Functional vs Pathological Blood Chemistry Analysis

One of the most effective, efficient, and affordable tests for a general health screening is a Comprehensive Blood Chemistry.

A Comprehensive Blood Panel allows a health-care provider to quickly assess the health status of their patient. This is the best tool to evaluate a new patient, especially if they have not had a comprehensive evaluation in recent years. So, What sets our analysis apart from other practices using blood chemistry? FUNCTIONAL BLOOD CHEMISTRY ANALYSIS! What is the Difference?

When a Doctor reviews a routine blood test, they use what is called the Laboratory or Pathological Lab Range, which are lab values that diagnose disease. Those lab values are generated by a collection of lab values from “sick” patients. So, how most Doctors would look at this is if you are outside this range you are considered “sick” and if you are in this range then you are considered “healthy.” Now this does not sit well with me, why is it so black and white? Do we really go from healthy to sick over night? Also, do your really want to have your health status be compared to a bunch of sick people? Wouldn’t you rather be compared to healthy individuals? That is where the Functional Lab Ranges came about. The Functional Lab Range is the range in which they collected lab values from healthy people and then we say if you are in this certain range you are considered to be FUNCTIONING ideally, but if you are outside that range, your function is not ideal and you are headed towards a disease state. How does this benefit you? This allows the doctor to catch things before they actually show on the pathological lab range, therefore preventing disease. This range is the most effective range to use when reviewing a blood panel. The problem is most laboratories and doctors do not use the Functional Range, they use the Laboratory Range, which defeats the purpose of being “preventative.” So if you have not had a routine blood test in recent years, I highly recommend contacting a doctor that is familiar with the functional lab values to analyze your results. Our office is one of a few offices in this area that can provide that type of service.