Analyzing Data and Tailoring a Plan

As Your Coach I Analyze the Data And Tailor A Plan Analyzing, or interpreting lab results is more an art form than not for a number of reasons.

First, let’s consider the reference ranges. Reference ranges can be arbitrary numbers agreed upon by those decision makers within the medical/healthcare establishment. Reference ranges are typically the average or a range in which most of the population falls. This range then has multiple issues as the range can be lab specific. So two labs running essentially the same lab may have different ranges due to the population they are testing. Also, the range reflects the general population and we know that generally speaking, most people are not of optimal health so the reference ranges are not necessarily indicative of an optimal range.

Second, most lab work is based upon a blood sample. Blood is the preferred choice, not because it is the best option but rather it is the easiest sample to collect either in a doctor’s office or at a lab collection site. Other material to collect include stool, saliva, urine and hair. While hair is easy, urine and saliva collections would be incredibly inconvenient as many functional saliva tests require multiple collections through the day and at specific times. Imagine going to the doctor’s office five times during a day starting at 6am and ending around 10pm. Inconvenient for both parties and very stressful for you. That stress will impact the lab results. Just imagine what it may be like collecting a stool sample or two or three if you had to leave the home to do so.

When it comes to functional lab testing, blood samples are not necessarily bad,  ultimately it comes down to the situation and what you are testing. For example, testing the HPA (Hypothalamus-Adrenal-Pituitary) Axis especially the stress-hormones can be performed by collecting blood, saliva and/or urine. Each of these methods have advantages and disadvantages. The key is understanding what any given lab’s strengths and weaknesses are either choosing the best one or performing additional labs which complement each other. As a hint, the best HPA Axis (stress and sex hormones) test happens to include both urine and saliva.

While functional testing offers valuable information, More important than the results themselves is the individual manifesting them. The results can tell us what is happening metabolically now or in the recent past. What they don’t generally tell us is why those results are present. This is what’s truly important, understanding the relationship between the clients past and current experiences, their lifestyle, and how that has contributed to their current health circumstances. 

You can have ten people manifesting the same lab results, yet their symptoms are different and so are their lifestyles. You can also have ten people with similar symptoms yet their lab results are quite varied. This is why I don’t treat the lab results or the symptoms directly. Rather I treat the individual and their lifestyle that is manifesting those symptoms. 

For health coaching to be truly successful, an open relationship of exchanging information, no matter the topic, is vital. Withholding information, regardless of the reason can only hinder the process and may in fact prevent any change, short or long-term from occurring.