Don’t Settle for “Normal” Lab Results
Learn why normal lab results don’t necessarily indicate good health
Do you suffer from fatigue, brain fog, low sex drive, trouble sleeping, weight gain, and a general feeling of “the blahs”? You may have already recognized that these may be symptoms of hormonal imbalance, specifically age-related hormonal decline.
However, you may have been told that your hormones are “normal” and you don’t need treatment. Here’s why you need to take such an assessment with a grain of salt:
There’s a Difference between Normal and Optimal
It is extremely important to understand that there is a difference between normal and optimal when it comes to lab results. This is true whether you’re testing for nutrient deficiencies or hormone imbalance.
Why does this difference exist? It’s all in the statistics.
To arrive at a reference range for a given lab test result, researchers use the numbers from all individuals who have been tested to model a Normal or Log-Normal distribution. Looking at this distribution, they identify the middle 95 percent as being “inside of reference ranges” aka normal.
This method is problematic because more sick people than healthy people get these kinds of tests. This means the dataset will necessarily include some values from sick people in the reference range. Therefore, being within the reference range doesn’t necessarily mean that you are well.
Establishing an optimal range is much more challenging than establishing a reference range. This requires using data from large studies that include enough healthy people to enable researchers to see a pattern in the numbers, and/or from longitudinal studies that track the risk of participants developing certain diseases or conditions based on factors like their lab results.
Optimal Is a Range, Not a Number
When considering the results of your lab tests, remember that optimal is a range, not a number, and that your optimal range will be specific to your body.
For example, if you’re suffering from symptoms of low testosterone but your lab tests show you are within the “healthy” range, some doctors may tell you that you don’t need testosterone replacement. But the reality is, if you don’t feel good, your testosterone levels aren’t optimal. You should have your testosterone raised to the point where your symptoms disappear and you feel your best. This will be a different number for each different individual—which is why we say healthy testosterone is a range, not a number.
Trust Renew Youth for Safe Treatment
At Renew Youth, we offer proven safe and effective hormone replacement therapy for men and for women. Our treatments include ongoing lab testing and monitoring to ensure your dosages remain at the point within the optimal range where you feel your best. Contact us to learn more.
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