Full Transcript Introduction to the Five Key Lab Tests 0:07 In today's video, I'm talking about the top 0:09 five lab tests for your brain health, your heart health, and your longevity. 0:14 These are labs that are run every single day by doctors, 0:17 but most don't know how to interpret them. 0:19 And even more importantly, they don't actually how to fix them. 0:23 If there's elevated levels of these lab results. 0:27 Now, I'm not talking about your total LDL cholesterol. 0:30 I'm not talking about your fasting blood sugar. 0:32 But these are really critical labs. 0:34 Chances are you've had one or more of these labs before, 0:37 but again, your doctor probably didn't know how to interpret it properly, 0:41 or they didn't know how to actually give you good advice to fix it. 0:44 That's what I'm going to go through in this video. 0:46 Make sure you stick around to the end, because that's what I'm going to go 0:49 through. 0:49 Exactly what to do to fix these lab results if they are off. 0:53 I'm also going to go through optimal ranges on all of these five lab tests. 0:57 Now, these five lab tests are the tests I would get if 1:00 if I could only rely on five tests. 1:03 These are the ones that I would get to look at how well my brain was functioning, 1:07 my heart and my overall longevity. 1:10 My chance of living long and healthy. 1:13 Number one is going to be fasting insulin levels. 1:16 I think this is the most important test for overall metabolic health. 1:21 So insulin is a superhero hormone that comes out to push sugar
Fasting Insulin and Metabolic Health 1:25 out of the bloodstream and put it into the cells, where can be used for energy. 1:29 Insulin is really important. 1:31 However, when we keep spiking our blood sugar by eating processed foods, 1:35 by eating high glycemic foods, we continue to elevate insulin. 1:39 And over time, the cells start to become resistant to insulin. 1:44 So they no longer hear the knock on the door. 1:46 They no longer open the door 1:48 to allow glucose to flow from the bloodstream and into the cells. 1:52 So we produce more and more insulin now when insulin is elevated. 1:56 Insulin is a growth based hormone, so it tells the body to grow. 2:01 It tells cells to reproduce and it stops fat burning. 2:05 You can't burn fat when insulin is elevated 2:08 and you actually store more fat. 2:10 So you actually create more visceral fat, which is the dangerous fat 2:13 that surrounds your organs and literally shuts off blood supply to your organs. 2:18 Visceral fat also is what actually produces more inflammatory proteins, more 2:23 interleukin six, tumor necrosis factor alpha, as well as C-reactive protein. 2:27 So when insulin is elevated we're going to store fat. 2:31 We're going to create visceral fat. 2:32 We're going to be stuck in sugar burning mode. 2:35 And we're going to damage our mitochondria because we're producing lots 2:38 and lots of oxidative stress. 2:39 So a healthy fasting insulin level, this is where you eat your dinner. 2:44 Let's say that you finish your dinner at 7 p.m.. 2:47 You fast for roughly 12 to 14 hours right in that range, 2:50 and you get your blood work done the next morning. 2:52 So if you finish dinner by 7 p.m., you got your blood work done at 8 a.m.. 2:56 It would be a, you know, a valid test in that 12 to 14 hour range. 3:00 Your fasting insulin should be less than six, so it should be under six. 3:04 Now you should have some insulin. 3:06 So if there's zero insulin that means your pancreas is not producing any. 3:10 Which means you probably have an autoimmune condition type one diabetes. 3:14 That's not what we want. 3:15 You're going to have some unless you have that condition. 3:17 So roughly between 1 to 6. 3:20 That is a healthy fasting insulin levels. 3:23 Make sure you ask your doctor to check most insurances will cover it. 3:27 It's not an expensive test. 3:29 If you're paying out of pocket, make sure you're looking at your fasting insulin. 3:32 Number two is going to be your hemoglobin A1. 3:35 C you've probably heard of this HBA one c this is looking at roughly 3:40 a 90 to 120 day life cycle of a red blood cell. 3:45 And how much glycation has occurred to the red blood cell. 3:48 So what is glycation? 3:49 It's when sugar binds to the red blood cells. 3:53 So if we have excess blood sugar, higher blood sugar, the sugar molecules 3:57 will start to bind to red blood cells and create 4:01 sticky proteins glycated proteins glycated red blood cells. 4:05 These glycated red blood cells are not able to function well. 4:08 They're not able to get oxygen to cells, are not able to get nutrients to cells. 4:12 So they're dysfunctional, basically senescent or aged red blood cells.
Hemoglobin A1C and Blood Sugar Control 4:18 Now we don't want many of those obviously, because they're not functioning well. 4:21 So we want ideally less than 5% 4:24 of our red blood cells to be glycated. 4:27 So when you're looking at a hemoglobin A1, C you always want to make sure 4:31 it's under 5.5%, 5.5%, 4:36 ideally less than 5.2%. 4:39 And what's really good is when it's less than 5%. 4:42 So roughly, let's say four and a half to 5%, roughly in that range. 4:46 That's a sign of very good metabolic health, very good blood sugar regulation. 4:51 Now, you always want to test that with fasting insulin, 4:53 because you also want to make sure your insulin is not too high. 4:56 And that obviously if your insulin is high and your blood sugar is low, 5:00 that you still have insulin resistance, if that's the case. 5:02 So you want to make sure you're keeping your glycated 5:05 red blood cells under control, but also keeping your insulin under control. 5:09 So again, hemoglobin A1 c important to look at. 5:12 Because if your blood sugar is really high 5:14 you're going to get dysfunctional senescent damaged red blood cells. 5:17 You're not going to get oxygen and nutrients to cells the way 5:20 that you need to to really have great cellular health. 5:24 So that's the second test. 5:25 The third one is triglycerides to HDL. 5:30 So a ratio between triglycerides which are circulating fat 5:35 along with your HDL which is your high density lipoprotein. 5:38 They call that the good cholesterol. 5:41 And so normally that ratio you don't want a lot of triglycerides. 5:45 Triglycerides should be low. 5:47 You don't want a lot of circulating fat. 5:49 If triglycerides are high, it's a sign that your body's not good 5:53 at getting the fat into the cells to be used for energy. 5:56 So kind of like insulin resistance, right? 5:57 We don't want high blood sugar. 5:59 We also don't want high fat in our blood our bloodstream. 6:01 So triglycerides ideally are under 100. 6:06 And your triglyceride to HDL ratio, the amount of triglycerides to 6:11 the amount of HDL should be less than two and ideally as close to one as possible. 6:16 So if your triglycerides are 80 and your HDL is 70, that's pretty close to one. 6:21 That's a good triglyceride to HDL ratio. 6:24 If your triglycerides are, let's say 70 and your HDL is 6:28 65, that would be a good triglyceride to HDL ratio.
Triglycerides, HDL, and Fat Burning 6:32 You want to get that ratio roughly about as close to one as possible. 6:37 That is a sign that your body is good at burning fat for fuel. 6:40 You're metabolically healthy. 6:42 You have good, typically, you know, the reason why somebody would have high 6:45 drug, high triglycerides would be because they have high insulin levels. 6:50 That's the number one driver for high triglycerides. 6:53 So if your triglycerides are low your HDL is in a good at a good amount. 6:59 You're going to be metabolically healthy. 7:00 So triglyceride HDL ratio always under two ideally as close to one as possible. 7:05 Now the fourth test that we're going to look at is something called homocysteine. 7:09 Homocysteine. 7:11 And that is actually an amino acid. 7:13 It's part of the methionine metabolism cycle. 7:17 And homocysteine can turn into something called Sammy which is a precursor 7:21 to serotonin, dopamine, all of our critical neurotransmitters. 7:25 It can also turn into glutathione. 7:27 And it's used to be able to turn into glutathione, 7:30 which is our body's master antioxidant, 7:32 as well as Sammy, the precursor for all these key neurotransmitters. 7:36 However, when homocysteine is not metabolized properly, 7:40 it becomes very reactive. 7:42 So if homocysteine is elevated in our bloodstream, 7:45 up above nine units in our bloodstream, 7:50 it becomes a potent, inflammatory 7:54 agent that damages our endothelial lining of our blood vessels, increases 7:57 our risk of stroke, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, dementia. 8:01 So all the different neurodegenerative conditions as well as stroke. 8:05 So we really need to get that under control. 8:06 What kind of nutrients are needed for proper homocysteine metabolism. 8:12 This is going to be your B vitamins in particular vitamin B2 8:15 which is riboflavin, also B6, pure 8:19 doxing, as well as folate which is B9 and B12.
Homocysteine and Nutrient Metabolism 8:23 Those are all really key for proper homocysteine metabolism. 8:27 We also need zinc and choline. 8:30 So those are all the key compounds that we need in order to make sure 8:35 that we're metabolizing homocysteine and turning it into glutathione 8:38 on, as well as Sammy, 8:41 if we're not getting those those nutrients, if we're either 8:44 not consuming them or not absorbing them properly 8:47 and utilizing them, we're going to have elevated homocysteine levels. 8:52 And if you're homocysteine is up over nine, 8:54 it dramatically increases your risk of developing heart. 8:58 Heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, or stroke, 9:02 as well as dementia, Alzheimer's and different neurodegenerative conditions. 9:06 It also can cause problems like infertility or, you know, for 9:10 for pregnant women, it can cause a higher risk of having, abnormalities. 9:15 Right. 9:15 Or, you know, even losing the birth, miscarriages and things like that. 9:19 So it's a really big issue that we've got to address. 9:22 We've got to make sure we're getting those nutrients onboard right. 9:25 Absorbing them properly, that we're producing enough 9:27 stomach acid, for example, to absorb vitamin B12 effectively. 9:31 They say B12 actually is the biggest driver 9:35 when it comes to homocysteine levels. 9:37 So if you're not absorbing B12 because you are not producing enough 9:41 stomach acid, maybe you're on a vegetarian or vegan diet. 9:44 That's going to increase your risk of having high homocysteine levels 9:48 and having problems. 9:50 So again, homocysteine should be under nine, ideally under seven. 9:53 Ideally, the ideal range is somewhere between 5 to 7 units. 9:57 We're always going to have some homocysteine okay. 10:00 It's rare that it's too low which could be the case okay. 10:03 Especially if not absorbing amino acids. 10:05 Well, we're not absorbing or consuming enough methionine. 10:08 We might have too little homocysteine, but that's rare. 10:10 Typically we're looking at high homocysteine as an issue. 10:13 We want that level to be roughly between 5 and 7 units okay. 10:18 So that's number four. 10:19 And then the fifth one is C-reactive protein. 10:22 C-reactive protein is an inflammatory protein. 10:25 It's produced when we have high amounts of visceral fat 10:30 or infections or high toxicity in our body. 10:34 So if we have high visceral fat, 10:36 which is the kind of fat that surrounds our organs, like our liver, 10:40 for example, fatty liver disease or surrounds our heart, our pancreas, 10:44 that visceral fat will release inflammatory compounds, particularly 10:48 interleukin six and tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNF alpha, 10:53 those inflammatory compounds, those cytokines go to the liver 10:57 and they tell the liver to produce C-reactive protein, C-reactive protein. 11:01 We can measure easily on a blood test. 11:04 It's a very easy add on to any blood test you're getting. 11:07 Ask your doctor to order C-reactive protein if that is up over 11:11 two, it dramatically increases your risk of developing some sort 11:14 of chronic disease, in particular heart disease, cancer, diabetes, 11:20 neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's and,
C-Reactive Protein and Inflammation 11:23 and, and Parkinson's as well as dementia. 11:26 And it also increases your risk of developing fatty liver disease as well. 11:31 And so we want to make sure it's under two ideally under one. 11:34 That's what we're looking at there. 11:35 So visceral fat is a big player. 11:37 If we get our metabolic health right that's going to lower C-reactive protein. 11:42 Another thing is infections particularly I found oral infections for example. 11:47 Having periodontal disease really increases your risk of C-reactive protein. 11:52 Having root canals that were not done properly 11:55 may be a factor for increased C-reactive protein in your bloodstream. 11:59 So that's a big factor. 12:01 Now when you get your seat, when you get your blood test, 12:03 one thing you want to make sure is that you didn't get a real big workout 12:07 in the day before, 12:08 because this is where you get a false positive for C-reactive protein. 12:10 Let's say you did some strenuous exercise the day before your C-reactive protein 12:15 is going to be high, okay? And that's normal. 12:17 That's part of the healing response, part of the healing process. 12:21 So it's always a good idea to just do light movement 12:24 like maybe take some walks, you know, the day before your blood test, 12:27 but don't do intense strength training or interval training. 12:30 That way you don't get a false positive for C-reactive protein. 12:34 So give yourself a good day off from any sort of intense exercise the next morning. 12:38 Of course, in a fasted state, 12 to 14 hours. 12:41 Get your C-reactive protein run. 12:43 That's going to give you more accurate view of what your C-reactive protein 12:47 looks like. 12:47 And again, it can be high 12:48 if you have high levels of visceral fat, if you have metabolic disease. 12:52 Also, if you have high levels of infections or high toxicity level, 12:57 maybe you've got mercury fillings in your mouth, maybe you've got 13:00 maybe you've been exposed to a lot of forever chemicals like BPA 13:04 and plasticizers and plastics, microplastics, phthalates 13:08 and, you know, makeup, things like that. 13:09 All of that can drive higher amounts of C-reactive protein. 13:13 So if any of those levels are high, the first thing you can focus on 13:18 is your diet, right? 13:19 By just fixing your diet, by focusing on a blood sugar 13:23 stabilizing diet 13:25 that should improve your fasting insulin levels, your hemoglobin A1, see your 13:30 C-reactive protein, your homocysteine, and your triglyceride HDL ratio. 13:34 So focus on getting good quality 13:36 protein, grass fed organic animal products as much as possible. 13:40 Healthy fats from things like high polyphenol extra virgin olive oil,
Diet, Lifestyle, and Fixing the Markers 13:44 avocados, grass fed butter, pasture raised eggs, 13:48 beef tallow which is a great cooking oil. 13:50 All really good for the body. 13:52 Those are going to all help improve your metabolic health. 13:55 And then lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, of course, 13:58 adding in some intermittent fasting where you're going, let's say 14:01 you're eating your meals in an eight hour eating window and fasting for 16 hours. 14:05 Maybe you eat from 10 a.m. 14:06 to 6 p.m., or from 12 p.m. 14:08 to 8 p.m., and you fast outside of that. 14:11 That gives your body time to heal and repair your metabolism, to burn fat, 14:15 for fuel, to bring insulin down so you can burn fat for fuel. 14:19 And that's going to help reduce your hemoglobin A1, c 14:22 reduce your visceral fat and reduce your overall inflammatory proteins. 14:27 Make sure you're getting enough B vitamins. 14:29 So how do you get B vitamins? 14:30 Well, grass fed organic animal products are key. 14:33 Take some apple cider vinegar and in, water, maybe 14:36 one tablespoon and four ounces of water before you eat your meal. 14:39 That will stimulate good stomach acid production, which will help 14:42 you absorb vitamin B12 from your red meat, for example. 14:46 Okay, that's a great way to get B12. 14:49 Eat, you know, cruciferous veggies or arugula or something like that. 14:53 You'll get a lot of folate. 14:55 Organ meats can also be a great source of folate, B6 as well. 14:59 And vitamin B2. 15:00 So grass fed organic animal products really prioritizing 15:03 getting 30 to 50g of high quality protein in a meal is a great way 15:07 to start to balance and stabilize your blood sugar, and that's going to help 15:11 you burn fat for fuel and reduce these inflammatory lab markers. 15:16 Right. So that's the number one place to start. 15:18 If you're getting your diet in order, you're exercising as well, 15:21 getting some good movement and doing some strength training, building 15:24 muscle, really prioritizing good sleep, keeping stress under control. 15:28 You should see these numbers go down. 15:30 If not, it's a sign you want to work with some sort of functional health 15:34 practitioner to really figure out what the root cause factors are. 15:37 Maybe you have sleep apnea. 15:39 That can be a factor. 15:40 Maybe you have oral infections like we talked about. 15:43 Maybe you're being exposed to mold, or you have a high toxic load 15:47 and you need help with overall detoxification. 15:50 If that's the case, work with some sort of good functional practitioner. 15:54 But in general, I would say 80%, 15:57 of the deal with 15:58 getting results and moving these lab markers 16:02 in a positive direction is going to come from your diet and lifestyle. 16:06 So really focus there to start. 16:08 Hopefully you got a lot of value out of this. 16:10 Please share this information as well with anybody that you know 16:13 and that you care about. Be blessed.
Comments