When assessing blood chemistry, most doctors and laboratories look at what is called a “standard laboratory reference range.” Labs base these numbers on an average of people who are getting their blood tested, both sick and healthy. What they are doing is seeing how sick they are compared to a population who is both healthy and sick. This is kind of like going to a fast food place and seeing that compared to the people there, you are in pretty good shape. If you go to a gym where there tend to be more healthy people, we tend to notice how out of shape we can be. While humbling, it is a more honest assessment of our physical fitness.

   There are several reasons why you may be getting normal results despite still feeling awful.

   There’s been a lab error: This happens more than people think, especially when testing certain things like hormones, because levels vary throughout the day and month. Tests can also vary due to food, exercise or supplements. So many things go into lab testing and if just one thing goes wrong, results can be skewed.

   Your doctor didn’t listen to your story: Physicians need to listen to the entire story before running tests.

   Your “normal” isn’t the same as optimal: Optimal rates of thyroid, vitamin D, ferritin and so on are very different from “normal ranges” used in lab tests. When results come back, make sure to ask your physician if your levels are optimal, not just normal.

   Your illness isn’t diagnosed by labs: Subtle hormonal imbalances cannot be detected by traditional lab testing, even if they may not feel subtle to you. That’s true of many other conditions including some autoimmune, malignant, allergic and viral diseases.

   The biggest problem is who is in charge of healthcare. Insurance companies make their money by cutting our benefits and doctors’ pay by telling doctors and patients what they will and will not cover. They also just don’t cover things they said they would.

   Insurance companies are covering less and less laboratory testing. Many patients do not have comprehensive enough laboratory panels run on them because of this. So they don’t find what the real problem is.

   It is also important to remember that there simply may not be an adequate test in existence for your condition. It is not uncommon to see people with celiac disease or wheat allergy testing, where the results are normal but the patients get very ill after eating what products.

   There are some ways to fix this problem. First, we need to start looking at lab results from an optimal standpoint. Your health care provider should understand the difference between normal and optimal. We can determine optimal ranges for just about every lab test, and we shouldn’t be satisfied with being normal in a population where 42 percent is obese, 34 million people have diabetes, 48 perent of adults have heart disease, 133 million have chronic disease and 66 percent of adults use prescription drugs.

   Second, we need to demand better testing. We can’t get a detailed picture of how the body is functioning if we take a myopic approach to lab work.

   Third, we have to embrace non-traditional labs and start chasing root causes instead of symptoms. Your doctor should ask why until he can’t ask anymore.

   A lot of issues that are ignored in traditional medicine whether it’s the gut function, the immune system function, how we detox, our energy systems or even hormones and metabolism we tend to sort of miss a lot of the important areas where the problems really are and so we tend to get false sense of our health when we rely on traditional doctors. Sometimes we need to check for heavy metals, molds, stealth infections and other environmental toxins or running a stool sample and checking for root cause gut problems such as parasites.

   If you are still feeling awful in spite of normal labs, then it is time to embrace non-traditional labs. The main purpose of these labs is to determine whether you’re missing a nutrient or maybe a healthy bacteria in your gut. It could be toxins, allergens, microbes, poor diet or stress that are disturbing the system. The human body can have complex symptoms that could be going on for 10-15 years, making it tough to diagnose.

   The more testing done allows the patient to really look at all the different systems in the body to get a better picture of what’s going on. Every patient is different with different needs that these tests give us visibility into to get a personalized solution.

   If your labs come back normal, you still have options.

   Listen to your body: The deepest level of healing is learning to trust your body. Symptoms are signs of imbalances that need correcting. When you are not feeling your best, it’s your body saying, “Pay attention.”

   Get extended testing, if it’s appropriate: More is not always better. However, if you are working with a specialist physician for your problem, it may be helpful to look into having them order special testing that you haven’t tried yet.

   Bring a symptom journal to your next appointment: A clear, one-page summary of all your symptoms, when they happen, and what you were doing and eating at that time can be really helpful.

   While awaiting next steps, take a closer look at your diet and stress levels. Diet and stress make up the bulk of contributors to chronic disease. A good place to start is by eliminating processed foods. As for stress, management is a better goal than reduction because stress seems to be entrenched in modern lifestyles.

   Ultimately, it’s important to remember that it’s better to test than guess.

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