So You're Healthy? What makes you so sure?

I continue to see posts telling others to just "get healthy" and they will have nothing to worry about regarding being exposed the virus.

This makes me question what one considers "healthy" and how do you know for sure if you are "healthy."

Are you healthy if you are not overweight? If you eat organic foods? If you exercise 5 days a week? If you feel good right now?

My favorite assumption is "My labs all came back as NORMAL so that means I'm healthy"

There has not been one person I have worked with that has not had multiple metabolic imbalances and I say this to encourage you to open your mind and realize your health isn't something you should take at face value.

Many simple lab markers can give us an indication as to our health status.

Serum iron, ferritin, and GGT are three markers that can show a correlation to underlying inflammation coming from infections we didn't know we had, gut dysfunction, and overall disease risk.

Take a look at iron and ferritin for example. How many of you are quick to supplement with iron because your serum iron was on the low side or you felt fatigued? How many did this without a complete iron panel? You could unknowingly be contributing to more inflammation and increasing your risk of disease. Instead of supplementing, ask yourself why your iron isn't getting taken up in the cells, or why your body isn't able to assimilate it from your diet in the first place. Is there an infection or parasite stealing your iron or causing iron-carrying proteins to become deranged and not function?

Iron overload is far more common and dangerous and is not being checked routinely.

Do you drink alcohol regularly? You increase the absorption of dietary iron when you consume alcohol.

High iron can increase your risk of heart attack, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis and creates free radical damage in your mitochondria, leading to severe mitochondrial dysfunction.

I consistently see women that are still having regular periods, not taking iron supplements and have unhealthy iron levels.

This is where a functional medicine approach comes in. What else do we not see on the surface.

One common thing I see is underlying infections such as Epstein Barr, Lyme disease, and heavy metal toxicity. (I rarely ever see just one of these in an individual)

Let's glance at another marker for underlying inflammation.

GGT is a marker that is less commonly ordered by a general practitioner. It is a liver enzyme that plays a role in metabolizing amino acids, and peptides as well as our master antioxidant, Glutathione. I order this marker to get a better look at liver function, inflammation, and gut function to determine if someone is at greater risk for disease associated with early mortality. High levels indicate a problem in one or more of these areas of the liver, gut, or cellular metabolism.

I frequently see this marker high in individuals, including children, with underlying infections, mold illness, and gut dysbiosis.

Basic labs can be great early intervention tools when used appropriately. You just have to decide if you are healthy enough to take the "wait and see" approach or if you would rather be proactive and learn what you think you already know, or what you know you don't know. Why wait until you have a diagnosis when you could have been warned years in advance and had the opportunity to correct the problems.