day. That’s a great indicator that something potentially outside the gym is negatively impacting progress in the gym. By measuring these statistics, I am able to better manage my clients from day to day rather than waiting until week six to see no progress in their body composition. If we measure training numbers to help improve strength in the gym, then why don’t more people measure the physiology to improve their health?
For years we have seen the negative impact of our health from the degradation of agriculture, increased exposure to pollution in the air, EMF exposure from technology, and etc. All these factors have had a massive compounding effect on our aging, energy and health year after year. Research in recent years has been providing evidence that it is not just our genotype that determines our health but our Phenotype, which is the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment. These profound results prove to us that we are not just our genetics but that our lifestyle, nutrition and training all have a major impact on our future health.
Without measuring how our physiology interacts with our environment, we may be training, eating and running ourselves into the general area of our goals rather than showing up at the location in a timely manner.
Five Blood Tests for Optimization
There are many blood tests out there that you can perform but these five basic numbers can give a deep insight on your current health. These numbers can provide information on stress management, insulin management, food intolerances or sensitivities and hormone health. With these you can construct a lifestyle, training and nutrition plan to help reach your goals much faster.
Morning Blood Glucose and Hb1AC
Optimal insulin health is a fine balance between the type of food you eat, when you eat it, and how much activity you get. Insulin plays a primary role in managing body composition by mediating fat burning and energy levels. Your fasted morning blood glucose is an indicator of your current blood sugar level. Normal blood glucose levels run between 70 to 100 mg/dL. Naturally, for optimal health and greater insulin sensitivity, you want to have your blood glucose level lower on this continuum, generally between 75 and 85 mg/dL.
The Hb1AC test is an overview of the average value of blood sugar levels in the last 3 months. For people without diabetes, the normal range for the hemoglobin A1c level is between 4% and 5.6%. Hemoglobin A1c levels between 5.7% and 6.4% means you have pre-diabetes and a higher chance of getting diabetes. Levels of 6.5% or higher mean you have diabetes.
Vitamin D3
If you want to be healthier, live longer, get stronger, and keep your brain performing optimally, having adequate levels of vitamin D is a great advantage. In recent years, we have seen a drastic transition to working on computers and inside our homes more so than we have ever seen before. Researchers find that people are chronically deficient in vitamin D because they don’t get enough full body sun exposure. Like I mentioned before, agriculture has degraded our soils to the point that our food quality will not supply us with the necessary amount of vitamins and minerals. That is why supplementing with Vitamin D3 and added sun exposure can help our blood values. The Vitamin D Council suggests 50 ng/ml (a measurement of the amount of serum vitamin D in the body) is the minimum acceptable level but experts advise that optimal levels are between 40—80 ng/ml.
Red Blood Cell Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body and plays an important role in 300 biochemical reactions in our body. Some of the reactions include protein synthesis, testosterone production, insulin sensitivity, calcium absorption, and regulation of the sympathetic nervous system. Magnesium also has been shown to enable the metabolism of vitamin D, which makes it essential for bone health and treatment of osteoporosis. Again, because of depleted soils we will need to supplement with magnesium to acquire the levels needed for optimal health. The optimal range is 6.8-7.2 mg/dL however most people hover around 2 mg/dL.
Red Blood Cell Zinc
Zinc is in every tissue in the body and it is directly involved in cell division and the maintenance of ideal hormone levels. It is also a powerful antioxidant, helping to prevent cancer and other diseases. Ensuring that you have adequate zinc level will lead to optimal physical performance, energy levels, and body composition. Zinc is also required for proper function of red and white blood cells. It is highly concentrated in our bones, the pancreas, kidneys, liver, and retina.
In Conclusion
What you measure gets managed. Each of these blood tests can give a specific overview on what it is that hold’s you back from acquiring your goals in body composition, health and strength. I suggest after you acquire all of these test results, you hire a quality coach that can utilize these results to better devise a plan for you. I myself offer online consulting for programming lifestyle, training and nutrition to help improve your results. Please contact me through the website for further options on how I can help you optimize your life.
Steven Nickel provides a Tailor-Made Fitness Experience for the individual who wants to acquire high quality results. Providing Exclusive Personal Training, Made to Measure Coaching and Ready to Train Collections. To learn more Inquire Here or write to steven@stevennickel.com
Sources
American Diabetes Association: “A1C Test,” “A1C and eAG.”
Mayo Clinic: “A1c test.”
Lab Tests Online: "Hemoglobin A1C."
American Diabetes Association: "A1C and eAG."
Center for Disease Control and Prevention: “All About your A1c”
Poliquin Group: “Ten Surprising Signs Of Zinc Deficiency”
Poliquin Group: “25 Excellent Reasons To Take The Wonderful Vitamin D”
