https://selfhacked.com/blog/normal-lab-values/ Cutting-Edge Solutions For a Better Life Fri, 29 Jan 2021 11:32:15 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.1 https://selfhacked.com/blog/normal-lab-values/#comment-34124 Fri, 01 Jun 2018 20:44:48 +0000 https://selfhacked.com/?p=47717#comment-34124 Overall good write-up but based on my own experience over the last 3 years more than a little optimistic. I have talked to 4 different labs and they each base their reference ranges on their tested population, not on some well selected study. Often they don’t know the health status of much of the population tested, so the reference range is pretty nearly guaranteed to include unhealthy population. It is best to do some internet research and check/compare “normal” ranges from several sources. Labs that serve a largely young population will have quite different ranges from labs that serve a population skewed older, for many tests. There can be similar differences for gender.
Also I have found tests mislabeled, eg “folic acid” being really total serum folate, and incorrect units used eg ug/l being really ug/dl.
In several cases I have found “functional medicine” ranges which tend to be much more indicative, and in some cases “optimal ranges” based on actual diagnostic experience which are much more useful. Optimal ranges, in the best cases, are age and/or gender specific, and may be well outside the “reference range”. At least for the elderly don’t take anything as a given w/o doing some serious checking.

]]> https://selfhacked.com/blog/normal-lab-values/#comment-34112 Fri, 01 Jun 2018 12:39:51 +0000 https://selfhacked.com/?p=47717#comment-34112 All the details here

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