August 12, 2025 • 28 mins
In this episode, Dr. Alfred Alessi and Matt Tack explore the myth of "normal" lab results and their implications for health. They discuss why normal labs may not reflect optimal health, highlighting the limitations of modern medicine. The conversation contrasts functional and conventional medicine, emphasizing proactive health and understanding glucose levels during disease's smoldering phase. Financial aspects of healthcare and patient empowerment are also examined. Key functional ranges for TSH, blood sugar, inflammation, and liver function are discussed, alongside the Alessi Total Care Blood Panel and advanced testing. The episode stresses personalized health plans, offering exclusive listener discounts and concluding with closing remarks.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Let's start by breaking a myth that's reallyhurting a lot of people.
(00:03):
Most patients are going to walk out of theirdoctor's office relieved when they hear the
words normal.
Your labs are normal.
But the truth is normal is not optimal.
Now, just means you're not sick enough yet toqualify for a diagnosis, which then in turn
qualifies you for some type of intervention.
Welcome to Health Decode, your number onesource for real health information with your
(00:27):
host, doctor Alessi and Matt Tack.
Welcome to the show.
I'm doctor Alessi.
Answer this question.
When was the last time you felt amazing?
Wow.
It's been that long.
What are you giving up?
What might you be missing out on?
(00:49):
If you could change that, would you takeaction?
You know, your health isn't just another trend.
It's your ability to experience and enjoy yourfuture.
Let that sink in.
Being there for your family, doing the thingsyou love to do with no limits, not wondering if
something bad is gonna happen.
Well, if you're ready to stop guessing andstart healing, this is your sign to join Total
(01:14):
Care, a revolution in how we view and approachliving healthy.
Visit alessifunctionalhealth.com, go toservices, and click Total Care to claim your
exclusive podcast listener discount as well asa free gift.
Now enjoy the episode.
Welcome back to another episode of HealthDecoded.
(01:38):
I am your host, doctor Alessi.
I'm excited to have you with me today.
I'm gonna really dig in on this one and get toa topic that a lot of people are kind of hung
up on right now.
And I think there's a lot of back and forth,things you're seeing online, maybe things
you're hearing from your doctor or from friendsand family.
(01:59):
And I just want to cut through the fluff, cutthrough the nonsense and ultimately tell you
guys the truth.
And ultimately dig into this topic today of whyyour blood work is lying to you.
And so what we're going to break down, we'rebasically going go through four segments here.
Number one, why normal, I'm air quoting normallabs don't mean optimal health.
(02:23):
Segment two, the danger of waiting until you'resick.
Segment three, the functional ranges thatactually matter.
And then segment four, how to get the rightlabs and then what to do with them, take
action.
So, you know, if you've ever been to yourdoctor, you've been told that your labs are
normal, but you still don't feel well, thisepisode is for you because here's the truth,
(02:46):
you're not healthy.
You're just not sick enough yet.
And so modern medicine is designed to waituntil there is a diagnosable disease, illness,
pain, whatever it may be, to take action.
So we're all about proactive health, We're allabout getting ahead of the problem.
And that's what we're educating on here todayis how can you take control, become your own
(03:07):
doctor, and ultimately make the best decisionsfor your health and your family's health.
And so if you've enjoyed this show, if you likethe content that you're hearing on here, if
this episode resonates with you in any way,please share it.
Please subscribe to our page so you don't missanything that's coming out and share this with
someone who needs to hear this message andneeds to be more informed.
(03:29):
We appreciate that.
So let's just get right into it.
You know, again, why having air quote normallabs don't mean optimal health?
Well, you know, let's start by breaking a myththat's really hurting a lot of people.
Most patients are going to walk out of theirdoctor's office relieved when they hear the
words normal.
Your labs are normal.
(03:49):
But the truth is normal is not optimal.
Now, just means you're not sick enough yet toqualify for a diagnosis, which then in turn
qualifies you for some type of intervention,often medication, injections, surgical possibly
if it's a joint related issue.
And that's just a whole downstream of followups and doctor's visits that most people go
(04:13):
through with a ton of frustration.
Now, just to iterate real quick, we are notanti medicine, we're not anti medical doctors.
We just are anti the wrong thing at the wrongtime.
And we're all about the patient first, thepatient needs to be looked at as a whole and
really understand like what is thepathophysiology causing said illness, disease
(04:35):
or symptom, right?
If it's not full blown yet.
And so, you know, the normal ranges thatdoctors use and test for, they're not based on
what's healthy.
They are based on a statistical average ofpeople who are getting blood work.
That's it.
And that population includes a ton of peoplewho are overweight, inflamed, diabetic, or
already sick and unhealthy.
(04:57):
And so these reference ranges are not targets,they're statistics.
For example, take a marker like TSH, that'sthyroid stimulating hormone.
Most labs will say the normal range issomewhere between zero point four and four
point five.
But in functional medicine, we know the sweetspot where people actually feel good is around
one to 2.5.
(05:18):
When you get outside of that tighter window andmore into the outsides, the highs and lows of
that reference range, people tend to havesymptoms.
But again, in modern medicine, if it's withinreference range, they're not going to diagnose
you.
And so that's not just an opinion of ours,that's data.
A 2022 review in the Journal of ClinicalEndocrinology found that patients with TSH
(05:42):
levels in the high normal range above 2.5 weresignificantly more likely to experience
fatigue, heat gain, and depressive symptoms.
Now here's another one, fasting glucose.
This one we talk about all the time becausemetabolic health is so critical.
Doctors will tell you, Hey, anything under a100 is fine, but 99 isn't fine.
(06:04):
That is the cliff.
That's what we call the metabolic cliff.
Multiple studies show that people with fastingglucose above 90 are at an increased risk for
insulin resistance, inflammation, andcardiovascular disease even before a diagnosis
of prediabetes.
In a twenty twenty article from Diabetes Care,researchers showed that even glucose levels in
(06:26):
the upper 80s were predictive of long termmetabolic dysfunction.
The upper 80s, again, that's what most docswould consider okay, healthy, right?
Normal.
So, one more and I'm going to use somestatistics here as well.
Let's look at vitamin D.
Chronically, low levels in this country.
And so the normal lab range starts at aroundthirty nanograms per milliliter, but optimal
(06:50):
function for immunity, energy, and inflammationactually happens closer to like 60 between
sixty and eighty.
So if you're walking around with a 31 andyou're told, Oh, you're within range.
You're fine.
It's missing the point entirely because here'sthe bigger issue.
Again, conventional medicine waits until you'rediagnosable, until your labs are basically
screaming disease.
(07:11):
But functional medicine is about spotting thosewhispers, the subtle dysfunction before it
becomes disease.
Because that's when we can actually intervene,reverse, and restore.
And so the takeaway here is that you're notbroken, you're just being measured by a broken
system.
We need to stop measuring the way that we havebeen and start focusing on everything that goes
(07:34):
into that person that we're looking at andtalking about.
And so let's get into the next piece here, thedanger really of waiting until you are sick.
And so it's often a lot harder to fix a problemwhen it's been going on for a long time.
See this all the time with our joint painpatients who come into the clinic.
Yeah, I felt the pain start about ten years agoand it wasn't too bad.
(07:55):
So I kind of just let it go.
Now, by the time they've come in and actuallytake an action to get some x rays or some type
of evaluation, the degenerative arthriticprocess has gone so far down that it's often a
lot more difficult to fix if we even can helpthe patient at that point.
So again, it's always easier to fix the leak atthe start.
(08:16):
And so, you know, let's get real about the waythat conventional medicine works.
This is the way that the system was designed isto manage disease.
There is a lot of money in managing diseasebecause it doesn't fix the problem, right?
If somebody had to come out to your house everyday and you had to pay them to patch a leak,
(08:36):
they're going to keep charging you, chargingyou, charging you.
What if they just fix that leak?
Right?
And so that's the caveat there betweenfunctional medicine and conventional medicine.
Conventional medicine is highly reactive.
It waits until the house is burning down beforeyou reach for the fire hose.
And so here's kind of the playbook, right?
If we're talking about an example, like bloodsugar dysfunction and diabetes, wait until your
(08:59):
A1C hits 6.5.
Okay.
Now you're a diabetic.
Wait until your TSH hits five point zero.
Okay.
Now you qualify for Synthroid.
Wait until your cholesterol is through theroof.
Okay, here, now it's time for a stat.
But let me ask you something and really thinkabout this.
What happened in the five to ten years beforethat diagnosis?
(09:21):
Well, your body was talking and nobody waslistening, right?
Oh, it's okay, let's just wait until this getsworse.
Or, follow-up in six months, let's see if thistakes a downturn and becomes something we need
to take action on.
Diseases don't strike overnight.
That's just not how they work.
It builds slowly, silently, systematically.
(09:42):
And your labs don't jump from perfect topathological in a week.
There is a decade long window, what we call asmoldering phase where dysfunction is building.
But it doesn't look bad enough on paper tosound the alarm yet.
So if you're told you're fine, even when yourfasting glucose has crept up into the nineties,
your TSH level has edged up into the upperfours, your HDL is dropping and triglycerides
(10:07):
are climbing, right?
But you're exhausted, you're gaining weight andyou're told you're normal.
Everything looks fine, just keep doing whatyou're doing is what you're told.
There's a term for that in psychotherapy.
It's called gaslighting.
And that's literally what's going on.
I mean, we do it to our kids all the time.
They fall down, Oh, you're fine.
(10:29):
They don't look fine.
They just fell, right?
They don't feel fine.
And so when someone tells you you're fine whenyou're not, it's gaslighting you.
It's not really helping you or managinganything.
It's lazy medicine.
There was a 2019 study in BMJ Open Journal thatrevealed that over sixty percent of patients
with early symptoms of chronic disease weredismissed as normal by their primary care
(10:51):
provider in the twelve months prior to theirdiagnosis.
That means a whole year went by where nothingwas done even though they were told they were
normal and that disease was coming.
It's basically like, Hey, wait around anotheryear feeling like crap and then let's do
something.
Again, that's not healthcare.
That's healthcare lag.
And that's what we are upturning with what wedo in our clinics and our systems.
(11:17):
We see this all the time.
You know, patients who have been dismissed foryears, they've seen all these different
doctors, they've had a million different tests,yet the symptoms are chalked up as, Oh, you're
just getting older.
Oh, you're just stressed.
Oh, you just have anxiety.
And then they're given drugs to mask thesymptoms.
Why?
Because the system only acts when you're sickenough to code for billing.
(11:38):
I keep using the word system because that'swhat it is.
The insurance company, the medical system, itis highly related and connected and everybody
at the top is making money on you staying sick.
And so in functional medicine, we do itdifferently.
We're not waiting for the fire.
We act when there's smoke, right?
Something's starting to get a little hot.
We're going to jump on that.
(11:59):
And we catch the trends.
We spot the dysfunction before it becomesdisease.
That's what we call root cause healthcare.
And frankly, that's what you deserve and that'swhat everyone should be doing.
That's how the medical system should be.
We wouldn't have hospitals and doctor's officesbooked months in advance for something that
could have been prevented years ago.
And so, you know, by the time conventional labscatch your issue, the damage is already done.
(12:25):
So we're here to catch that decline before itbecomes a disaster.
Now let's get into the functional ranges andsome of the biggest things we're going to look
for and a little bit more nitty gritty detailedstuff.
But real quick, let's take a word from one ofour sponsors.
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(12:48):
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Now back to the episode.
Alright.
Welcome back.
Let's talk now about the functional ranges thatactually matter and what to look for.
So if normal ranges that we just discussedaren't cutting it, what do we look for then in
functional medicine?
(14:17):
We use what are called functional ranges.
Those are the zones where your body actuallyperforms at its best.
Not just not diseased, but actually vibrant,energetic, metabolically healthy.
So let's walk through some of, you know, a fewof the more important ones that we're going to
look for and we actually utilize within ourtotal care program at Alessi Functional Health.
(14:40):
Number one, one of the biggest that getsmisdiagnosed and missed is what we discussed
earlier, TSH.
And so most doctors are going to run a TSHhormone test and they consider anything from
0.4 to 4.5 normal.
But again, that's not optimal, that'sstatistical.
What is the functional range for TSH?
(15:02):
Somewhere between one and two point five.
Now notice that's a much smaller range.
People feel best in that zone.
That's stats based on data.
And outside of it, we often see the symptomscreep in, fatigue, brain fog, metabolism
issues, even if that conventional range isreported as normal.
We also then take it a step further.
(15:22):
We're going to look at free T3 and free T4 tosee what your body actually has bioavailable to
use.
We're going to look at reverse T3.
That's basically the metabolic brake pedal thatwhen it's too high can lead to block
metabolism.
Then we're going to look at TPO and TGantibodies.
These detect Hashimoto's before it takes over.
(15:43):
That's an autoimmune condition.
Journal of Thyroid Research, a study done in2020 showed that forty percent of patients with
normal TSH still had clinical hypothyroidsymptoms and improved with treatment based on
functional labs.
So again, that's a big number, forty percent.
Now, next thing we're definitely going to focuson is blood sugar.
(16:06):
Glucose and insulin.
Again, conventional medicine says fastingglucose up to 99 is fine or normal.
An A1C up to 5.6% is non diabetic.
But here's the problem, at 90 to 99 insulinresistance has already begun.
Insulin resistance is the gateway to weightgain, fatigue, hormonal disorders, heart
(16:29):
disease and even cognitive decline.
Alzheimer's disease is now widely known as typethree diabetes.
However, it starts years before any symptoms.
So what's the fasting range we want to look forfor fasting glucose?
I apologize.
What is the functional range we want to lookfor for fasting glucose?
Somewhere between 75 to 89.
(16:52):
Even better, we're going to take it a stepfurther again and test fasting insulin, which
most doctors are going to ignore.
If your insulin is creeping above seven toeight, your metabolism is already under stress.
And so the American Journal of Cardiology in2017 confirmed that fasting insulin is a
stronger early predictor of cardiovasculardisease than fasting glucose or A1C.
(17:15):
Now this is a test that's not even being run.
So that goes to show you.
Now what's next on the list?
Inflammation and immune function.
So conventional testing for inflammation highlymisses the mark.
They really only flag things like CRP, which isC reactive protein or ESR, which is your
erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
(17:36):
And if they're sky high, obviously going tolook at those.
But low grade chronic inflammation is the rootcause of so many things like autoimmunity,
pain, fatigue, hormone or gut dysfunction.
And so the functional range of CRP is less thanpoint five.
Even like a one to two is a red flag in ourclinic.
We're also going to test things likehomocysteine which is linked to methylation and
(18:00):
detox issues as well as cardiovascular risk.
We're going to check ferritin.
If it's too high, that could be hiddeninflammation, which is often missed.
And then white blood cell trends.
Low to normal often signals immune suppressionfrom stress.
We also run a very, very indicativecardiovascular focused inflammation panel that
(18:21):
many doctors are not going to look at.
Honestly, if you told a medical doctor, theyprobably don't even know what it means.
We look for three things, a PLA C, which is aplaquing score, an MPO, which is
myeloperoxidase, it's an enzyme that your heartand your coronary arteries produce when under
stress or inflammation.
And then oxidized LDL.
(18:41):
Is the LDL in circulation being oxidized andbecoming highly reactive?
If those, one of those three things are high,that is a red flag.
If all three are high, it's immediate action.
Now, the next thing we would look for is liverfunction.
So you'd be surprised how many people walkaround with early liver stress without a
diagnosis.
The conventional ranges of ALT and AST, whichare your liver enzymes.
(19:06):
The conventional range goes up to about 40 to50 depending on the lab.
The functional range that we want to see issomewhere between 10 to 26.
Anything higher than that, it is a sign of hightoxin load, fatty liver, blood sugar issues,
possibly over medication or leaky gut.
And remember, the liver is the MVP of hormonebalance and detox, so you cannot ignore it.
(19:30):
That would be like the filter, the air filterin your car not being clean.
So why do these functional ranges matter?
Because number one, they allow us to catchearly dysfunction before it is full blown
disease.
We can then create custom protocols based onthe individual and we can monitor progress in
real time with advanced lab testing.
(19:52):
And so it's also going to give you some peaceof mind that you're not crazy.
You're not living with symptoms that are just,again, air quote normal and there is something
going on, it's early dysfunction.
And so most people who feel terrible and havelabs that are conventionally known as normal,
their body is starting to functionally fail.
(20:14):
So when you use the wrong map, it's a greatanalogy, when you use the wrong map, you get
lost.
And most doctors are using a map that was drawnby insurance companies, not physiologists,
right?
And so we don't guess, we really measure and gointo detail.
You can ask any of our patients how much detailwe go into on our testing.
Now, how do you get the right labs and thenwhat do you do with them?
(20:37):
All right, so, you know, again, how do we do itdifferently and what can you do right now?
Again, any of this is resonating with you andit's been going on for some time, that's far
too long.
What can you do right now to take action?
Number one, test, right?
Stop guessing.
Stop wondering if it's going to go away.
Test it.
In functional medicine, we don't wait untilthings are broken.
(20:59):
We test your entire physiological terrain so wecan catch the dysfunction early and fix it
before it becomes a disease.
So the Alessi Total Care Blood Panel, this is acustom panel that we created, looks at all
these things and even some more.
So it's going to look at a complete thyroidpanel.
Everything we talked about earlier, TSH, freeT3, T4, reverse T3 antibodies.
(21:21):
We're going to look at a full blood sugar andinsulin panel, fasting glucose, insulin, A1C,
HOMAIR, which is a insulin resistance score.
We're going to look at inflammation, CRP,homocysteine, ferritin, the cardiac
inflammation markers I discussed.
We're going to look at full lipids and we goeven deeper.
We want to see if there's oxidation, hormones,basically an entire hormone panel.
(21:46):
Then we're going to look at nutrient levels,B12, folate, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, all of
those.
And so we're basically casting the broadest netto take a proactive approach to see if there's
anything we can catch early.
Now, we can even add advanced testing whenneeded.
Someone comes in with some type of gut symptomor dysfunction, we can do a GI map, so stool
(22:09):
test.
An organic acids test to see if the body isdetoxing, if there's any overgrowth of
bacteria, fungus, yeast, and how's themitochondria.
We can do a toxin load test to see if there'sheavy metals, mold toxins, or BPA impairments.
And one of the coolest ones is a foodsensitivity test.
(22:29):
A lot of times patients come in, they have highinflammation, they don't know why.
We run a food sensitivity test and we see thatthey're highly reactive or having a reaction to
a food that they're eating commonly and notreally even noticing that it's triggering them.
Because the difference, little tangent herebetween a food allergy and a food sensitivity
is that a food allergy you can die from.
(22:51):
You eat a food that you're allergic to, yourbody goes into full blown anaphylaxis, you
could die or have severe complications.
Food sensitivities are harder to catch becauseoftentimes the symptoms don't trigger until
one, maybe two days later, at which pointyou've probably eaten another five, six meals.
So then you have sensitivities on top of othersensitivities.
(23:14):
You're not sure what foods causing it becauseyou're eating diverse and the eczema, the gut
issues, the brain fog, the inflammation, youdon't know where it's coming from.
And so we're not over testing, right?
We are just running what is necessary.
And so we're always going to do a targetedinvestigation.
We're gonna go based on your story, yoursymptoms, your goals, what have you tried
(23:34):
before?
And we're going to build a custom, targetedinvestigation based on.
Then step two is you're going to build apersonalized map.
Once we get the data, we don't just throw abunch of medicine at numbers, right?
Or yeah.
And we don't just throw a bunch of supplementsat it either, or else we're just doing the same
thing with a natural spin.
So we reverse engineer your health from theinside out, right?
(23:55):
What are the root causes?
Are you overstressed?
Right?
Is your lifestyle causing havoc on your body?
Are there toxins in your home or yourenvironment?
Do you have gut issues or hormone issues?
Then we support the system.
So the nervous system, the mitochondria, wedetoxify the body.
And then we talk about lifestyle alignment,nutrition, sleep, movement, mindset, the four
(24:18):
big ones.
We don't just throw a bunch of supplements atthe wall, hoping something's going to work,
taking the same approach as Western medicine.
We use custom protocols based on your labs,your biology and your lifestyle most
importantly.
Not going to recommend something to somebodywhen it's going to add more stress to their
lifestyle, then it's just becoming a hindrance.
(24:39):
So we work within the confines of what you cando to an extent, right?
Like we're not going to be lazy either.
And so step three, we work with the team thatgets it.
Most primary care doctors don't have the time,the tools, or really the training to interpret
functional labs, it does take time.
And so, we're very diligent about taking thattime.
(25:00):
We often have two or three doctors looking atthe data of your tests, comparing things and
giving their thoughts before we come up with aprogram.
And so with Total Care, which is our flagship,primary care functional medicine program, you
get advanced labs, you get functional medicineapproach, you get one on one coaching, the
(25:20):
data, the deep dive data, and the roadmap,custom roadmap to get you back to optimal
health.
And so our goal is not just healthcare.
Our goal is health ownership because ideally ifyou can take responsibility for your health and
you can take action, then we can help you.
If someone's not ready to take action or takeownership that their health is really their
(25:42):
responsibility first, we can't help you becauseI can't care more about your health than you
do.
And so that's the firm but loving approach thatwe take at Alessi Functional Health.
You deserve more than just vague answers.
You deserve some clarity, strategy, and reallysomeone who will ask better questions.
So if your body's whispering or it has thosetelltale signs starting, don't wait for full
(26:03):
blown dysfunction.
Get testing, read between the lines and takeback your health.
And so if you would like, in closing here, ifyou would like to learn more about how we can
help diagnose, reverse and heal chronic diseasewithin our functional medicine programs?
Go to alessifunctionalhealth.com, schedule aconsultation with me or one of our other
(26:24):
providers.
Let's create a personalized plan for lifelonghealth.
Listeners of the podcast, you're always goingto get exclusive discounts and price reductions
on all our protocols and lab tests.
So just make sure you mention where you heardabout us.
This month only, 2025, we are offering a $100off your first Total Care Lab Panel of over
(26:46):
$200 It has to be more than $200 or else itdoesn't really make sense.
So for a $100 off your first Total Care LabPanel this month, just mention this episode
when you're scheduling your consultation.
As always, if you found value in the show,please like, subscribe, hit the subscribe
button, and share this episode with someone whoneeds to hear it.
That's how we grow this message and that's howwe change more lives and save more people from
(27:10):
the frustrating dysfunctional system thatthey've been living in.
If you want to get in touch with us or befeatured on an episode, share your story about
how functional medicine has helped you, emailus askalessifxhealth dot com.
We love answering, our patient and listenerquestions live.
Then visit alessifxhealth.com, sign up for thenewsletter so you don't miss anything that we
(27:34):
have going on.
And you can learn more about our approach tonutrition and cutting edge therapies.
Thanks again for tuning in to Health Decoded.
I'm Doctor.
Lesse, and I'll see you on the next one.
Thank you for tuning in to Health Decoded,where we break down the truth about all things
health and empower you to take charge of yourwell-being.
(27:55):
If you found value in today's episode, pleasesubscribe, leave a review, and share it with
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To hear your questions answered live on theshow, send them to ask@AlessiFXHealth.com.
(28:16):
That's ask@alessifxhealth.com.
Until next time.
Stay curious, stay empowered, and remember,your health is in your hands.
Let's start by breaking a myth that's reallyhurting a lot of people.
(00:03):
Most patients are going to walk out of theirdoctor's office relieved when they hear the
words normal.
Your labs are normal.
But the truth is normal is not optimal.
Now, just means you're not sick enough yet toqualify for a diagnosis, which then in turn
qualifies you for some type of intervention.
Welcome to Health Decode, your number onesource for real health information with your
(00:27):
host, doctor Alessi and Matt Tack.
Welcome to the show.
I'm doctor Alessi.
Answer this question.
When was the last time you felt amazing?
Wow.
It's been that long.
What are you giving up?
What might you be missing out on?
(00:49):
If you could change that, would you takeaction?
You know, your health isn't just another trend.
It's your ability to experience and enjoy yourfuture.
Let that sink in.
Being there for your family, doing the thingsyou love to do with no limits, not wondering if
something bad is gonna happen.
Well, if you're ready to stop guessing andstart healing, this is your sign to join Total
(01:14):
Care, a revolution in how we view and approachliving healthy.
Visit alessifunctionalhealth.com, go toservices, and click Total Care to claim your
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Now enjoy the episode.
Welcome back to another episode of HealthDecoded.
(01:38):
I am your host, doctor Alessi.
I'm excited to have you with me today.
I'm gonna really dig in on this one and get toa topic that a lot of people are kind of hung
up on right now.
And I think there's a lot of back and forth,things you're seeing online, maybe things
you're hearing from your doctor or from friendsand family.
(01:59):
And I just want to cut through the fluff, cutthrough the nonsense and ultimately tell you
guys the truth.
And ultimately dig into this topic today of whyyour blood work is lying to you.
And so what we're going to break down, we'rebasically going go through four segments here.
Number one, why normal, I'm air quoting normallabs don't mean optimal health.
(02:23):
Segment two, the danger of waiting until you'resick.
Segment three, the functional ranges thatactually matter.
And then segment four, how to get the rightlabs and then what to do with them, take
action.
So, you know, if you've ever been to yourdoctor, you've been told that your labs are
normal, but you still don't feel well, thisepisode is for you because here's the truth,
(02:46):
you're not healthy.
You're just not sick enough yet.
And so modern medicine is designed to waituntil there is a diagnosable disease, illness,
pain, whatever it may be, to take action.
So we're all about proactive health, We're allabout getting ahead of the problem.
And that's what we're educating on here todayis how can you take control, become your own
(03:07):
doctor, and ultimately make the best decisionsfor your health and your family's health.
And so if you've enjoyed this show, if you likethe content that you're hearing on here, if
this episode resonates with you in any way,please share it.
Please subscribe to our page so you don't missanything that's coming out and share this with
someone who needs to hear this message andneeds to be more informed.
(03:29):
We appreciate that.
So let's just get right into it.
You know, again, why having air quote normallabs don't mean optimal health?
Well, you know, let's start by breaking a myththat's really hurting a lot of people.
Most patients are going to walk out of theirdoctor's office relieved when they hear the
words normal.
Your labs are normal.
(03:49):
But the truth is normal is not optimal.
Now, just means you're not sick enough yet toqualify for a diagnosis, which then in turn
qualifies you for some type of intervention,often medication, injections, surgical possibly
if it's a joint related issue.
And that's just a whole downstream of followups and doctor's visits that most people go
(04:13):
through with a ton of frustration.
Now, just to iterate real quick, we are notanti medicine, we're not anti medical doctors.
We just are anti the wrong thing at the wrongtime.
And we're all about the patient first, thepatient needs to be looked at as a whole and
really understand like what is thepathophysiology causing said illness, disease
(04:35):
or symptom, right?
If it's not full blown yet.
And so, you know, the normal ranges thatdoctors use and test for, they're not based on
what's healthy.
They are based on a statistical average ofpeople who are getting blood work.
That's it.
And that population includes a ton of peoplewho are overweight, inflamed, diabetic, or
already sick and unhealthy.
(04:57):
And so these reference ranges are not targets,they're statistics.
For example, take a marker like TSH, that'sthyroid stimulating hormone.
Most labs will say the normal range issomewhere between zero point four and four
point five.
But in functional medicine, we know the sweetspot where people actually feel good is around
one to 2.5.
(05:18):
When you get outside of that tighter window andmore into the outsides, the highs and lows of
that reference range, people tend to havesymptoms.
But again, in modern medicine, if it's withinreference range, they're not going to diagnose
you.
And so that's not just an opinion of ours,that's data.
A 2022 review in the Journal of ClinicalEndocrinology found that patients with TSH
(05:42):
levels in the high normal range above 2.5 weresignificantly more likely to experience
fatigue, heat gain, and depressive symptoms.
Now here's another one, fasting glucose.
This one we talk about all the time becausemetabolic health is so critical.
Doctors will tell you, Hey, anything under a100 is fine, but 99 isn't fine.
(06:04):
That is the cliff.
That's what we call the metabolic cliff.
Multiple studies show that people with fastingglucose above 90 are at an increased risk for
insulin resistance, inflammation, andcardiovascular disease even before a diagnosis
of prediabetes.
In a twenty twenty article from Diabetes Care,researchers showed that even glucose levels in
(06:26):
the upper 80s were predictive of long termmetabolic dysfunction.
The upper 80s, again, that's what most docswould consider okay, healthy, right?
Normal.
So, one more and I'm going to use somestatistics here as well.
Let's look at vitamin D.
Chronically, low levels in this country.
And so the normal lab range starts at aroundthirty nanograms per milliliter, but optimal
(06:50):
function for immunity, energy, and inflammationactually happens closer to like 60 between
sixty and eighty.
So if you're walking around with a 31 andyou're told, Oh, you're within range.
You're fine.
It's missing the point entirely because here'sthe bigger issue.
Again, conventional medicine waits until you'rediagnosable, until your labs are basically
screaming disease.
(07:11):
But functional medicine is about spotting thosewhispers, the subtle dysfunction before it
becomes disease.
Because that's when we can actually intervene,reverse, and restore.
And so the takeaway here is that you're notbroken, you're just being measured by a broken
system.
We need to stop measuring the way that we havebeen and start focusing on everything that goes
(07:34):
into that person that we're looking at andtalking about.
And so let's get into the next piece here, thedanger really of waiting until you are sick.
And so it's often a lot harder to fix a problemwhen it's been going on for a long time.
See this all the time with our joint painpatients who come into the clinic.
Yeah, I felt the pain start about ten years agoand it wasn't too bad.
(07:55):
So I kind of just let it go.
Now, by the time they've come in and actuallytake an action to get some x rays or some type
of evaluation, the degenerative arthriticprocess has gone so far down that it's often a
lot more difficult to fix if we even can helpthe patient at that point.
So again, it's always easier to fix the leak atthe start.
(08:16):
And so, you know, let's get real about the waythat conventional medicine works.
This is the way that the system was designed isto manage disease.
There is a lot of money in managing diseasebecause it doesn't fix the problem, right?
If somebody had to come out to your house everyday and you had to pay them to patch a leak,
(08:36):
they're going to keep charging you, chargingyou, charging you.
What if they just fix that leak?
Right?
And so that's the caveat there betweenfunctional medicine and conventional medicine.
Conventional medicine is highly reactive.
It waits until the house is burning down beforeyou reach for the fire hose.
And so here's kind of the playbook, right?
If we're talking about an example, like bloodsugar dysfunction and diabetes, wait until your
(08:59):
A1C hits 6.5.
Okay.
Now you're a diabetic.
Wait until your TSH hits five point zero.
Okay.
Now you qualify for Synthroid.
Wait until your cholesterol is through theroof.
Okay, here, now it's time for a stat.
But let me ask you something and really thinkabout this.
What happened in the five to ten years beforethat diagnosis?
(09:21):
Well, your body was talking and nobody waslistening, right?
Oh, it's okay, let's just wait until this getsworse.
Or, follow-up in six months, let's see if thistakes a downturn and becomes something we need
to take action on.
Diseases don't strike overnight.
That's just not how they work.
It builds slowly, silently, systematically.
(09:42):
And your labs don't jump from perfect topathological in a week.
There is a decade long window, what we call asmoldering phase where dysfunction is building.
But it doesn't look bad enough on paper tosound the alarm yet.
So if you're told you're fine, even when yourfasting glucose has crept up into the nineties,
your TSH level has edged up into the upperfours, your HDL is dropping and triglycerides
(10:07):
are climbing, right?
But you're exhausted, you're gaining weight andyou're told you're normal.
Everything looks fine, just keep doing whatyou're doing is what you're told.
There's a term for that in psychotherapy.
It's called gaslighting.
And that's literally what's going on.
I mean, we do it to our kids all the time.
They fall down, Oh, you're fine.
(10:29):
They don't look fine.
They just fell, right?
They don't feel fine.
And so when someone tells you you're fine whenyou're not, it's gaslighting you.
It's not really helping you or managinganything.
It's lazy medicine.
There was a 2019 study in BMJ Open Journal thatrevealed that over sixty percent of patients
with early symptoms of chronic disease weredismissed as normal by their primary care
(10:51):
provider in the twelve months prior to theirdiagnosis.
That means a whole year went by where nothingwas done even though they were told they were
normal and that disease was coming.
It's basically like, Hey, wait around anotheryear feeling like crap and then let's do
something.
Again, that's not healthcare.
That's healthcare lag.
And that's what we are upturning with what wedo in our clinics and our systems.
(11:17):
We see this all the time.
You know, patients who have been dismissed foryears, they've seen all these different
doctors, they've had a million different tests,yet the symptoms are chalked up as, Oh, you're
just getting older.
Oh, you're just stressed.
Oh, you just have anxiety.
And then they're given drugs to mask thesymptoms.
Why?
Because the system only acts when you're sickenough to code for billing.
(11:38):
I keep using the word system because that'swhat it is.
The insurance company, the medical system, itis highly related and connected and everybody
at the top is making money on you staying sick.
And so in functional medicine, we do itdifferently.
We're not waiting for the fire.
We act when there's smoke, right?
Something's starting to get a little hot.
We're going to jump on that.
(11:59):
And we catch the trends.
We spot the dysfunction before it becomesdisease.
That's what we call root cause healthcare.
And frankly, that's what you deserve and that'swhat everyone should be doing.
That's how the medical system should be.
We wouldn't have hospitals and doctor's officesbooked months in advance for something that
could have been prevented years ago.
And so, you know, by the time conventional labscatch your issue, the damage is already done.
(12:25):
So we're here to catch that decline before itbecomes a disaster.
Now let's get into the functional ranges andsome of the biggest things we're going to look
for and a little bit more nitty gritty detailedstuff.
But real quick, let's take a word from one ofour sponsors.
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Now back to the episode.
Alright.
Welcome back.
Let's talk now about the functional ranges thatactually matter and what to look for.
So if normal ranges that we just discussedaren't cutting it, what do we look for then in
functional medicine?
(14:17):
We use what are called functional ranges.
Those are the zones where your body actuallyperforms at its best.
Not just not diseased, but actually vibrant,energetic, metabolically healthy.
So let's walk through some of, you know, a fewof the more important ones that we're going to
look for and we actually utilize within ourtotal care program at Alessi Functional Health.
(14:40):
Number one, one of the biggest that getsmisdiagnosed and missed is what we discussed
earlier, TSH.
And so most doctors are going to run a TSHhormone test and they consider anything from
0.4 to 4.5 normal.
But again, that's not optimal, that'sstatistical.
What is the functional range for TSH?
(15:02):
Somewhere between one and two point five.
Now notice that's a much smaller range.
People feel best in that zone.
That's stats based on data.
And outside of it, we often see the symptomscreep in, fatigue, brain fog, metabolism
issues, even if that conventional range isreported as normal.
We also then take it a step further.
(15:22):
We're going to look at free T3 and free T4 tosee what your body actually has bioavailable to
use.
We're going to look at reverse T3.
That's basically the metabolic brake pedal thatwhen it's too high can lead to block
metabolism.
Then we're going to look at TPO and TGantibodies.
These detect Hashimoto's before it takes over.
(15:43):
That's an autoimmune condition.
Journal of Thyroid Research, a study done in2020 showed that forty percent of patients with
normal TSH still had clinical hypothyroidsymptoms and improved with treatment based on
functional labs.
So again, that's a big number, forty percent.
Now, next thing we're definitely going to focuson is blood sugar.
(16:06):
Glucose and insulin.
Again, conventional medicine says fastingglucose up to 99 is fine or normal.
An A1C up to 5.6% is non diabetic.
But here's the problem, at 90 to 99 insulinresistance has already begun.
Insulin resistance is the gateway to weightgain, fatigue, hormonal disorders, heart
(16:29):
disease and even cognitive decline.
Alzheimer's disease is now widely known as typethree diabetes.
However, it starts years before any symptoms.
So what's the fasting range we want to look forfor fasting glucose?
I apologize.
What is the functional range we want to lookfor for fasting glucose?
Somewhere between 75 to 89.
(16:52):
Even better, we're going to take it a stepfurther again and test fasting insulin, which
most doctors are going to ignore.
If your insulin is creeping above seven toeight, your metabolism is already under stress.
And so the American Journal of Cardiology in2017 confirmed that fasting insulin is a
stronger early predictor of cardiovasculardisease than fasting glucose or A1C.
(17:15):
Now this is a test that's not even being run.
So that goes to show you.
Now what's next on the list?
Inflammation and immune function.
So conventional testing for inflammation highlymisses the mark.
They really only flag things like CRP, which isC reactive protein or ESR, which is your
erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
(17:36):
And if they're sky high, obviously going tolook at those.
But low grade chronic inflammation is the rootcause of so many things like autoimmunity,
pain, fatigue, hormone or gut dysfunction.
And so the functional range of CRP is less thanpoint five.
Even like a one to two is a red flag in ourclinic.
We're also going to test things likehomocysteine which is linked to methylation and
(18:00):
detox issues as well as cardiovascular risk.
We're going to check ferritin.
If it's too high, that could be hiddeninflammation, which is often missed.
And then white blood cell trends.
Low to normal often signals immune suppressionfrom stress.
We also run a very, very indicativecardiovascular focused inflammation panel that
(18:21):
many doctors are not going to look at.
Honestly, if you told a medical doctor, theyprobably don't even know what it means.
We look for three things, a PLA C, which is aplaquing score, an MPO, which is
myeloperoxidase, it's an enzyme that your heartand your coronary arteries produce when under
stress or inflammation.
And then oxidized LDL.
(18:41):
Is the LDL in circulation being oxidized andbecoming highly reactive?
If those, one of those three things are high,that is a red flag.
If all three are high, it's immediate action.
Now, the next thing we would look for is liverfunction.
So you'd be surprised how many people walkaround with early liver stress without a
diagnosis.
The conventional ranges of ALT and AST, whichare your liver enzymes.
(19:06):
The conventional range goes up to about 40 to50 depending on the lab.
The functional range that we want to see issomewhere between 10 to 26.
Anything higher than that, it is a sign of hightoxin load, fatty liver, blood sugar issues,
possibly over medication or leaky gut.
And remember, the liver is the MVP of hormonebalance and detox, so you cannot ignore it.
(19:30):
That would be like the filter, the air filterin your car not being clean.
So why do these functional ranges matter?
Because number one, they allow us to catchearly dysfunction before it is full blown
disease.
We can then create custom protocols based onthe individual and we can monitor progress in
real time with advanced lab testing.
(19:52):
And so it's also going to give you some peaceof mind that you're not crazy.
You're not living with symptoms that are just,again, air quote normal and there is something
going on, it's early dysfunction.
And so most people who feel terrible and havelabs that are conventionally known as normal,
their body is starting to functionally fail.
(20:14):
So when you use the wrong map, it's a greatanalogy, when you use the wrong map, you get
lost.
And most doctors are using a map that was drawnby insurance companies, not physiologists,
right?
And so we don't guess, we really measure and gointo detail.
You can ask any of our patients how much detailwe go into on our testing.
Now, how do you get the right labs and thenwhat do you do with them?
(20:37):
All right, so, you know, again, how do we do itdifferently and what can you do right now?
Again, any of this is resonating with you andit's been going on for some time, that's far
too long.
What can you do right now to take action?
Number one, test, right?
Stop guessing.
Stop wondering if it's going to go away.
Test it.
In functional medicine, we don't wait untilthings are broken.
(20:59):
We test your entire physiological terrain so wecan catch the dysfunction early and fix it
before it becomes a disease.
So the Alessi Total Care Blood Panel, this is acustom panel that we created, looks at all
these things and even some more.
So it's going to look at a complete thyroidpanel.
Everything we talked about earlier, TSH, freeT3, T4, reverse T3 antibodies.
(21:21):
We're going to look at a full blood sugar andinsulin panel, fasting glucose, insulin, A1C,
HOMAIR, which is a insulin resistance score.
We're going to look at inflammation, CRP,homocysteine, ferritin, the cardiac
inflammation markers I discussed.
We're going to look at full lipids and we goeven deeper.
We want to see if there's oxidation, hormones,basically an entire hormone panel.
(21:46):
Then we're going to look at nutrient levels,B12, folate, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, all of
those.
And so we're basically casting the broadest netto take a proactive approach to see if there's
anything we can catch early.
Now, we can even add advanced testing whenneeded.
Someone comes in with some type of gut symptomor dysfunction, we can do a GI map, so stool
(22:09):
test.
An organic acids test to see if the body isdetoxing, if there's any overgrowth of
bacteria, fungus, yeast, and how's themitochondria.
We can do a toxin load test to see if there'sheavy metals, mold toxins, or BPA impairments.
And one of the coolest ones is a foodsensitivity test.
(22:29):
A lot of times patients come in, they have highinflammation, they don't know why.
We run a food sensitivity test and we see thatthey're highly reactive or having a reaction to
a food that they're eating commonly and notreally even noticing that it's triggering them.
Because the difference, little tangent herebetween a food allergy and a food sensitivity
is that a food allergy you can die from.
(22:51):
You eat a food that you're allergic to, yourbody goes into full blown anaphylaxis, you
could die or have severe complications.
Food sensitivities are harder to catch becauseoftentimes the symptoms don't trigger until
one, maybe two days later, at which pointyou've probably eaten another five, six meals.
So then you have sensitivities on top of othersensitivities.
(23:14):
You're not sure what foods causing it becauseyou're eating diverse and the eczema, the gut
issues, the brain fog, the inflammation, youdon't know where it's coming from.
And so we're not over testing, right?
We are just running what is necessary.
And so we're always going to do a targetedinvestigation.
We're gonna go based on your story, yoursymptoms, your goals, what have you tried
(23:34):
before?
And we're going to build a custom, targetedinvestigation based on.
Then step two is you're going to build apersonalized map.
Once we get the data, we don't just throw abunch of medicine at numbers, right?
Or yeah.
And we don't just throw a bunch of supplementsat it either, or else we're just doing the same
thing with a natural spin.
So we reverse engineer your health from theinside out, right?
(23:55):
What are the root causes?
Are you overstressed?
Right?
Is your lifestyle causing havoc on your body?
Are there toxins in your home or yourenvironment?
Do you have gut issues or hormone issues?
Then we support the system.
So the nervous system, the mitochondria, wedetoxify the body.
And then we talk about lifestyle alignment,nutrition, sleep, movement, mindset, the four
(24:18):
big ones.
We don't just throw a bunch of supplements atthe wall, hoping something's going to work,
taking the same approach as Western medicine.
We use custom protocols based on your labs,your biology and your lifestyle most
importantly.
Not going to recommend something to somebodywhen it's going to add more stress to their
lifestyle, then it's just becoming a hindrance.
(24:39):
So we work within the confines of what you cando to an extent, right?
Like we're not going to be lazy either.
And so step three, we work with the team thatgets it.
Most primary care doctors don't have the time,the tools, or really the training to interpret
functional labs, it does take time.
And so, we're very diligent about taking thattime.
(25:00):
We often have two or three doctors looking atthe data of your tests, comparing things and
giving their thoughts before we come up with aprogram.
And so with Total Care, which is our flagship,primary care functional medicine program, you
get advanced labs, you get functional medicineapproach, you get one on one coaching, the
(25:20):
data, the deep dive data, and the roadmap,custom roadmap to get you back to optimal
health.
And so our goal is not just healthcare.
Our goal is health ownership because ideally ifyou can take responsibility for your health and
you can take action, then we can help you.
If someone's not ready to take action or takeownership that their health is really their
(25:42):
responsibility first, we can't help you becauseI can't care more about your health than you
do.
And so that's the firm but loving approach thatwe take at Alessi Functional Health.
You deserve more than just vague answers.
You deserve some clarity, strategy, and reallysomeone who will ask better questions.
So if your body's whispering or it has thosetelltale signs starting, don't wait for full
(26:03):
blown dysfunction.
Get testing, read between the lines and takeback your health.
And so if you would like, in closing here, ifyou would like to learn more about how we can
help diagnose, reverse and heal chronic diseasewithin our functional medicine programs?
Go to alessifunctionalhealth.com, schedule aconsultation with me or one of our other
(26:24):
providers.
Let's create a personalized plan for lifelonghealth.
Listeners of the podcast, you're always goingto get exclusive discounts and price reductions
on all our protocols and lab tests.
So just make sure you mention where you heardabout us.
This month only, 2025, we are offering a $100off your first Total Care Lab Panel of over
(26:46):
$200 It has to be more than $200 or else itdoesn't really make sense.
So for a $100 off your first Total Care LabPanel this month, just mention this episode
when you're scheduling your consultation.
As always, if you found value in the show,please like, subscribe, hit the subscribe
button, and share this episode with someone whoneeds to hear it.
That's how we grow this message and that's howwe change more lives and save more people from
(27:10):
the frustrating dysfunctional system thatthey've been living in.
If you want to get in touch with us or befeatured on an episode, share your story about
how functional medicine has helped you, emailus askalessifxhealth dot com.
We love answering, our patient and listenerquestions live.
Then visit alessifxhealth.com, sign up for thenewsletter so you don't miss anything that we
(27:34):
have going on.
And you can learn more about our approach tonutrition and cutting edge therapies.
Thanks again for tuning in to Health Decoded.
I'm Doctor.
Lesse, and I'll see you on the next one.
Thank you for tuning in to Health Decoded,where we break down the truth about all things
health and empower you to take charge of yourwell-being.
(27:55):
If you found value in today's episode, pleasesubscribe, leave a review, and share it with
someone who needs to hear this.
For more resources and personalized support,visit us at alessifunctionalhealth.com and sign
up for our newsletter.
To hear your questions answered live on theshow, send them to ask@AlessiFXHealth.com.
(28:16):
That's ask@alessifxhealth.com.
Until next time.
Stay curious, stay empowered, and remember,your health is in your hands.
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