Next time you go to your doctor for your annual medical exam, make sure you ask for the full Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis. The Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis is the Superhero of Preventative Healthcare by Kristin Grayce McGary LAc., MAc., CFMP®, CSTcert, CLPIt’s your annual medical exam. You know the routine. You spend 5-10 minutes with your doctor or nurse practitioner/physician’s assistant. They weigh you. Measure your blood pressure and body temperature. And, if you’re lucky, they order a lab panel for 10-30 blood markers. That’s the most your insurance will cover. And it is not enough to accurately assess your health. I recommend a comprehensive lab panel of 68+ markers. That is the only way a medical practitioner can see what is happening inside your body and can evaluate how your current nutrition and lifestyle impact you. In my experience, the panel most doctors offer has too many gaps. A comprehensive panel illuminates the blind spots and assists in making healthcare choices that support a long and happy life. I believe Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis is the superhero of preventative health care. Primarily the focus of Western medicine is remedial sick care, not prevention. Blood work is one of the most powerful diagnostic tools in medicine. It detects disease and reveals warning signs that help to prevent illnesses from developing.  Elevated markers indicate potential problems and avoid damage to body tissues and organs long before symptoms appear. Western doctors, MDs, and Naturopaths, train (and are constrained by insurance companies) to order simple panels with few markers, and to use them to guide simple interventions rather than for prevention. Three factors make functional blood chemistry analysis superior to the conventional study: the number of markers, the reference ranges, and interconnections among the results. Functional blood panels typically measure 2-6 times more markers. When...

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