Bloodwork: On the Edge of Transformation
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The age of information is evolving. People have had access to information on almost every topic imaginable. From global events to driving directions, type in a topic and, boom, out comes the answer. The health and wellness industry has followed suit. Want to know what type of protein is right for you? Type it in and out comes the answer. The same goes for exercise modalities, sleep support, stress relief… The list is inexhaustible.
To this point, most health information has been based on general inquiry versus grounded in personal biology. This has led to interventions that are easy to find but often amount to trial and error, at best. Most of the time, we have been guessing. But advances in technology are quickly forcing the health and wellness industry to transform.
As technology continues to evolve, it takes everything with it, including personal health and performance. Rings, watches, bands, and even beds can now share personal information. Insights into personalized data like heart rate and sleeping patterns are starting to help people hone in on what they need to live more productive and fulfilling lives. That means the guesswork is slowly fading away.
And with all this technological change a new category is entering the spotlight: bloodwork.
Bloodwork: The Next Performance Frontier
Bloodwork itself is not new. Most people go to the doctor’s office once a year. Each visit follows a simple template. You sit on a table covered in scratchy parchment paper. The nurse takes your temperature and blood pressure. Then, the doctor comes in, looks over your chart, and asks you a bunch of questions. Somewhere in the middle, you get some blood drawn which is sent to the lab for testing.
Sometime later, your results come back. For standard tests, you see markers like cholesterol and glucose levels, white and red blood cell counts, and where those markers fall in a range. If everything comes back within range, you are given a clean bill of health until the next check-up. That’s it. And THAT is not enough! Especially for those who demand more out of life.
Blood holds some of the most powerful physiological information available. A lab write-up full of complicated results that ultimately just tells you if you’re clinically “healthy” or clinically “sick” is a glaring miss!
High-Performance Health
High-performance health has started to emerge as a quickly growing sector of the health and wellness industry. And one of its most insightful areas is bloodwork.
Bloodwork and Physiology: A vial of blood holds deep insights into the body's systems, beyond basic metabolism and blood cell counts. It reveals information about hormones, inflammation, liver function, and more—often overlooked in standard panels.
Standard vs. Performance Bloodwork: Traditional blood tests typically compare results to a binary "healthy" or "sick" scale. Performance bloodwork, however, focuses on identifying optimal levels with refined reference ranges based on scientific research. These new ranges can offer insightful information for anyone who demands the most out of their body and minds, reaching far beyond professional athlete populations.
Expanding the Panel: Performance bloodwork expands the typical panel to include more biomarkers, offering a broader view of physical and cognitive performance. This helps identify hidden constraints that might otherwise be missed in a limited panel.
Holistic Approach: Performance bloodwork examines the interconnectedness of bodily systems. If a biomarker is out of range, it may be a symptom rather than the root cause of a problem, offering a more comprehensive view of health and performance.
For example, everyone can agree that vitamin D status is an important measurement. Despite its importance, it is not part of a standard blood panel. Performance bloodwork not only includes vitamin D as a measurement outright but also uses it as a marker of multiple physiological functions such as muscle function and recovery, turning this marker from a marker of disease into a marker of physiological function for high performance.
Yes, It’s Worth It
Just like all “extracurricular " health analyses, there are some extra hurdles to clear. The big one at the forefront of everyone’s mind is cost, which is fair.
But that “cost” gets you more than just numbers on a sheet of paper. Performance bloodwork is one of the deepest dives you can take into your physiology. Answering the very simple, yet, specific question, “How am I doing, and what is holding me back?”
These panels also gain you access to professional insight and interpretation. To the untrained eye, lab results are just numbers on a page. To the trained professional, those numbers tell a story of what is going on physiologically. There is no more guessing, which was the goal in the first place.
The combination of hard data and expert analysis means interventions can now be prescribed at an individual level, not randomly suggested broadly. Time is no longer wasted on the potential of change. Actual changes will happen. No more, “I think I feel better.” Performance blood work sets you on the right path to attain your goals faster.
With this fundamental understanding in place, we will explore the basic principles of performance bloodwork and its specific applications in the upcoming posts.
Dan Garner
Dan Garner is the Founder of Vitality Blueprint, a performance bloodwork platform that makes high-performance health tools available to a consumer audience. Outside of Vitality, Dan is a driving force in the human performance space. Renowned for his "inside-out" approach, Dan's science-backed programs have catapulted him to the forefront of the industry. With over 20 certifications and expertise in functional medicine, he has worked directly with performance individuals and athletes across the UFC, MLB, NHL, NFL, PGA, and Olympic elite.
