EAT WELL? TRAIN HARD? STILL FEEL LIKE CRAP? Blood work. You may find yourself, at times, despairing at the fact that you seem to constantly suffer from fatigue, poor motivation, illness and lack of results from your training and nutrition. The possibility exists that there is an underlying issue that inhibits your ability to function at your best that needs to be identified. Your blood contains the information to give you an accurate and true snapshot of the current state of your physical health regardless of how you actually look or feel. A blood test will reveal the truth about what is going on in your body and potentially provide an answer as to why you feel down, tired, fat, etc. When a client presents with some of the symptoms described above yet outwardly appears to do all the right thing (train regularly, eat well) we sometimes recommend a simple blood test. In the past such blood work has identified vitamin deficiencies, low hormone levels and lack of iron in clients. Armed with this information a person can then make the appropriate nutritional, supplemental and training changes to restore optimum function. Blood is a transport system. It contains and delivers a combination of plasma (watery liquid), essential nutrients, sugar, oxygen, and hormones to our cells, and carries waste away from those cells. This waste is eventually flushed out of the body in urine, feces, sweat, and lungs (carbon dioxide). Blood work involves extracting blood (usually pricking the skin) spinning it at high speed to separate it’s components and analysing against a range of values that 95 percent of the population would have as ‘normal’. When requesting blood work your Doctor may ask why or what you suspect is the problem. There does not need to be a specific issue just explain that you want blood work done for a current picture of your health. You can have varying levels of blood work done but the primary things to start with are: Chemistry Panel and Complete Blood Count- Broad range of diagnostic information to assess your vascular, liver, kidney, and blood cell status. Haemoglobin- Measures a person’s blood sugar control over the last two to three months and is an independent predictor of heart disease risk in persons with or without diabetes. DHEA- Pre-cursor to testosterone and oestrogen both critical to strength, mood, and body fat. C-Reactive Protein- Testing for inflammation. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone- Many people go through their lives with undiagnosed thyroid issues because the they see their symptoms as part of life or not significant enough. You now have the knowledge to confidently ask for a blood test. Do it annually as a minimum and if everything else is dialled in (training, nutrition) and you still don’t feel right, get it done straight away. WEB, reformfitness.co.nz TWITTER. @reformfitnessNz INSTAGRAM, #reformfitness References: medicalnewstoday/articles/196001.php Fischbach F. A manual of laboratory and diagnostic tests. 7th Ed. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. 2004 New MI. Genetic disorders of adrenal hormone synthesis. Horm Res. 1992;37 Suppl 322-33. lef.org/magazine/mag2006/may2006_report_blood_01.htm precisionnutrition/all-about-blood-work
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 00:18:54 +0000
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