Ever wondered what your blood work is really saying? This video helps you understand your blood test results, specifically focusing on the CBC blood test. We’ll go beyond normal ranges to explore optimal health markers, offering insights into functional medicine and integrative medicine approaches for your well-being.
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Full Transcript
Intro to Reviewing CBC Blood Work 0:00
Got a group activity today. So from wherever you are, grab your most recent blood work, your Most Recent CBC or Complete Blood Count, and have it paper version or on your computer screen. And we're going to go through the markers together so you can see what's the difference between normal and optimal. I'm gonna share my most recently bloodwork and we can go though your markers, together. So I use a program and I used this for my patients where I put your blood numbers into a programme for what's optimal versus what normal and it will show me in the more details of where does the body needs support and where can it use the little bit of nudging.
Now, yours will likely look different than this. If you're interested in having one of these done for you, there's a link in the comments below where you can schedule a one-on-one with me, send me your most recent blood work, and we will go through it line by line on what your body is needing support with and where can you use some rebalancing.
White Blood Cell Count Overview 0:58
So because yours will look a little bit different, this program puts all of the above optimal and below optimal at the top and then optimal the bottom, but it is going to be out of order compared to what you likely have. So I want to mirror what likely you have and it typically starts with either the red blood cells or the white blood cell. We'll start with the White blood Cells today, which is WBC. White blood cells are the overarching view of your immune system and how well your system is balanced.
Now, optimally, we have about five to eight count of this white blood cell. So white-blood cells being between five and eight. If it's high, that's likely that you are sick or your body's actively fighting something. if it is low, it means your systems might be a little bit suppressed or it could use some more support.
Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, and Monocytes 1:56
Always chat with your doctor before adding in any of these things, but this is more information on how you can interpret these. So if you're seeing some markers that are out, consult with you doc on what to do. But I want to show you how to read these! So the white blood cells, there are five different types of white-blood cells that we're measuring on a CDC with differential. That's something to look for when or when you are asking for blood work. Get a complete blood count with a differential or a CBC with diff.
The diff is showing the five different types of white blood cells. We've got neutrophils first, and there will be a two-part way of seeing these. I will say neutrophyls as a percentage, then neutrophels is a count.I ignore the count, there's not as much clinical significance as there is with the percentage. Though it is important to see both, but for the purposes of today's video and todays education session, I want to show you the Neutrophils are the ones that we want be most of. These are white blood cells that want to be the most robust.
They fight off bacteria. We want about 50-80% of our white cells to become neutrophil. The second most common type is called lymphocytes. Lymphocites fight off viruses. You can see here, my percent is 39. Now, ideally, we want about 20 to 30% of our white blood cells to be lymphocyte. So if this is a little bit high, mine's 39, that means that my body was fighting off a bit of a virus when I went in for this blood drop. So when we're looking at these blood cells, think of them as a pie chart, as if a piece of the pie.
So if there's one that's too high, or it's meaning that it is pulling from something else, Or if one is too low, it means that things could be punting
Basophils and Eosinophils 3:48
towards a different type of white blood cell. The lymphocytes being too tall means my body is trying to fight off this virus piece. And we can see the rest of the story when we look at monocytes. Monocites are the cleanup crew. These clean up old infections. So about five to 8% is considered normal. If the monocyte are high, meaning above 8%, and especially above 10%, that might mean that your body is cleaning up an old infection and it's still working its way through that infection cleanup. Basophils are ones that we really don't want to see too much of, 0 to 1% is ideal.
These are the ones who fight off more of the big bad scaries. So 0% to one percent is considered ideal, we've got 2% or more, want do a redraw and see if there's any patterns that could be causing them. Last one, eosinophils. Eosinofils are interesting because in developed countries, Eocinofils usually are in response to allergies.
Red Blood Cell Count and Color Markers 4:54
They can also be a response So depending on where you're living, it can give information on is this an allergy? Is this a parasite? 0 to 3% is considered optimal and normal. If you've got more than 3%, start to think allergies, parasites. There can also be a marker, how this can show up as a histamine response. So it doesn't necessarily mean that it's always an allergy, always a parasite, but it could just mean, that your body is having an allergic reaction and causing histamines, But it can be an analogy to mold.
It could be food sensitivity as well, or that you're body's not appropriately digesting something. When you see eosinophils, think, Allergies, think histamines, thing parasites. Now we get to go into the shape and the size and color of your red blood cells. So we just did the white bloods cells, now we'll go to the reds. There are several markers that will show what's going on with the blood red cells and this gives clues about your iron levels, your B vitamin levels especially B12 and folate. So find your RBC first, that's red blood cells.
Ideally, this one is different for each gender, and it can also be different depending on where you're living, especially if you are at high altitude. So generally, I like to see between four and a half and five and half. So red blood cells are the carrier of oxygen and they also can help carry nutrients to the cells. So we want them to be an appropriate size and an inappropriate color.
Red Blood Cell Size, Hematocrit, and Hemoglobin 6:48
One of the things that we can look for in terms of color is MCHC or this mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. This is how colorful your red-blood cells Ideally this is between 32 and 36. And if this low, this means that your red blood cells are a little bit more pale than is optimal. Pale red-blood cells often means low iron. It can also mean low B12 as well. If we look at the MCH, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, this can be something similar, ideally about 27 to 32. If this number is low, it can mean the red blood cells are a little bit on the pale side.
With paleness alone, we don't get all of the information we need, so we have to look at size. Then we see your MCV, your mean corpuscular volume. Now this is how big your red blood cells are. Ideally, they're between 85 and 92 for most people. If your red blood cells are big, meaning the number is bigger than 92, this means that your Red blood Cells are bigger that optimal, which is a clue that you're body is needing more B12. It can also mean that need more folate, but it can be helpful to do a secondary test to see homocysteine levels and see how well your body's navigating the B vitamins and folates consistency.
So, big Red Blood cells need More B Vitamins. Small red blood cells, let's say your MCV is below 85, that means the red-blood cells are smaller than ideal and the body is needing more iron. The small red cells need more Iron, big red cell needs more B vitamins. Three more things to look for here are hematocrit, hemoglobin, and RDW. Oh, hematocrit shows the percentage of your blood that is made up of red blood cells. Ideally, we want about 38 to 40. This is different depending on gender. And when this is above optimal, that can be a sign of dehydration or that you have plenty of of Red blood Cells and plenty have iron rich nutrients carrying around.
RDW and Closing Guidance 9:12
Now, we do want it to be not too high, but it can be a marker for if you're needing more hydration or if your iron levels are getting to to high. Hemoglobin, on the other hand, is measuring how much oxygen-rich blood is being carried throughout the body. So this can show how of the oxygen carrying protein is in your red blood cells. This number can be a good marker for anemia or if you're not having enough iron in you body, because the red-blood cells directly carry oxygen and iron around to the cells, Now RDW is red cell distribution width, and this number can be a signal for how much new red blood cells your body is making.
So when this is number is below optimal, like we're seeing here for mine, That means that the body is sending a signal saying, hey, pump the brakes. We don't need any more red blood cells, which makes sense why this would be giving this signal because my hematocrit was a little bit high. So that means there was plenty of red-blood cells going around in the whole blood volume. And so body sends signal, says, Hey, pumped the breaks. we don' need anymore red, blood cell making. Now the opposite can happen.
If your RDW is high, that is giving the signal to say, hey, speed up production. We need more red blood cells. So this can be really interesting to see how the body is communicating through these markers. And it can tell a story. It can a really good sign as to when the the is body giving signals to make more or make less when a communication is appropriate. So if you are interested in looking at your blood work more deeply, if would like some fresh bloodwork and going through it line by line, we would love to help.
There is a link in the comments below. Snatch your complete wellness evaluation. We can send you fresh Bloodwork or you can sent us Blood work that you've had done. And we'll go through line-by-line of where your body's needing extra support, where it needs some nudges and where things look optimal.
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