You may want to talk with your doctor about gathering the right labs for you based upon your age, biological sex, and current health status. Here are some labs that Dr. Rimka finds incredibly useful in determining how you can empower yourself with the knowledge to make the best diet, supplement, and movement choices for you at this particular time in your life. It is important to be aware that what is ideal at 8 years old is not ideal at 20 and certainly changes by the time you are 40! Labs provide specific objective data to track your progress and adjust your life based upon that biofeedback. Yes, labs are a form of biofeedback!
Labs you can request from your physician to test and highly influence your care plan at Brain and Body Solutions:
Chemistry Panel and Complete Blood Count (CBC):
Blood Sugar: Fasting glucose
Kidney Function: Uric acid, BUN (blood urea nitrogen), Creatinine, BUN/creatinine ratio, eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate)
Electrolytes and Minerals: Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron
Liver Function: Total protein, Albumin, Globulin, Albumin/globulin ratio, Bilirubin, Alkaline phosphatase, LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), ALT (alanine transaminase)
Lipid Profile: Total cholesterol, Triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (calc.), Total cholesterol/HDL ratio, Estimated CHD risk
Complete Blood Count: Red blood cell count, Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, MCV (mean corpuscular volume), MCH (mean corpuscular hemoglobin), MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), RDW (red blood cell distribution), White blood cell count, Differential count, Platelet count
Overweight?: Add leptin, insulin, IGF-1 (growth hormone) to the above
Infertile?: Add free, bioavailable and total testosterone, progesterone day 21-23, fasting insulin and glucose to the above
Fasting Insulin: This is a much better indicator of blood sugar imbalances than fasting glucose
Homocysteine: Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid produced as part of the body’s methylation process. The level of homocysteine in the plasma is increasingly being recognized as a risk factor for disease and seen as a predictor of potential health problems such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s.
Vitamin D: 25(OH)D is the proper test. Vitamin D3 is a critical essential hormone responsible for your immune system, cancer prevention, brain function, and more. Best if used through LabCorp by your physician or you can order a mail kit through http://www.grassrootshealth.net/
C-reactive protein CRP: CRP is made in the liver in response to inflammation. It is a great general marker to systemic inflammation as well as inflammation of your arterioles. It is therefore a great indicator of cardiovascular health and risk.
Complete Hormone Profile: Genova test that can be ordered through Brain and Body or your primary physician if they use Functional Genova testing. It is to assess adrenal health and estrogen metabolism (breast cancer tendency or not) among other hormone factors.
Gluten sensitivity test with Cyrex array 3 test: gluten food sensitivity test
Serum Ferritin: Particularly important if you suspect anemia.
VAP cholesterol: This is a more extensive panel including subtypes of LDL and HDL plus lipo(a), VLDL, ferritin, TSH, free T3, reverse T3, cortisol, DHEA
Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio: Metagenics test available for about $150. Most Americans are extremely deficient in Omega 3’s. This deficiency is often a major cause of ADHD symptoms in children and perimenopausal women.
Genova NutrEval: Nutritional deficiencies test for a wide variety of nutrients test which includes the above Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio. Genova accepts insurance and price varies depending upon your carrier. It can be as low as $169.
General Genetics and Methylation
www.23andMe.com is a genetic test obtained from a painless cheek swab of buccal cells. Once you receive the results, you connect them to www.GeneticGenie.org to find out the qualitative aspect of your genetic methylation profile. Dr. Rimka connects the history and signs and symptoms with your unique genetic profile to customize a dietary and supplement plan.
Telomeres: Telomeres are the caps at the end of your chromosomes to keep them wrapped up tight. We can actually measure the stress on your telomeres and calculate your biological age by the length and shape of your telomeres. Oxidative stress and metabolic disorders shorten and damage the telomeres. If you want to know if you are younger or older than your number of years on the planet, and how to change your lifestyle to correct unnatural shortening of your telomeres, this is the test for you. Available from www.Spectracell.com for under $300.
Consults regarding your results are available with Dr. Rimka if you need support in understanding or implementing corrective behaviors to improve your lab results.