Diagnostic Tests You Need

Never depend on a medical doctor to tell you the diagnostic tests you need. Tell him  which tests you want. You can do most all of our testing without a doctor. You can do saliva testing for hormones. You can do home blood spot testing for blood sugar and HbA1c. You can use online labs like walkinlab.com or healthlabs.com without a doctor for any other tests. The standard blood multi-panel test is mostly useless, but looks good on the surface. This is a good, basic comprehensive list:

Cholesterol- the ideal here is about 150. HDL and LDL are optional and very secondary. This is THE most important indicator of heart and artery health.

Triglycerides- the ideal here is under 100. This is the second most important indicator of heart and artery health.

HbA1c- can  be done with a drug store blood spot test. The magic number here is 4.6, not the medically accepted level of 5.6. 4.6 equates to a blood sugar level of 85. A level of 6.5 means you have outright diabetes.

Blood sugar- use an inexpensive home meter. Look for a level of 85 or less.

Testosterone- for both men and women. Free, not bound or total. You want youthful levels, not the normal levels older people have.

DHEA- for both men and women. Again, you want youthful levels.

T3- must be midrange, not "in range". Add high and low range and divide by 2.

T4- must be midrange, not "in range". Add high and low range and divide by 2.

TSH- is just not necessary. It is what it is. Only diet and lifestyle will raise or lower it.

Estradiol- both men and women need to do this. Men and post-meno women want low range. 0.5 on ZRT.

Estrone- both men and women need to do this. Men and post-meno women want low range. 1.3 on ZRT.

Estriol- this is for women only. You want high range, not low.

Progesterone- this is for women only, but really not necessary. You can only do this with a serum blood test, and not a saliva test.

Pregnenolone- anyone over 50 should do this. You must find a lab that will do a blood test, as saliva tests don’t exist. It is expensive (e.g. $200). Overall, you can just take it if you're over 40. This is not necessary though.

Melatonin- must be tested at about 3:00 AM. If you can find a saliva melatonin test you can do this. Otherwise don’t bother. Anyone over 50 should need melatonin.

Insulin- a very overlooked test. You want a blood result of about plasma 4 to 5. Americans run about 8-9 on the average. Do this in the morning fasting with an online lab.

Uric acid- you want to be at the bottom of the range.

CRP- you want to be at the bottom of the range.

Homocysteine- you want to be at the bottom of the range here, too.

ALT/SGPT- liver disease is epidemic and this is one of the two liver tests.

AST/SGOT- this is the second liver test you need.

Kidneys can be tested with the usual standard blood tests for urea and creatinine, as well as chlorine, potassium and sodium levels.

Glucose tolerance (GTT)- only necessary if you have high blood sugar and/or high HbA1c. Look for a level at least 10 points below the medically accepted one.

Vitamin D3 is good to do. Read the Vitamin D3 article. Some people are vitamin D resistant and just make E1 and E2, as it is really a hormone and not a vitamin.

If you suspect a CHD condition, see a cardiologist and get an EKG, stress test, echocardiograph or other tests. CHD is the largest killer by far.

Colonoscopy- everyone over 50 should get a colonoscopy. Read the Colon Health article.

Diagnostics is cheap, important, effective and necessary. You can do all these test inexpensively without paying a doctor. NY, NJ MA, MD, and RI ban non-doctor tests. Just use the address of a friend or relative in another state.