07 Feb Your 101 Guide To Improve Blood Test Results

If you are having difficulty getting enough essential nutrients through diet alone, your doctor may recommend you try dietary supplements. This means you are specifically adding certain vitamins to what you consume.

Supplements can come in a variety of forms, such as:

• Oral tablets, capsules, gel caps
• Powders, teas, energy drinks, or drink mixes
• Candies, gummies, or nutrition bars
• Injections or intravenous therapy (Prescription required)

There are a number of reasons you might need to supplement certain nutrients, with vitamin deficiency being among the most common. Certain medical conditions can also cause your body to need more nutrients, such as during pregnancy or while nursing. Aging and other medical conditions can cause your body to have difficulty absorbing nutrients, which makes people prone to nutritional deficiencies. Individuals with specialized or restricted diets may be prone to deficiencies as well. Your doctor may also advise you to take dietary supplements to help lower the risk of developing a health issue or to correct a mild deficiency.

While getting enough nutrients into your body is important for improved blood test results, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Vitamin toxicity, also called vitamin overload, can cause significant health issues like headaches, digestive issues, rash, and affect cognitive function. Most cases of vitamin toxicity result from taking too many supplements or taking supplements with medications that should not be taken together.

It’s important to consult a doctor before beginning a new supplement routine, especially if you have gotten bad blood test results. Your health history and other medications you may be taking are important factors to consider before taking supplements. Some medications may not work as effectively when taken with certain vitamins, so it’s important to get guidance from your doctor when taking dietary supplements.

If you do not engage in regular physical activity, it is highly likely that your doctor will recommend exercise when you ask how to improve your blood work results. Being active offers significant benefits for wellness overall.

Regular exercise can:

• Help control blood sugar and reduce risk of type 2 diabetes
• Reduce risk of cancer, including breast cancer, colon cancer, and kidney cancer
• Lower blood pressure
• Improve cholesterol
• Lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease

Managing stress may not be the first step that comes to mind when considering how to improve blood work; however, it is a critical one. Chronic stress has profound negative impacts on physical health, causing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to flood the body and constantly put your body in a state of fight or flight. This puts extreme pressure on a number of body systems, including the immune system, respiratory system, digestive system, and cardiovascular system. Common physical symptoms include fatigue, frequent illness, upset stomach, headache, and issues sleeping.

Changing your lifestyle to address chronic stress can help address the health factors reflected in your blood test results.

You may want to consider strategies such as:

• Learn to recognize signs that you are stressed
• Identify stress triggers
• Take steps to get on a sleep schedule and practice good sleep hygiene
• Reach out to loved ones for support
• Prioritize activities that promote overall wellness, like exercise, hobbies, or spending time with loved ones.
• Reach out to your healthcare provider for guidance and support

Approximately one-fourth of the world’s population is affected by anemia. A diagnosis of anemia means your body doesn’t have enough red blood cells, which are responsible for carrying oxygen to other organs.

This lack of circulated oxygen can lead to symptoms such as:

• Chest pain and shortness of breath
• Dizziness and pulsatile tinnitus (pounding or whooshing sounds in ears)
• Irregular or rapid heartbeat and headache

There are many causes of anemia, such as genetic causes, injury or illness, and nutritional deficiency.

The two types of anemia related to nutritional deficiency most frequently seen include:

• Iron-Deficiency Anemia: This is the most prevalent type of anemia, accounting for roughly 50% of anemia cases. It can be caused by blood loss, not consuming enough iron, or health conditions that negatively affect iron absorption. If not addressed, iron-deficiency anemia can cause severe health issues.
• Pernicious anemia: This type of anemia occurs due to low levels of vitamin b12, also known as folate. Typically, it is the result of not getting enough vitamin B12 in your diet. It can also result from a lack of intrinsic factor, a protein in the stomach that aids vitamin B12 absorption. Additional symptoms of this type of anemia include soreness of mouth and tongue, numbness and tingling in limbs, and cognitive effects like confusion, memory issues, and depression.

Treating these types of anemia often includes switching to a more nutritious diet and treating any underlying causes of deficiency. Your doctor may also recommend supplements to supply your body with the nutrients it needs. Supplements may be taken orally, given as a shot, or administered via IV therapy.

If your blood work readings showed that you have high cholesterol, also known as hyperlipidemia or hypercholesterol, this means that there are too many lipids, or fats, in your blood. While lipids are necessary for healthy body function, having more than your body can use will result in buildup in your arteries as they combine with other blood components to form fatty deposits known as plaque. Over time, this can become dangerous, causing cardiovascular disease.

Blood testing is incredibly important to detect high cholesterol, as there typically aren’t obvious signs until damage has already been done. Hypercholesterol often leads to hypertension, or high blood pressure, which can cause symptoms such as fatigue, impaired vision, headaches, trouble breathing, chest pains, and irregular heartbeat. In extremely severe cases, high cholesterol can cause xanthoma, a skin condition resulting in waxy deposits under the skin. These deposits are typically found around the joints, eyes, and hands.

If you are wondering how to improve blood test results after a diagnosis of high cholesterol, it will inevitably involve lifestyle changes that may include exercise, quitting smoking, and changing to a healthier diet. Depending on how high your cholesterol levels are, your doctor may also prescribe medications or refer you to a specialist.

Some examples of dietary changes to lower cholesterol include:

• Consuming less foods high in saturated fats, cholesterol, and trans fats. Examples include red meats, high-fat dairy products, and egg yolks
• Incorporating more fiber into your diet, like vegetables, whole grains, and fruits
• Avoiding fried foods, as well as highly processed foods like fast foods or prepackaged foods made with palm oil or cocoa butter
• Eating lean proteins like legumes, chicken, and fish

Medications to treat cholesterol can work to lower cholesterol production in different ways.

• Statins like Lipitor work by blocking the production of cholesterol in the liver.
• Zetia is an example of a cholesterol absorption inhibitor
• Vytorin contains a combination of active ingredients that both block cholesterol production and limit cholesterol absorption in the intestine.

Statistics on health conditions vary according to gender, meaning that doctors often consider gender when evaluating your health.

Women are especially at risk of cardiovascular disease. Compared to men, they are at higher risk of stroke and are more likely to die after a heart attack. They are also more likely to develop urinary tract issues and osteoarthritis. It should also be noted that excess, chronic alcohol consumption has a greater impact on women, putting them at higher risk of heart disease and breast cancer.

Men over 50 have a higher risk of developing skin cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer. They are also at risk of cardiovascular diseases, which are especially heightened by unhealthy lifestyle choices that are more common in men.

People receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy are at a higher risk of breast cancer and developing bone density issues regardless of which hormones they are taking. Those receiving feminizing hormone therapy are at risk of prostate cancer and should receive age-appropriate screenings recommended for men. Those receiving masculinizing hormone therapy are at higher risk of cervical dysplasia resulting from the thinning of cervical tissues. They should also receive age-appropriate screenings for cervical cancer recommended for women.

Reference ranges are often broken down by gender. Note that in this section, we are discussing gender assigned at birth. People who receive hormone therapy may have numerous factors contributing to what their reference range should be. It’s important to remember that these ranges are general guidelines and that your doctor may determine a custom reference range based on different criteria. “Normal” can range on a case-by-case basis for a number of reasons, such as health conditions or medications. Some examples of reference ranges that differ by gender for the most common blood tests include:

• Hemoglobin
  • Women:12.3 -15.3 grams per deciliter
  • Men:14-17.5 grams per deciliter
• Hematocrit
  • Women: 35.9%-44.6%
  • Men: 41.5% – 50.4%
• Red blood cells
  • Women: 4.1 million – 5.1 million cells/mcl
  • Men: 4.5 million – 5.9 million cells/mcl
• HDL Cholesterol
  • Women 20 and older: More than 50 mg/dl
  • Men 20 and older: More than 40 mg/dl

Regardless of gender, experts agree that keeping up with routine preventative care and making healthy lifestyle choices are essential to longevity and quality of life.

As with gender, age also impacts the types of health conditions doctors look out for when reviewing blood test results.

Children generally need less frequent blood tests unless the doctor is addressing a specific health concern. Your child may need to be tested for lead as early as nine months old. Cholesterol screenings often occur between ages 9 and 11, as well as at age 17.

Adults’ recommendations for blood screenings vary by age as well.

Some examples of testing ranges include:

• Cholesterol screenings should begin at age 20 and repeat every five years. After age 40, people with a higher risk of heart disease should be screened more frequently.
• Type 2 diabetes screenings should repeat every three years for adults with a BMI of 25 or higher beginning at age 35. All adults are recommended to get tested beginning at age 45.
• Cancer screening blood tests vary depending on the type. Colorectal cancer screens should begin at 45, with frequency varying depending on the type and results of your test. Prostate cancer blood tests should begin at age 40 for men and those Assigned Male At Birth (AMAB) who are at higher risk. All men and AMAB people should get prostate cancer screenings beginning at age 50.
• Seniors need more frequent blood tests for varying reasons. Often, monitoring side effects of medications or treatments for other health concerns can be reflected in blood test results, allowing doctors to make adjustments before more serious issues can develop.

Reference ranges mostly vary in the first 19 years of life, then typically remain within the same range throughout adulthood. Some examples of reference ranges that vary depending on age include:

• Cholesterol – Triglycerides
  • Children age 0 – 9: 75 mg/dl or less
  • Children aged 10 – 19: 90 mg/dl or less
  • Adults aged 20 or older: 149 mg/dl or less; the ideal is less than 100 mg/dl
• White Blood Cell Count
  • Babies 0 – 2 weeks: 9,000 – 30,000 cells per cubic millimeter of blood (cells/mm3)
  • Babies 2 – 8 weeks: 5,000 – 21,000 cells/mm3
  • Children 2 months: 6 years: 5,000 – 19,000 cells/mm3
  • Children 6 – 18 years: 4,800 – 10,800 cells/mm3
  • Adults 19 or older: 4,500 – 11,000 cells/mm3

There are countless health conditions that can run in a family, which can be caused by both genetic and shared environmental factors. Your doctor is likely to look for signs of any conditions from your family health history in your blood test results.

Type 2 diabetes is one example of a hereditary condition in which blood test results can be critical. Regular testing can reveal when people who are genetically predisposed to diabetes have developed prediabetes, a condition involving higher than normal blood sugar levels that may develop into Type 2 diabetes if left untreated. If prediabetes is diagnosed, your doctor can work with you to make a plan to bring blood sugar levels down and avoid type 2 diabetes. This plan may include lifestyle modifications and, if necessary, medication.

Heart disease is another condition in which genetics play a factor. Cholesterol and blood sugar levels both play a role in the development of heart disease. Knowing you are at higher risk of developing heart disease can help your doctor monitor your blood test results more closely and develop a plan if your results indicate heart disease could potentially develop. As with diabetes, your doctor can work with you to make a plan to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, including medications and lifestyle changes.

Researchers are constantly working to determine how to detect health conditions earlier to increase the chances of avoiding more serious health complications. People unable to access family health history may want to consider genetic blood tests, which can help determine what conditions you are predisposed to developing. People usually hear about these tests in the context of determining what conditions may be passed onto children, but these tests can offer insight into your own health concerns as well.

People have realized the importance of preventative care, with blood test innovations exploding in recent years. Efforts are being made to develop home blood tests to help people learn about their individual metabolic rates and responses, allowing them to make more nuanced choices in their healthy lifestyle approaches. Part of the effort in developing tests is reducing the amount of blood needed for testing and increasing the testing panel, allowing people to get a full health report with just one drop of blood.

Testing is also evolving to include conditions that could not previously be detected. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center utilized AI to develop the DNA evaluation of fragments for early interception (DELFI) test, which has successfully detected both lung and liver cancer.