Recommended Blood Tests

carlsoda

I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but both my husband and I are going in for our annual physical very soon. Besides the normal blood tests; cholesterol and glucose is there anything else you would recommend? These are the only two we seem to get each year, but maybe we are missing more important ones? You guys just seem so knowledgeable (more so than my dr I think!)!!

Thanks so much in advance!!

KnitOrMiss

I'm assuming there are no other major underlying health issues?

The ones not always in the standard panel I recommend are:

D3
Magnesium
B12
Selenium
Fasting Insulin (separate but similar to fasting glucose)
Hormone panel
Basic thyroid panel (if indicated)

I can't think of any others off hand...

wabmester

Those are the two main tests that are affected by low carb. The standard cholesterol test calculates LDL, so I usually ask for a VAP that gives a better picture of LDL, including particle size.

Liver function tests are pretty standard, and can be affected by low carb: AST, ALT, etc.

Kidney function: BUN, creatinine, etc.

Inflammation markers and insulin resistance tests are very interesting, but rarely offered -- e.g., CRP and HOMA-IR.

Other tests depend on what other health concerns you have.

carlsoda

Thank you, thank you! We have no underlying health concerns and want to keep it that way!