Second WellnessFX Consult

My first consult was with a "paleo friendly" physician. You got to see the results of the blood work and what she had to say about it on that post with results screen grabs. This next consult was with a nutritional consultant, licensed acupuncturist, and functional medicine practitioner.

I got a LOT of information.

Sleep

First we discussed my poor sleep. I try to go to bed between 10 and 11pm, depending on whether I have to wake up at 6am or 7am. I can fall asleep just fine, but I wake up around 3am, and then it's drifting in and out of sleep until I have to get up. She said that this could be a symptom of adrenal fatigue. Between the stress of a new and constantly shifting career situation and the recent end of a high refined carbohydrate diet, my adrenal hormones could be shot. That can lead to poor sleep and immune disfunction. And since some of my other markers, such as low white blood cell count and high thyroid stimulated hormone, are off in a similar fashion, these could all be directed that way.

What could also be happening is with my cortisol levels high from stress, it's causing my liver glycogen to be depleted faster. Suddenly I'm in a "starvation state" in the middle of the night and cortisol will rise even higher, trying to release more glucose. This would make sense since I've experienced waking up feeling a slight panic for no reason.

-->Recommendation: Protein before bed so my body can regulate blood sugar levels through the night.

Blood Cholesterol

Then we moved onto cholesterol. Basically, my high level profile is fine, but with the LDL profile being bad, my take away shouldn't just be about getting those numbers in line, but secondarily making sure that I don't have any other influencers that will cause these particles to cause me harm. It's not about the mere presence of the small, dense LDL, but also about making sure I'm protecting myself against inflammation so that these particles don't have a reason to form artery wall plaques.

-->Recommendations: Since I have the genetic ability to easily process fats, I should be taking emulsified fish oils with cofactors to reduce inflammation, and also supplement with glutathione for anti-oxidant.

White Blood Cells


My WBCs are low, which means that something has been bugging my immune system for a while. This could relate to adrenal fatigue as well. When a person gets an acute infection, white blood cell numbers usually go up, but if there is a chronic thing going on, like an underlying, low grade virus that hasn't gone dormant, over time fatigue sets in.

-->Recommendation: Another place the glutathione can help out.

Free Fatty Acids and CO2


These are probably off due to poor carb management (still evident since the blood was taken only two weeks after going paleo). And since the FFA is pretty borderline, given my eating history, it's probably already on the way down.

--> Recommendations: Watch the snacking too much on nuts due to phytic acid and it's oxidation. Use adoptogenic herbs, which should also help with the sleep.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone


My TSH could be high because my thyroid isn't responding as it should for one of two reasons: either my thyroid is under active, or there could be an autoimmunity issue with my thyroid. She requested that I get my thyroid antibodies checked before I take any supplementary action toward correcting this. I suppose I could see eating as much wheat and refined sugar as I have in my recent past that I could have some immunity issues here. Regardless, I should see my PCP and get those antibodies checked out, because getting this in line could be a HUGE boon to optimizing my athleticism.

-->Recommendations: Nothing until I get those antibodies checked so we know which way to go with it.

Liver


That first liver enzyme might be a little off because the liver has to work a little harder to handle the detox from certain kinds of hormonal birth controls, and apparently mine falls in that category. It's not off much, but worth watching.

--> Recommendation: A special protein powder that has probiotics and chemicals that help enhance detox enzymes in the liver. This could also help with my cholesterol profile.

That is a lot of information!


Wow, this is something I can really work with! I didn't really like being told "Oh, you're doing all the right things. Keep it up!" because I feel like there is always something else that can be done to make things better. I want to take an active role in my health, and as an athlete, I want things optimized as much as I can. Just being healthy, in the form of absence of disease, isn't enough. Of course, that is how most medical professionals view the population, get people out of a diseased state. It's people like today's consultant that are typically more about getting people beyond healthy to optimized.