Advanced Blood Labs in Coralville
Can you count on one hand how many people you know that have either cancer, heart disease (high blood pressure counts) or diabetes? Or does it require two hands? I’m guessing you know AT LEAST 1 person. While you’re reading this, I encourage you think about how helpful it would have been to that 1 person to have the information that you’ll read below 10 years ago.
No one should be surprised to hear we are in health crisis in the United States. Chronic disease is skyrocketing and subsequently so are medical costs, largely due to just managing the effects of chronic disease on our population.
Heart disease is the #1 killer in the United States and cancer is a close second. Did you know 9.4% of the US population has diabetes and even more shocking, 33% of people over the age of 18 have pre-diabetes? At Total Health Chiropractic & Wellness, we are concerned just as much about chronic disease as we are about the spine.
Because we look at the whole person and not just the spine, we run advanced blood labs for most patients. The advanced blood labs help you assess your chronic disease status for diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The good news about chronic disease (if there is any) is that most of the time it can be reversed with dietary and lifestyle changes. Step #1 is to run the labs and find out where you stand.
Our panel begins with two very important genetic tests. One test is the Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene and the other is the MTHFR gene. The ApoE gene helps give you information about how you are genetically wired to eat to avoid chronic disease. The intended use of MTHFR genetic testing is, along with assessing homocysteine levels, to assess and minimize a patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) through nutritional therapy and possibly clot prevention.
The blood panel will also check not only cholesterol quantities but also cholesterol quality. Your body gets cholesterol in 2 ways: absorbed through the gut lining or produced in the liver. You will find out if your liver is overproducing or if you are over-absorbing from food.
The panel will also include blood markers to give you information on your levels of inflammation, iron, vitamin D, B vitamin, thyroid stimulating hormone, and much more.
Hopefully you can see how having this information could be extremely beneficial to your health. How about your kids? In the US, the number of young children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than TRIPLED since the 1970’s. It would be extremely helpful for them to be armed with this information at a much younger age so they could avoid chronic disease.
If you have questions about how to get started and find out what your blood markers are, contact Amy Boelk in our office (319) 338-7025 and we’ll be happy to help you start your health journey!