What Can Functional Blood Work Tell Me That My Doctor Didn’t?

Although the markers are identical when we are referring to functional blood work versus standard blood work, what sets the two apart is that they are based on very different ranges. When it comes to functional blood work, we look at evidence based on optimal reference ranges to help us better identify smaller dysfunctions and determine where support is needed to get the body functioning optimally again. These ranges are much more dialed in than the standard range, which is ​​”derived mathematically by taking the average value for the group and allowing for natural variation around that value (plus or minus 2 standard deviations from the average)” (1). A standard range is the range a doctor uses to diagnose and treat disease.

To better understand the difference between the two ranges, let’s examine a past client’s lab panel and compare the two perspectives: functional and standard. 

The client came to us with initial complaints of: 

• Bloating
• Constipation as they were only pooping every other day 
• painful periods

If we look at these from a standard range, it would most likely result in feedback such as:

• Everything looks normal and within range
• Resolutions that may be presented might consist of symptom management, such as:
• Birth control for period pain
• A laxative or stool softener to increase bowel movements

But if we switch perspectives and view the same labs from a functional lens, the story begins to change:

When looking from an optimal lens, the Monocytes and Eosinophils (white blood cell types) are slightly elevated outside of optimal range. This allows us to see that this lab work follows a parasitic infection pattern. Pathogenic infections such as parasites are often associated with symptoms such as hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, and digestive dysfunction, which, if you remember, were the presenting symptoms in this client’s case. 

When addressing this set of labs from an allopathic medicine perspective, birth control, and a stool softener/laxatives may be recommended to address the symptoms. However, these are “bandaid” solutions, meaning they fail to search for and address the “WHY” or root cause behind what’s driving the symptoms. When addressing from a root cause or functional perspective, we can address the underlying infection (we absolutely would want to further investigate additional lab work as well) while optimizing the body as a whole and addressing why that parasitic infection was able to become a problem in the first place. 

References

1. Reference ranges & what they mean. UK. Accessed July 11, 2024. https://labtestsonline.org.uk/articles/laboratory-test-reference-ranges#:~:text=The%20reference%20range%20is%20then,standard%20deviations%20from%20the%20average.