Interpreting Your Own Labs For Health Optimization - HA1C, AST, ALT, Iron, Ferritin And PSA - Dr. Yablonsky, DO

Interpreting Your Own Labs For Health Optimization With Dr. Yablonsky

“Normal” lab results do not mean you are optimized.  Become the CEO of your own health! 

On today’s podcast I have returning guest, Dr. David Yablonsky to help you learn how to take control of your health and be able to interpret and understand your lab results.  We believe in bringing your labs into optimal range, not just out of a disease state.

This is going to be a multipart series as there are a lot of different panels to cover. 

Lab panels discussed:

Hemoglobin A1C 

• A hemoglobin A1C test is a blood test that shows what your average blood sugar (glucose) level was over the past three months.

Optimal: < 5.2

Pre-diabetic: 5.7 

Diabetes > 6.4  

AST & ALT 

• Rising levels of ALT are often the first clue that something is wrong in the liver. 

Women ALT:  < 25

Men ALT: <  33

PSA

• Age specific 
• Watch for velocity changes
• Know that certain medications such as Finasteride falsely lower a PSA by 50%

These are rough averages:
20-30 years of age < 1
30-40 years of age < 1
40-50 years of age < 2.0 
50-60 years of age < 3.0 

* Velocity changes is one of the most important indicators which is why establishing a baseline PSA is so important. 

Never a PSA > 4 unless you are 80+ years of age. 

Iron

• Iron is commonly misunderstood.  Checking your Ferritin and Iron % Saturation are important to understand your iron levels. Ferritin levels are a measure of your iron stores, which should remain < 50 ng/mL.  Although, elevated ferritin levels > 300 ng/mL can be an indicator for inflammation in the body. 
• Hereditary hemochromatosis is a disorder that causes the body to absorb too much iron from the diet. The excess iron is stored in the body's tissues and organs, particularly the skin, heart, liver, pancreas, and joints. Because humans cannot increase the excretion of iron, excess iron can overload and eventually damage tissues and organs. For this reason, hereditary hemochromatosis is also called an iron overload disorder.

To contact Amy Stuttle email podcast@amystuttle.com

To visit Victory Men's Health

This podcast is not medical advice.  Consult your doctor.