Lab Testing: Looking Outside the Reference Range
Healthcare providers use lab testing to diagnose, treat, and manage various health conditions. Lab testing can help find diseases early which can help with better treatment and prevent the disease from getting worse. Lab testing is also used to monitor how an illness is improving or worsening. Regular monitoring of lab testing helps healthcare providers determine the effectiveness of treatments, adjust the treatment plan as needed, and prevent serious complications.
Your primary care provider might order you labs for many reasons, but are they looking at the body holistically and functionally interpreting your results?
What’s functional interpretation of labs?
Functional interpretation considers the "functional range" of lab values, which is a range beyond the normal reference range provided by the laboratory. Even if the lab result is considered “normal,” there may be clues to help identify what’s happening in the body. By looking at patterns and trends in lab values, in the content of the whole person, more information can be gathered from the lab testing. Information that may not be immediately apparent from the individual test result. Functional interpretation of lab testing allows healthcare providers to gain a better understanding of the patient's overall health status.
How do naturopathic doctors look at the body holistically?
Naturopathic doctors (NDs) spend time talking with their patients to gather as much information as possible about their health. In addition, a physical exam is performed, and lab testing is considered. Lab testing provides information about the body’s metabolism, nutritional status, hormones, gut health, immune system, inflammation, and genetics. Other specialty lab panels can identify environmental toxin exposure to pollutants, heavy metals, and mold. There are so many helpful lab tests available to help you find the cause of your symptoms. When interpreting lab results, NDs consider the patient’s symptoms, medical history, and lifestyle. By looking beyond the value of the test result, NDs determine the meaning of the results in the context of the patient’s overall health.
Why choose naturopathic medicine’s functional approach to health?
Naturopathic doctors are experts at looking at the body holistically. And provide evidence-based natural treatments that integrate well with conventional medicine. NDs aim to treat the cause of the disease and not merely symptoms alone. Lab testing is used to find areas of imbalance in the body and the underlying cause of your illness.
Allow a naturopathic doctor to evaluate your health holistically and prescribe natural treatment options. A common reason patients seek care with naturopathic doctors is after their other providers tell them they’re “fine” and that nothing else can be done for them. Or, patients are looking for natural alternatives that are safe to use and lack unwanted side effects.
Here’s an example.
A standard lab test is ordered to screen for thyroid disease: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). The reference range for TSH is often 0.5 to 4.5 mIU/L [Lab reference ranges vary between labs]. A conventional doctor may look at a TSH value of 3.5 mIU/L and say you’re thyroid is functioning normally. However, from a naturopathic perspective, this value suggests the thyroid is functioning less optimally and may benefit from additional testing or support with specific nutrients and herbal medicines.
Instead of waiting until hypothyroidism occurs and the TSH value drifts outside the normal reference range, you can support a healthy thyroid function and prevent the need for thyroid hormone replacement therapy. This is one example of how a commonly ordered lab test can be interpreted from a functional perspective and help prevent disease.
The takeaway message:
Lab values are pieces of the whole picture. Even lab values within the “normal reference range” should be evaluated in detail. Functional interpretation of clinical laboratory testing is important because it provides a more comprehensive understanding of a patient's health status, considers the individual's unique circumstances, and allows healthcare providers to identify patterns and trends that may not be immediately apparent from the individual test.
What types of lab tests are available at PNH?
See our list of clinical laboratory tests available for patients. If you are interested in completing lab testing through our clinic, please schedule an introductory phone call. Or, if you’re already a patient, send your naturopathic doctor a message in the Charm patient portal. We often start with basic screening lab work and add specialty lab panels as needed.
