The5labtestsyourdoctorshouldbe

orderingeveryyear(butisnt)
August15,2014By

Dr.AlexisShields

Youareputtingyourselfatriskifyouarenotaskingyourdoctorforthesetestsevery
year.

Monitoringtheprogressionofyourhealthwithbloodworkeachyearisextremelyeasyand
vitallyimportant.However,thetypicalyearlyphysicalisNOTacomprehensivelookatyour
health,anditrarelypreventschronicillness.

Therefore,itisveryimportantthatyoutakepreventivehealthmeasuresintoyourownhands.

Thesefivelabtestsshouldbeacrucialpieceofyour
annualphysical,
andhereswhatyou
needtoknowaboutthem:

#1VitaminD

The

HarvardSchoolofPublicHealth
estimatesthat1billionpeopleworldwidehave
inadequatelevelsofvitaminDintheirblood.Itisestimatedthatthatnumberbecomesalmost
50%oftheworldspopulationifyouincludethoseinthesuboptimalrange.

Whyisitimportant?

Havingadeficiencyofthissupernutrienthasbeenlinkedtoosteoporosis,increasedfracture
risk,cancer,autoimmunedysfunction,cardiovasculardisease,multiplesclerosis,lowered
resistancetothecommoncoldandseasonalflu,type1diabetes,andhypertension.

Therefore,VitaminDlevelsmayjustbethemostimportantpreventivelabmeasurement.
Basedonthecurrentresearch,IrecommendatargetVitamin25Dlevelof3050ng/mLfor
mostpeople.

#2The2hourpostmealglucose

Althoughafastingglucoseisusuallyincludedinabasicbloodworkup,afarmoreuseful
markeristhe2hourpostmealglucose.Thishelpsyoutodeterminetheamountoftimethat
yourbloodsugarspendselevatedoverthelevelknowntocausethecomplicationssuchas
diabetesandheartdisease.

Whyisitimportant?

Thefoodthatweeatiseventuallybrokendownintoglucose,whichisthesugarthatcirculates
inyourbloodthatprovidesyourbodyscellswithenergy.Althoughglucoseiscrucialfor
providingenergy,whenitremainsinthebloodstreamfortoolongitcandamagetheblood
vesselsandleadtocardiovasculardisease.

Aftermonitoringhundredsofpatientsbloodsugarseachyear,Ihavecometotheconclusion
thattheAmericanDiabetesAssociation(ADA)bloodsugartargetsaretoohigh!

Ifyouareinterestedinoptimalhealthandlongevity,yourrangesshouldbe:

Fastingbloodsugar
7590mg/dL(ADArecommends<99)
2hourpostmealbloodglucose
<120mg/dL(ADArecommends<140)

*Thistestcaneasilybeperformedfromhomewithacheapdrugstorebloodsugarmonitoror
get

thisone
deliveredforfreefromAmazon!

#3Acompletethyroidworkup

Chancesare,ifyouvehadyourthyroidtestedrecently,alabmarkercalledTSHwastested.
Theproblemis,thethyroidhormoneundergoesacomplexcascadeofstepsbeforeitisactive
andavailabletoeverycellofthebody.

DidyouknowthatitispossibletohavenormalTSHbloodlevelsbutstillexperiencethe
symptomsofapoorlyfunctioningthyroid?

Whyisitimportant?


Thyroiddisorders
areontherise.MorethantwelvepercentoftheU.S.populationwilldevelop
athyroiddisorderintheirlifetime,andupto60percentareunawareoftheirdisease!Onein
eightwomenwilldevelopathyroiddisorderinherlifetime.

Amorecompletethyroidscreeningincludes:

1.TSH(thyroidstimulatinghormone)
2.freeT4
3.freeT3
4.TBG(thyroidbindingglobulin)
5.T3uptake
6.Forthosewithanautoimmunediseaseorfamilyhistoryofthyroiddisease,alsoinclude:
TPOantibodiesandantithyroglobulinantibodies.

#4ScreenyourselfforaB12deficiency

ItiscommonforsomeonefollowingaveganorvegetariandiettobelowinvitaminB12.But,
youcaneatmeatandstillbedeficient!

AdditionalfactorsputtingyouatriskforlowB12absorptionaredigestivedisorders,diabetes,
takingprotonpumpinhibitorsoracidblockingmedications,andbeingolderthan60yearsold.
Areviewof3,000menandwomenintheongoingFraminghamOffspringStudyfoundthat39
percenthadB12levelsinthesuboptimalrangewhicharelevelsthatcanresultinneurological
symptoms!

Whyisitimportant?

B12deficiencycausesatypeofanemiathatcanresultinneurologicalsymptomssuchas
walkingandbalancedisturbances,memoryloss,cognitivedecline,confusion,anddementia.
B12deficiencyhasalsobeenlinkedtoinfertility,autoimmunedisease,andautismspectrum
disorders!

WhatisagoodB12level?

Currentlytheaccepteddeficiencylevelis148pg/mL.However,JapanandEuropehavetheir
lowerlimitat500550pg/mL.Ialsorecommendalevelgreaterthan500pg/mL.

IfyoususpectyouhaveaB12deficiency,anevenmoresensitivemarkertoincludeinyour
testingismethylmalonicacid(MMA).

#5TakeyourcholesteroltestonestepfurtherwiththeVAPcholesteroltest

ItisNOTenoughtoknowyourtotalcholesterol,HDL,andLDLlevels!LDListhesocalled
badcholesterol.But,notalltypesofLDLarerelatedtoanincreasedriskforheartdisease.

Whyisitimportant?

Onlythesmall,densetypeofLDLcontributestotheriseinheartdiseaseriskhoweverthe
basiccholesteroltestdoesnottellyouthisinformation.

Requesta
VAP
!

TheVAPtestisaspecializedcholesteroltestthattellsyouifyouhavethesmall,denseheart
diseaserelatedtypeorthelarge,buoyantheartprotectivetypeofLDLparticles.

A
good
annualphysicalshouldhelpyoutocatchthediseaseprocessearly.

Buta
great
annualphysicalshouldhelpyoutoidentifytheseareasofimbalanceandgiveyou
thelifestyleanddietrecommendationstoreversepoorhealth.

Requestingtheabovetestsfromyourdoctoristhefirststepinhelpingyoutogetmorefrom
yourannualphysical.

FormoreinformationonthefulllistoftestingthatIrecommendallofmypatientsdoyearly,
alongwitheasilyaccessibleandaffordablelabtesting,pleasefeelfreetocontactmeat
dralexis@dralexisshields.com.

Dr.AlexisShieldsisaboardcertifiedNaturopathicphysician.Shespecializesinusingadrugfree,
naturalapproachtohealingthebody.Shecurrentlyoffersonlinehealthconsultationsandcreates
anindividualizedhealthplanbasedonaspecializedassessmentofyourbloodwork,lifestyle,and
diet.

Dr.AlexishasbeenfeaturedonthepopularhealthblogsMindBodyGreenandEatLiveLife,andshe
isaconsultingphysicianforWellnessFXandPrimaldocs.

http://dralexisshields.com