Your Bloodwork Is Normal. But How Do You Feel?


Do You Know How Well Your Organ Systems Are Working?

“My bloodwork came back normal.” You feel relieved, but you're still tired, foggy, and not quite yourself.

No lab result means much in isolation. Each marker needs to be read as part of a set, in the context of the person it belongs to: her history, her symptoms, her medications, and the stage of life she is in. Read that way, a standard panel shows far more than any single number does.

What Your Labs Show

  • Ferritin: Measures iron stores. It also rises with inflammation, so a “normal” ferritin can hide low iron.
  • CRP and ESR: General markers of inflammation. They show that inflammation is present, but not where it is.
  • Ferritin & CRP read together: Ferritin results are only accurate when CRP is not elevated. When CRP is elevated, ferritin is falsely elevated and no longer reflects iron stores.
  • Cholesterol: More than a heart marker. Your lipid panel shows metabolic health, and the total-to-HDL ratio is one of the measures researchers use to estimate allostatic load: the cumulative wear and tear of chronic stress.
  • Fasting glucose and insulin: Insulin rises years before glucose does. If only glucose is tested, insulin resistance gets caught late or not at all.
  • ALT and AST: Liver enzymes. A mildly raised ALT is often the first sign of fatty liver, which closely tracks insulin resistance. AST also goes up after hard exercise, Tylenol use, and alcohol.
  • CBC: Detects anemia, and red cell size points to the likely cause. Read alongside ferritin and transferrin saturation, it also helps flag iron overload, which becomes more common once menstruation stops.
  • TSH: A thyroid diagnosis should never rest on a single TSH result. The trend over time is what matters. TSH often returns to range on its own, especially once nutrient deficiencies are corrected.
  • Anti-TPO and anti-TG: These thyroid antibodies can forecast thyroid dysfunction years ahead.
  • Vitamin D: Needed to absorb calcium and maintain bone density, but is also involved in regulating the immune system. In Toronto, the skin makes almost no vitamin D from late fall to early spring. OHIP does not cover routine testing.
  • Anti-TPO, anti-TG, and vitamin D read together: Lower vitamin D is associated with higher levels of both antibodies.
  • Ferritin and TSH read together: Iron deficiency impairs thyroid function and the conversion of thyroid hormone into its active form. Iron should be tested in parallel with thyroid markers.
  • eGFR and creatinine: Measures of kidney function. More Canadians now take several prescriptions at once, and many medications depend on the kidneys to clear them. Chronically high blood pressure and diabetes can also damage kidney function over time.

Consider a woman whose ferritin of 40 ug/L is flagged as "fine". Her CRP is raised and her MCV is low. Read separately, each result is unremarkable. Read together, they suggest iron deficiency hidden by inflammation.

Question For The Week

Pull out your last set of labs and have a look. Was anything flagged? Were the results reviewed as a set, and were things like lifestyle, physical activity level, alcohol intake, nutrition, and daily stress discussed in the context of your results?

Remember: Your results are yours. Ask what they mean for YOU, and what one step you can take today for your whole health.

Until next time, scroll intentionally,

Dr. Dominika


Dr. Dominika Zarzeczny

Naturopathic Doctor

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Hi! I'm Dr. Dominika Zarzeczny, ND

First inspired by the work of Dr. Gabor Mate, Dr. Dominika has focused much of her career on helping her patients connect the dots between early adversity and trauma and their impact on lifelong health and well-being. She knows that the reversal of chronic illness involves the nervous system, and so she has dedicated her practice to helping patients master their own nervous system to positively influence their mind and body, behaviours and ultimately health outcomes. Her explanation of disease doesn't pathologize or blame, but is nuanced, humanized and filled with hope. She trained with various psychologists and experts in the field of psychological trauma. She incorporates the principles of neuroscience, attachment theory, mindfulness, Polyvagal Theory and compassionate inquiry in her approach with patients. Combining these with her naturopathic training, she likes to say that she works at the intersection of science and human experience.

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