If you have blood tests done through me,ย I will explain where you sit in the lab reference ranges, but I also then let you know where you should be sitting optimally.
Reference ranges for each lab differ, and that’s because they establish their own mean/average, based on those people who are tested at that lab. Who gets blood tests? Most of the time it’s sick people! So even if your GP says you are “in range”, your results may not be optimal based on the research.
Here are some common examples I see below…
Ferritin (iron stores) could be in range, but if you are still suffering from symptoms such as fatigue, restless legs, paleness, difficulty breathing and other conditions have been ruled out, then deficiency could still be present, even if haemoglobin is in range. Inflammation, as well as liver and kidney disease can mean deficiency can still occur with ferritin levels up to 100ฮผg/L,or even more! The cut off is usually below 30ฮผg/L, so if you still have symptoms then you likely need to supplement longer (Lopez et al, 2015).
Vitamin D is another one often overlooked… below 50nmol/L is usually considered deficient… optimally should be above 75 and I like to see this around 100, middle of the range! Bone health, immune health, mood, autoimmune disorders and more are all linked to sub-optimal vitamin D so it’s important to have this sitting at a healthy level (Pludowski et al, 2018).
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The new reference range for fasting glucose shows that you have to be above 6mmol/L before you are out of range. Research however shows that microvascular changes can occur for anything above 5.7mmol/L… that means eye damage or peripheral neuropathy (eg. damage to nerve endings in toes) (Baranowska-Jurkun et al, 2020). Diet and lifestyle changes are the best way to lower this for good!
Vitamin B12 is required for energy and red blood cell production, mood heart and neuronal health and more. Serum B12 is considered low under <150pg/mL for most labs, but research shows anything less than 200 is deficiency! So your GP may not act on this as you are still “in range”. Active B12, the form the body uses, is checked if you are towards the lower end of the range and this may be adequate at this stage, but without adequate B12 stores you may still be feeling symptoms related to deficiency (Ankar & Kumar, 2022).
so what can you do if you’ve been told your blood tests are “normal” but you still have all the symptoms?
Reviewing your pathology is part of my naturopathic consultations, and if you haven’t had testing done in a while I can arrange this privately for you so we can test exactly what’s needed based on your symptoms.
Book in a free discovery call to learn more about how I can help you.
Sources:
Lopez et al, 2015: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/fileadmin/projects/international-nutrition/images/Workshop_2015_Vietnam/Lopez_et_al__Iron_DeficiencyAnemia__2015.pdf
Pludowski et al, 2018: DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2017.01.021
Baranowska-Jurkun et al, 2020: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/10/3289
Ankar & Kumar, 2022: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441923/
