[Daniel]

Hey ,

Thank you for sharing all this detailed information! It will take some time to analyze this all, but here are already some important key points:

Vitamin D
To raise vitamin D from your levels, you will need a dose that is higher. The Biotics ADEK-Mulsion is a great supplement, but it won’t bring your vitamin D levels up when they are down since there is only 10 mcg of vitamin D in it. This handout is all about vitamin D and how to raise it. I recommend you check this out! I usually recommend my clients to use dosages of 50 mcg (or 2000 IU) daily for 2-3 months, then retest and adjust the dosage if this is necessary.

A low vitamin D level can contribute to low calcium levels and needs to be addressed.

Vitamin D is very important to the immune system. It regulates about 5% of your genes which is a lot. And a lot of those genes are involved with the immune system and regulating inflammation!

It does however require magnesium to be activated.

Magnesium
When you still experience constipation, my preference goes for magnesium citrate or a mix that contains a good amount of magnesium citrate. Because magnesium is not particularly tasteful, most liquid forms contain some form of sweetness (fructose/xylitol or natural flavours). If liquid magnesium is something you like to try because it is easier for your stomach you could make it yourself by mixing some magnesium powder in water or some kind of liquid with more flavour.

Zinc
Personally, I would leave out the zinc supplements for a few days and see if some symptoms you are experiencing get less. Let us know the results! I didn’t take a look at your medicines yet, but perhaps some zinc is hidden in there. If these supplements are all supplements you take, it makes me wonder if there aren’t other zinc sources in your environment (I mentioned this earlier, but other examples of zinc compounds are zinc oxide and zinc sulfide.

Zinc oxide is used to make various products including make-up  and prescription drugs. Checking the ingredients of your drugs could be a good idea. Zinc sulfide can be found in x-ray equipment and different kinds of paints. I don’t know if you work with paint, but I am just mentioning it.

Free T3
As long as you are low in iron, a low T3 is not a weird outcome since iron is needed for T3 production. Once iron levels are restored, I would recheck free T3.

Iron, oxygen and why an iron deficiency can have a lot of impacts.
As I mentioned earlier, 70% of your iron is used to build hemoglobin for red blood cells.

No hemoglobin = no oxygen transport

No oxygen transport means your altering your cell’s metabolism. The powerhouses of your cell (the mitochondria) are using a lot of oxygen to produce energy. Actually, they are a huge reason why we need to breathe.

With anemia, not all cells are getting oxygen optimally. This in theory causes mitochondrial dysfunction because they need oxygen. It are the mitochondria that play a huge role in programmed cell death.

I know we talked a lot about iron. I just wanted to stress how important iron is for healing. Optimizing red blood cell function is a benefit to all cells in your body.

Calcium
Calcium is found in lots of foods. Green vegetables, seeds, lentils, beans, almonds, amaranth, GMO-free organic soybeans… Lots of options. I usually recommend my clients that are low on vitamin D to choose calcium-rich foods while optimizing for vitamin D first. Retest calcium with vitamin D 2-3 months later.

The new labs
These labs look great! Proteins are negative in the urine. Do you know if it was measured with a urine dip stick or a quantitive determination of  micro-albumin? Micro-albumin is a very small protein and is more indicative for small damage on the kidney.

I think these are the most important basics to focus on. I will respond in more detail later.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Unfortunately, I couldn’t personally help you recommend a professional who can help you in Dubai, but I know Bernadette once recommended the Vivamus Clinic. They offer counselling and EMDR I believe. I wish I could have helped you by recommending a psychiatrist with a more holistic vision in Dubai.

But there are things you could already recommend to this person.

Trauma hijacks the brain. We have in our brain a system called the ‘fear network’. The fear network involves three elements of the brain: the amygdala, the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.

That sounds really difficult, but basically, these systems work together to monitor the environment, to remember what the threats are, to regulate emotions and then to make decisions for us in the face of those threats.

When Trauma happens, it hijacks that fear network via the enormous amount of neurotransmitters your brain and body produce during the traumatic event. This can in the end result in a person who is continuously on high alert, who is continuously on edge and who is continuously activating his/her sympathetic nervous system.

It is my experience that a broad approach works best. More recommendations you can find in this video, but here are the ones I like:
• EMDR can help to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.
• But EMDR is often just part of the healing process. Finding meaning in experiences that happened to them is often part of this process as well. A good therapist can help with that, but it requires some work from the person itself.
• DBT or Dialectical Behaviour Therapy is especially effective for people who have difficulty managing and regulating their emotions. DBT has proven to be effective in treating and managing a wide range of mental health conditions, including Borderline personality disorder (BPD), self-harm, suicidal behaviour and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If the person you like to help has problems with this, you could consider this type of therapy.

Working on fundamental stuff to help the body can help enormously as well:
• Improving sleep (I know some of these medications can make this very difficult),
• making sure someone has enough vitamin D, and adding in DHA, EPA and protein in their diet since these are needed to produce serotonin,
• Checking inflammatory markers and working on reducing inflammation by focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet.
• Food sensitivities/allergies can increase inflammation.
• Checking RBC magnesium.
• Checking for a slow thyroid (Click here if you would like to look for other signs & symptoms of a slow thyroid. Click here if you like to know how to test for thyroid hormones, since a slow thyroid can cause depression and might make things worse.
• In the adrenal balance course there are a lot of tips about how to balance stress hormones.
• Having enough B vitamins in the diet is important. Especially B6 is needed to create neurotransmitters. But B6 is also needed to create adrenalin/nor-adrenalin so go really low & slow since it could also increase anxiety.

A last tip:
What often can happen to trauma survivors after a while is that they might get offered a lot of solutions from their friends and family. Trauma survivors often get told by their surroundings that ‘all is going to be ok’ or they ‘need to cheer up’. This type of advice can come from a good heart. But for a traumatized person this could also feel emotionally invalidating since it is sometimes felt as ‘he/she doesn’t want me to talk about this anymore’ or ‘talking about this topic makes him/her uncomfortable’. This can often lead to a feeling of loneliness in the victims.

If there is an opportunity to educate family and friends, explain to them that the best healing environment for a traumatized person is one with empathy, compassion and one without judgement. That road to finding meaning in their experience can take a while. Making sure the environment facilitates healing can help these persons enormously.

I hope this advice can help you

[Daniel]

Hey ,

A lot of the results confirm already what we know. For example, we see elevations in eosinophils and basophils which is indirect evidence for elevations in histamine. Basophils also protect against bacterial, fungal, viral and parasites and could be elevated by these pathogens.

Kidney function
The eGFR, a marker used to evaluate kidney function, is a little low on your lab results. This can indicate you were dehydrated at the moment of blood draw. But there is a pattern of elevated markers (uric acid, fructosamine, Anion gap) that might indicate your kidneys are struggling.

Asking your doctor to measure proteins in the urine can help you to exclude that your kidney health is impaired.

There might be other reasons why these markers could be elevated. Fructosamine for example can be a reflection of the amount of sugar your body has seen in the last 2 weeks. It would be helpful to know if you struggled with foods.

An anion gap can also be elevated because of dehydration – or it could indicate the pH of your blood is a little more on the acid side. For the right interpretation, it is important to trace back your steps around the time of blood draw. Do you know if you were dehydrated back there? 

Assessing blood values is complex without knowing the circumstances. I would like to give you more targeted advice, but having more details about sleep, current diet, current supplements, medications and changes in symptoms would be of much value here

I hope this makes sense!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Thank you for posting your lab results! Right now I will highlight just a few points, but I will respond in more detail.

Zinc
The serum zinc markers in your lab results were slightly elevated above normal and the RBC Zinc is high normal. Usually, this doesn’t happen with consuming foods alone. Although there can be other reasons why serum zinc gets elevated, a common reason for elevations are supplements. High doses of zinc can cause symptoms like pain in the stomach, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. If you aren’t on any supplements, inhalation of vapours  (e.g. during welding, plating, etc.) can lead to toxicity as well.

Vitamin D
Are you on any vitamin D supplements? Your vitamin D levels are low on your test results. If you are supplementing with vitamin D, it looks like it doesn’t get absorbed.

Serum Folate vs RBC Folate
It looks like your red blood cells are built with enough folate. Your total amount of red blood cells increased a little bit as well, which is good news since your test result from last year showed that the number of red blood cells was borderline low.

The serum folate looks still low, this can be because the body quickly consumes the folate. Another reason could be your folate intake is still not enough. Usually, I would recommend my clients to go a little higher in folate in this case.

Homocysteine
Lab results show also a lowering in homocysteine. Although we aren’t in the ideal zone, I think a little congratulations are in its place! Again we need B vitamins to lower homocysteine. Folate and B6 both play a role. B6 also plays a role in bile production. Having them both enough in the diet is important.

Low free T3
The test does show a low T3. For sure that a lowered iron plays a role still. Kidney and liver health can also play a role here since these organs are key players in T4 to T3 conversion.

Elevations in Bilirubin
I believe you already talked with Bernadette about poor bile flow or bile production. Bilirubin is a waste product from dead red blood cells. It gets mostly removed through bile and is the reason why your stool turns dark. Elevations in bilirubin can also cause the urine to be unusually dark yellow. Since Bernadette gave you already some tips here, I won’t. It is however something you would like to recheck in a while.

Elevations in HDL
Elevations in HDL are another clue to sluggish bile production. The liver breaks down HDL and removes it through the bile. Optimizing bile production and flow will probably lower HDL.

There is more to say about these labs, but perhaps you could share first with us which supplements you currently are using. This will help us guide you better!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I usually recommend my clients to value urine tests above serum tests, new values above old values and I would look at them through the lens of how I felt around the measurements. Another factor to consider is that different labs use different equipment which makes different errors (I am saying this as an ex-physics and astronomy student). Labs can even use slightly different reference ranges.

That being said I don’t think these differences in results tell a totally different story.

Even if the levels on your serum are in the upper part of the reference range, I would not add it to the list ‘yet another thing that goes wrong in my body’. 

From earlier lab reports we saw some elevations in mercury. Mercury can bind to serum B12 leaving it unavailable for the cell. Through this lens, these results are actually good. Be aware that B vitamins also are needed for detoxification and can help free up stored mercury. This in theory could also lead to fluctuations in MMA.

The focus is on reducing inflammation, supporting liver and gut function, get iron & folate up. Getting your body strong enough for active detoxification. Bernadette posted some really good tips for general detoxification in a post called ‘Mineral Balance’. You could take a look there and implement things you aren’t doing yet. 

But I would wait to help the body actively detoxify to a later stage.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

There are a lot of reasons why hair can turn grey. Unfortunately, there is a genetic component here as well. An indication of if you are getting grey premature is by looking at how old your parents became grey.

Although there is a genetic component to it, lifestyle factors can influence becoming grey as well. Melanocytes in the hair produce melanin which gives hair its color. These melanocytes are cells and just like every cell in the body they produce waste products and free radicals. One of those products is hydrogen peroxide – the same stuff that is used to bleach hair.

Normally hydrogen peroxide gets neutralised by an enzyme that protects cells from free radical damage that is called catalase. When we get older our melanocytes’ ability to produce catalase goes down and the hydrogen peroxide bleaches our hair from the inside out turning it grey.

When the body experiences more oxidative stress and inflammation the enzyme catalase gets busier and hydrogen peroxide can do more damage.

The nutrients Bernadette mentioned are important. Here are some other things you can do.
• Vitamin D – most people are deficient. If you don’t know if you are deficient, I would recommend testing your levels and bringing serum vitamin D levels into the ideal range. Here is a handout that can guide you if you like to know more about vitamin D. Vitamin D regulates a lot of the genes that are necessary to reduce inflammation. It is also involved in calcium metabolism and also calcium plays a role in hair health.
• Adding in Omega 3s helps to reduce inflammation as well. I usually recommend my clients a maintenance dose of 1000 mg EPA + DHA. If you are experiencing symptoms that are related to inflammation, I usually recommend higher dosages (usually between 2000 and 4000 mg)
• If you have autoimmune issues, this can be a source of inflammation as well. Autoimmune diseases can lead to becoming grey early for this reason.
• A lot of B vitamins are involved in hair health. Folate and B12 keep red blood cells healthy which transport oxygen to hair follicles. Vitamin B5 and B6 play an important role in healthy hair as well. Basic B is a B vitamin supplement from Thorne with all the B vitamins in the bioavailable form – just click here.
• Another supplement I could recommend is this one from Pure Encapsulations called Hair/Skin/Nails Ultra. It has a combination of nutrients that is mentioned by Bernadette. Just be aware that I wouldn’t combine it with Basic B from Thorne. It is the one or the other – not both. Hair/Skin/Nails Ultra has also 30mg of zinc in it. If you are using other supplements containing zinc, I wouldn’t recommend this product either since you might risk getting too much zinc in your diet.
• Remove foods that are inflammatory as well as possible. If you are lactose intolerant, have food sensitivities or are allergic to foods, I would avoid them. If you have symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation or diarhea after certain foods, avoid these.

I hope these tips will help you!

[Daniel]

Hey ! Lactose/dairy is off the checklist

Perhaps in the meantime, since this is off the checklist, you can provide me with an idea of your current diet. What are you having for breakfast, lunch and dinner? What types of fats and carb sources do you choose? What are the top 8 foods you consume the most? And what are the moments where you feel you struggle?

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I will provide you with some tips the best way I can! We do have an entire course available right here which focuses on mineral balance. I could provide you with more targeted advice if I have a little more information.
• You say you want to reach mineral balance. Did you do a test to examine your minerals? Or do you experience any symptoms related to an imbalance in certain minerals? And if so, what are these symptoms? In the mineral balance course, you can find signs & symptoms of too much or not enough of certain minerals like iodine, copper, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium and calcium.
• Can you tell me more about the current state of your skin? For example, is your skin dry? Would you like to prevent wrinkles? Or are there other skin conditions you are experiencing like acne for example?
• Do you experience symptoms of toxicity? Or did you do a test in which the result was you had a certain toxin burden? If you have a test available, would you like to share those results?
• How would you describe your current diet? What foods do you consume with breakfast, lunch and dinner? And if you drink alcohol, how many glasses per week?
• How do you sleep? Do you wake up with energy? Or do you need a cup of coffee to get going?

Skin tips.
It is estimated that the epidermis turns over every 40 to 56 days. As you get older skin regeneration slows down. A lot of factors can influence your skin positively like regular exercise, a nutrient-rich diet, staying hydrated and reducing stress. Other factors that influence skin greatly are environmental factors like UV radiation, pollution and dry weather.

Having a protein-rich diet is important for skin health. Proteins are essential for tissue repair and cell growth. In this video Bernadette explains her VPF principle, which you can use to guide you on what to eat. Digesting proteins starts in the stomach and requires your stomach to produce enough stomach acid. We do have a handout right here where we describe how to do the baking soda test which could give you an indication about if you experience low stomach acid. You could also watch this video to see if you experience other signs and symptoms of low stomach acid.

Inflammation can also lead to skin ageing or a reduction in skin health. Reducing stress and inflammatory foods (like consuming a lot of low-quality omega-6 fats, foods that make you feel bloated, and cause constipation, diarhea, pain or gas) should be avoided.

A diet rich in antioxidants is important as well. Free radicals that aren’t neutralized by these antioxidants will cause damage to the skin and can cause premature ageing. Blueberries, strawberries, ginger, turmeric, beets, spinach and extra virgin olive oil are all great sources of antioxidants.

You already mentioned collagen, which is a necessary protein needed to produce healthy skin. It is this process that is influenced negatively by inflammation. If your inflammation in the body is low, then adding specific nutrients is the next impactful step. Here are some I suggest to my clients:
• Omega 3 or more specifically DHA + EPA around 1000 mg per day
• DGLA which is a specific type of omega 6 is also helpful for a healthy skin. The precursor GLA that the body will convert to DGLA is found in for example primrose oil and borage oil.
• Vitamin C is necessary for the production of collagen in the body. Having a vitamin C supplement can help.
• Zinc is a mineral we would like to have for a healthy skin. Not enough zinc will influence skin, but also other parts of your health since it is an important nutrient for your immune system as well. But too much zinc will deplete you of copper since zinc and copper compete for absorption. I personally would aim between 10-15mg of zinc per day if no other health issues play a role.
• B vitamins play an important role in skin health.
• Hair/Skin/Nails Ultra from Pure Encapsulations (just click here) combines zinc, copper, vitamin C, collagen and some other nutrients that are important for skin health.

There are other things influencing skin health as well. Imbalances in hormones like estrogen can impact skin health. A slow thyroid could cause the skin to be dry as well. If you like to see if you have signs and symptoms of a slow thyroid click here. For estrogen dominance symptoms we have a handout right here.

Detoxification
I would love to give you more targeted advice on how to detoxify. But perhaps you could answer my questions first. Detoxification length depends on how much toxins are stored in the body and with more toxins stored detoxification is often not done all at once. It also depends on what type of toxins you like to remove.  Heavy metals will need a different approach as for example toxins produced by the colonisation of mould in the gut.

Detoxification is also done when your body is up for it. If you are experiencing a lot of other symptoms, it is recommended to get better first. Freeing up stored toxins can do a lot of damage and if the body is for example dealing with an infection you might do more harm than good.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

The first thing I recommend you do is to take a look at this handout about how to eliminate dairy. There could be some hidden dairy sources you are not aware of.

Lactose intolerance and milk allergy are not the same, but there is some overlap in symptoms. Avoiding lactose alone might not do the trick if you are also experiencing a milk allergy, so it is important to cut out dairy 100% if you would like to find out if dairy is the problem.

Immediately after eating your food ends in the stomach. When digestion doesn’t go well in the stomach, this can lead to bloating. The second thing you could do is follow excellent tip on how to test if you experience low stomach acid.

In this handout you will find the backing soda test which only requires you to have baking soda and time. The backing soda test isn’t a diagnosis, but it can give you a strong indication if your stomach produces acid. I would perform the test a few times since stomach acid production also depends on factors like stress and hurried eating.

Focus on these 2 things first, let us know how the test went and if you experience any difference in bloating.

I hope this helps you on where to start!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

That looks really good! I’m actually surprised about how well concentrated this fish oil is, so I checked it out and it this product has an IFOS certification (which means it is tested by a third independent party)

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I remembered when I wanted to sign up for an education in functional medicine, I was really excited! Back then there wasn’t so much to choose from me. Functional medicine was (and still isn’t) something well-known in my country.

I agree with Bernadette that having a basic understanding of nutrition will help a lot. Since my first education where all Dutch education, I can’t help you there, but with the options Bernadette mentioned I have heard some positive critics. (If you like to know more: the IIN offer a sample class here. The NTA offers something similar here)

Because functional medicine isn’t well known in my country, I didn’t care about the type of certification as well. I just wanted to offer my clients the best possible advice for their health-related questions. I ended up studying at The School of Applied Functional Medicine as well, but I remembered looking at IFM (The Institute for Functional Medicine) as well.

If you can use certificates to increase job opportunities in your country, I would definitely let this take into account in your decision.

I would recommend trying out one of their free classes and seeing if you like how they teach you.
• Here is a free class about constipation offered by the school of applied functional medicine
• Here you can find free classes of IFM.

Just like Bernadette said, also talk to their students, preferably in different years as well. They will give you an idea about the pros and the cons and the workload…

… and let us know what you would like to choose!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

What we think paracetamol (or acetaminophen) does is that it blocks the action of an enzyme called COX-2 that produces prostaglandins. Research shows that DHA and EPA also help reduce the amount of COX-2. The fatty acid members of the Omega 3 family also help to resolve the inflammation.

Usually, with pain, I recommend a combination of Omega 3’s and Curcumin in pretty high dosages. I would often aim at 2x 1500 mg of DHA+EPA per day. With Curcumin I would advise you to use a phytosomal formulation (I find Thorne’s curcumin supplement pretty effective). I would start with 2x 500mg per day and go up to 2x 1000 mg per day.

Reducing Omega 6 intake would be effective as well. This is so that the enzymes needed to use omega 3s are not consumed to process omega 6s.

Another thing you can try is to keep yourself warm and see how that influences your pain. Take a hot shower or bath for example.

[Daniel]

Hey ,

I’m so sorry for the overwhelm! There are just so many reasons why people can experience bloating!

Perhaps we can help you narrow it down. It would be helpful if you could answer some questions first.
• Do you continuously feel bloated?
• Does the bloating get worse after dinner? And if so, does the bloating start after 15 minutes? An hour? 2-3 hours? It doesn’t need to be exact.
• Put your hands on the place where you feel the bloating.  Tell me where did you put your hand?
• Does one of your parents is lactose intolerant or allergic to gluten?
• Do you need to go to the toilet for a number 2 at least 1 time a day?
• Besides feeling bloated, do you have other gut-related issues? Are you gassy? Do you experience diarrhea? 
• Do you experience acid reflux? Or do you have ulcers that you know of?
• Are experiencing anemic symptoms? (Are you feeling cold, or fatigued, do you have tingling sensations in the arms or legs, do you look pale? Are you short of breath?)
• Do you have other pains or symptoms?

Let us know and we will try to help you in smaller steps!

[Daniel]

Hey ,

Excellent questions! I will answer them the best way possible one by one.

Vitamin D
Excellent supplement choice! When I have clients dealing with low vitamin D levels, I usually make sure that they supplement with magnesium as well. We need magnesium to transform vitamin D3 into the bioactive form of vitamin D. This happens in 2 steps: one is done in the liver and the second step is done in the kidneys. Remember this for later.

Usually, once magnesium is repleted or at least in sufficient quantities added into the diet, I recommend somewhere between the 2000-8000 IU. But I would really recommend you to read this handout about vitamin D. It will provide you with a protocol description on how to raise your vitamin D levels.

One final tip on this topic: the amount of D3 units to raise serum vitamin D levels is personal. Some need more than others. Once you are on a maintenance dosage for 2-3 months retest your serum vitamin D levels. Personally, I aim with my clients to have serum levels around 50 mg/dl.

TSH
Elevations in TSH can indicate that your thyroid function has slowed down. Since vitamin D is needed to produce healthy amounts of T3, a lack of vitamin D can influence TSH levels.

Other nutrients that should be in your diet are Iodine, Iron, Zinc, Vitamin A, Selenium and enough protein (in particular the amino acid Tyrosine is needed to produce thyroid hormones). Examining your intake of these nutrients can be helpful as well.

There could be other reasons why your TSH is influenced, but since this isn’t considered a full thyroid panel in functional medicine, we can’t dive deeper into what other things might have caused these elevations. It might be a logical next step to investigate this further. Especially when you experience symptoms like:
• feeling cold all the time
• experiencing unexplained weight gain/hard to lose weight
• Hair loss
• feeling fatigued.. moving slowly or feeling that your thoughts are slow.
• depression
• constipation

You can find information about how to test your thyroid in this video.

Cholesterol
I already touched on this a bit. There could be more reasons why LDL is elevated. LDL is a taxi and it drives cholesterol around. But its primary function is to transport fats and therefore fats do influence LDL. A diet high in fast carbs and sugars can also elevate cholesterol. If you believe diet isn’t a factor, cholesterol secretions might also be worth something to examine.

Cholesterol is transported out of the body through the bile produced by your liver. Cholesterol crystals could form and cause a bile duct obstruction leading to elevations in cholesterol in the body.

These crystals are called gallstones and when there sometimes can cause sudden pain in the upper right portion of your abdomen, sudden and rapidly intensifying pain in the centre of your abdomen, just below your breastbone or back pain between your shoulder blades.

If you experiencing these pains the supplement D-limonene can help solve these cholesterol crystals.

Iron
We can say a lot about lab values, but lab values never answer the most important question: how do you feel?

Hemoglobin for example is at the lower end of the reference range. Some people can feel already start presenting anemic symptoms like:
• Feeling cold
• Feeling fatigued, even when you have slept well
• Looking pail
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Pins & needles in hands & feet (although often not in the beginning)

A lack of vitamin B12, folate and B6 however can also lead to another type of anemia. When both types of anemia are present at the same time, they can hide each other to a certain degree making some lab values look really great, while your body takes the hit.

MCV is for example such a marker. MCV is a value that describes the size of the average red blood cell in your body. A lack of iron can make the size of red blood cells smaller, while the lack of B12, folate or B6 can make the average size bigger. If both types of anemia are present at the same time, the MCV might average out to a normal value.

Asking yourself “how do I feel?”, is therefore leading to what you should do.

As to your question: what part confuses you in particular? Perhaps I could give you a more targeted answer there.

Are there any additional things I need to keep an eye on given these lab results?
Most of the markers look really great! Your liver enzymes (ALT, AST) are on the lower end of normal though. This can indicate the need for more B6 in your diet. The alkaline phosphatase marker is also at the lower end of the reference range. This often happens with a zinc deficiency since zinc is a cofactor needed to produce this enzyme.

The white blood cells should also be interpreted in light of your current health circumstances. Vitamin D is needed for an optimal functioning immune system. A lack of vitamin D can lower the number of white blood cells in your body making you more receptive to flues. There is some evidence in your white blood cell differentiation that your immune system is dealing with something. Were you sick recently?

I hope this answers your questions.

Let me know if you have any more!

[Daniel]

I think these are already a lot of choices. There are more schools, but I don’t have experience with them.

The Functional Medicine University (FMU – click here) is one for example, although I heard the way they teach is pretty dry. At the Integrative Health Practicioner (IHP – click here) functional medicine is offered as well, but they have other holistic approaches as well, just like CNM.

In the end, the most important thing about the school you choose is the question ‘Do you like the teaching experience?’. If you don’t like the teaching style, it gets less likely to commit to the school.