Blood Tests Can Help You Manage Weight and General Fitness. Here’s a Guide on Blood Analysis for Optimal Wellness.
A simple blood drop can provide valuable insights into your body and help you understand how well you are managing your weight and overall wellness. The Fitnescity Method X test can measure your key wellness indicators, and at the same time offer personalized guidance on how to use the results. This includes individualized meal plans, lifestyle and exercise guidance.
The great news is that you can order the test yourself and even bypass insurance. Results include: Comprehensive blood lipid panel (Cholesterol), Glucose, HbA1c and HS-CRP.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fatty substance that occurs naturally in your body. At normal levels, it is essential for the body to function properly. This includes making hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods.
Your body generally makes all the cholesterol it needs, thus eating too much saturated and trans fats leads to an excess of cholesterol in your blood. This, in turn, can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Excess weight, smoking, drinking alcohol and hypertension are also risk factors that can lead to high cholesterol. Although high blood cholesterol does not usually produce any symptoms, it is a significant risk factor for coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke. The great news is that it can easily be controlled with exercise and proper nutrition.
FIRST, HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHOLESTEROL MEASUREMENTS
Cholesterol is transported in the blood by lipoproteins, of which there are two main types:
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is known as "bad" cholesterol because it can clog up your arteries
High-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is known as "good" or “healthy” cholesterol because it helps take cholesterol out of the bloodstream.
A lipid profile from a fasting blood test gives you a set of measurement that include total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, total to HDL ratio, and triglycerides.
AIM FOR:
Total cholesterol levels less than 199 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
LDL cholesterol levels less than 129 mg/dL.
HDL levels of 45 mg/dL or higher for women and 39 mg/dL or higher for men.
Total cholesterol to HDL ratio less than 5.0 (the lower the ratio, the better).
Triglyceride levels below 89 for ages ranging from 10 to 19 and below 149 mg/dL for adults over the age of 20.
Blood glucose
Glucose (“blood sugar”) is the chief source of energy for all cells in the body. Glucose levels are regulated by hormones produced by your pancreas, including insulin. A glucose level outside the optimal range could be a sign that the body is not correctly producing or using insulin. This includes having low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) or high blood sugar.
A fasting blood glucose (without eating or drinking anything but water for at least 8 hours) can determine the most accurate result for blood glucose.
AIM FOR:
Fasting blood sugar level less than 99 mg/dL.
Non-fasting blood sugar level less than 125 mg/dL.
Exercise is one of the best ways to keep blood sugar under control, since lean mass is a crucial tissue for maintaining normal levels of blood glucose and energy balance. Exercise not only increases your lean mass, but it also makes your heart beat a little faster, and makes you breathe a little harder. This, in turn, helps your muscles use more glucose. Over time, this can lower your blood sugar levels as well.
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
A hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test reflects the average concentration of glucose (sugar) in blood over the previous 2-3 months. The test measures the amount of glucose attached to hemoglobin (the protein present in red blood cells that carry oxygen) and is reported as a percentage of total hemoglobin. Having a consistently high HbA1c level indicates either type 2 diabetes or a heightened risk for developing diabetes (pre-diabetes).
