Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big fan of diagnostic or investigative testing. This could include testing through urine, stool, hair, saliva and blood. This article is focusing on the most common testing, bloodwork, and how that can help guide the right root-cause treatment protocol.

Let’s step back a second and talk about functional medicine. Functional medicine takes a root-cause approach to health, emphasizing the importance of identifying imbalances before they manifest as chronic disease. One of the most effective ways to gain insight into the body’s inner workings is through thorough lab testing.

Bloodwork provides a window into what’s happening beneath the surface. Symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, irregular menstrual periods and mood changes, often have underlying causes that can be discovered by running bloodwork. Now, it is the clinician’s job to determine what causes need to be ruled out by making a differential diagnosis list. And so, while bloodwork is incredibly important…having a skilled clinician is also incredibly important. By creating this differential diagnosis list and running bloodwork, we can detect imbalances in hormones, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies and metabolic function.

Common Key Health Markers that I Assess:

• Hormonal Balance: Testing for estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid hormones and cortisol levels can help pinpoint imbalances that contribute to mood disorders, PMS, fatigue, skin conditions and metabolic dysfunction.
• Autoimmune & Inflammation Markers: Certain inflammatory markers can signal chronic inflammation, which is often a precursor to autoimmune conditions and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, autoimmune conditions are commonly overlooked due to their typically complex symptom picture. I frequently discover autoimmune thyroid disorders and even celiac disease, that has been gone undetected for likely years.
• Nutrient Deficiencies: Low levels of essential vitamins and minerals like iron, vitamin D, B12 and even electrolyte imbalances can contribute to symptoms such as low energy, poor focus, brain fog, muscle aches or cramping, poor sleep and weakened immunity.
• Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health: Glucose, insulin and hemoglobin A1C levels provide insights into insulin resistance and the risk of developing diabetes or metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance is a common underlying factor to stubborn weight gain.
• Liver & Kidney Function: These markers help assess detoxification pathways and the body’s ability to process toxins effectively.

Bloodwork is a foundational tool when it comes to discovering the root-cause (or causes…it’s rarely one thing). This allows your practitioner to tailor treatment plans based on your unique individual biochemical needs and root-cause concerns. Bloodwork helps to rule out conditions and by discovering areas of concern or areas that are not optimal, we can create a specific targeted approach to your health and wellness.

I also highly recommend bloodwork to individuals that don’t have any primary concerns. This is because it provides invaluable baseline results for where you are when you are feeling overall healthy. I cannot tell you how many times someone tells me that they wish they did bloodwork when they were younger or before they got sick. Annual screening provides a baseline but it can also detect trends over time and we can prevent a condition from fully manifesting.

If you’ve been experiencing symptoms without clear answers, bloodwork may be the missing piece of the puzzle. Investing in both annual bloodwork and symptom specific bloodwork isn’t just about preventing illness; it’s about optimizing overall well-being, which means you get to be the best version of you.

Dr. Hailey Traut ND

Health Rediscovered, Healthcare Redefined.