I get so many questions about hormone testing and running labs, so let’s talk about it! Some common questions I get are WHEN should you run labs, WHY should you run labs, WHERE to get labs done, and WHAT kind of labs. If you’re wondering if hormone testing may be a good next step for you, this is a good place to start.

Does everyone need hormone testing?

First of all, I don't think that everybody needs to run labs. I do really love running labs and I think that everyone could benefit from running certain labs, like an HTMA (hair mineral analysis). I truly think everyone could benefit from it BUT I don't think that everyone has to have labs done.

For example, a big one I get asked about all the time is food sensitivity tests. If you have any type of gut dysbiosis, which if you have food sensitivities, you have gut dysbiosis, everything under the moon could jump on that food sensitivity test, because you have gut dysbiosis. There are better tests to spend your money on than a food sensitivity test if you have gut dysbiosis because what you need to be working on there is the dysbiosis.

And another reason why I say that not everyone needs to run labs is that sometimes we tie too much of our health to these tests. We think we’ll never really know what's going on if we don’t test it with labs and that there's nothing we can do.

But that's not true. There's so much that you can do! And if you don't have access to labs, or you don’t want to run them, I think that's okay. We all have to start somewhere, right? Just because you aren't running labs doesn't mean you can't do something with your health journey.

Start with Your Foundations

And then secondly, labs are just part of the puzzle. So often I see people who just want to run a lab and be like, “Oh, my estrogen is high” or “My progesterone is low.” Then go on to use a progesterone cream or a DIM supplement. They want that to be the whole solution.

I think that's a pointless use of money. Because guess what, in three months, you're gonna be like, “Well, I still feel like crap, time to run another lab.” Because you aren't working on the foundations.

So this is what I would say if you're really strapped for cash: work on your foundations. If your foundations are screwed - if you aren't sleeping, if you aren't eating well, if you aren't digesting your food, if you aren't managing your stress - then, of course, your levels are going to come back whacked. So start with your foundations.

Start by going back to any of the blog posts or podcast episodes where we talked about foundations and build from there. Here are a few things I recommend you start with!

One lab isn’t going to change your life. Because labs are only a part of the equation. Once you’ve got your foundations down - when you’re eating right and sleeping right and doing all the things regularly - THEN you can dive into labs.

Common Problems with Hormone Testing

But then comes another problem. What happens if your labs come back without any helpful info? Like, if you just go to your doctor and have a thyroid panel or hormone panel, and they say, “Oh, you're normal.” But you don't feel normal because normal is not optimal.

That’s because labs test us on a spectrum. On one end of the spectrum is really sick people. The other end is really healthy people. Most people are in the middle, like a pendulum, this is the “normal” range. So you're not sick enough to need a diagnosis, but you're not healthy enough to feel great.

This is where we realize that doctors are trained in pharmaceuticals - that's their specialty. So they're not necessarily going to be able to help you if your labs are “normal”. They don’t specialize in lifestyle, nutrition, or supplemental choices to help you achieve OPTIMAL health. So that’s where you go into the functional world.

Another problem you might run into is that you may not even be running the right labs. I see this all the time when I have clients that have so many symptoms of thyroid issues, but their thyroid panel comes back normal.

And then we run a mineral test and one of the main minerals isn’t right. I see a lot of this with potassium. Potassium sensitizes your cell to your thyroid hormone. So if your calcium-to-potassium ratio is off, you will be having a ton of symptoms of hypothyroidism without anything actually showing up on your thyroid labs. This is what's called cellular hypothyroidism.

So even without labs, we’re able to jump on this cellular hypothyroidism before it gets to a point where it becomes glandular. And that you can do with minerals and lifestyle shifts. How cool is that? You can stop something before it gets worse. I always feel like that's the perfect example of how you may just not be running the right labs.

So, to recap:

First - work on your foundations.
Second - Understand that labs aren’t the pinnacle of all information. Labs are helpful tools but they can’t show us anything if our foundations aren’t in order yet.

One important note - I would say that if you have PCOS, you SHOULD jump into labs. Labs can be very helpful for understanding and managing PCOS.

So now if you're like, “Okay, this is interesting and I do want to run labs; where do I start?”

This is what we do inside the Hormone Reset Premium Access Program! This is a four-month program where you will work with me one-on-one, including hormone testing! We run a DUTCH panel and an HTMA (hair mineral analysis). And sometimes, depending on what you need, we'll run a GI map.

Then, we work on those foundations and we work on those lifestyle shifts. This helps us understand what your labs are telling you. We look at them from a functional standpoint so we can support your body from the ground up. This gives you sustainable support and the tools to progress.

The recommendations presented in this blog are not a substitute for medical advice from a qualified doctor. Before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle, please consult with your health care provider.

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