Technology in the age of information is continually changing everything around us, including our ability to gather information about ourselves. Technologies and practices once only available in clinical labs have been made more than available to the average person. This shift has taken personal information out of the hands of doctors and clinicians and placed it into the hands of the individual, empowering them to take full control of their health.

As discussed in the previous article, bloodwork is one of the most informative methods to date, giving deep physiological insight. But without some sort of interpretation and organization, bloodwork data are nothing more than more numbers cluttering the path to personal optimization. By understanding this information, the path becomes clear and high-performance health becomes inevitable.

The Data: More Than Numbers

To the untrained eye, data simply looks like a bunch of numbers next to random blood biomarkers. But to the trained professional, these data are a detailed story about personal physiology.

People are more than one or two biomarkers siloed into random compartments. The human body is a vast network of interconnected systems. Not only does each biomarker give clues about a specific system within the body. It also lends itself as a clue to how other systems are working as well.

Take testosterone, for example. Immediately, most people start to think about hormonal balance and its influence on anabolic profile and that is where it stops. But testosterone’s reach goes far beyond sex drive and muscle mass. Testosterone has been shown to positively influence multiple aspects of glucose and lipid metabolism. This means that testosterone steps outside “stereotypical” mechanisms and touches glucose metabolism. This is just one example of many for testosterone specifically. Testosterone, as an individual biomarker, has implications for multiple systems across the entire body. This example repeats itself over and over for multiple biomarkers in the bigger story of individual physiology.

Putting the Pieces Together

Performance is the outward expression of how well each of the individual systems works as an individual system and as a part of the whole. A system can only perform as well as its biggest constraint allows. Viewed another way, a story is only as complete as its smallest detail.

Biomarkers make up the individual details that support the bigger story of performance physiology. As those details are put together, more of the story is revealed. As more biomarkers are analyzed, a full understanding of individual performance can be realized. Understanding their relationship with one another and how they inform greater systems is the first step to high-performance health.

• Biomarkers are the building block of the entire system. They are the finite details that help build the whole story. As more data is collected through biomarker concentrations, the clearer the story becomes.

• Biomarkers give information about how certain organs are functioning. With enough information, a complete picture of organ function is realized. Looking at one liver enzyme can give a general idea of liver function. Gathering three more gives the complete story.  

• Organ status speaks to system efficiency. With information about the efficiency of multiple related organs, their interaction within a specific organ system can start to be evaluated. If one organ is showing a deficiency, there is a good chance that another is picking up the slack and is probably being over-taxed. Further, the entire system is suffering. If liver enzyme levels suggest a strain, there is a good chance that the liver’s influence on digestion is going to be compromised. 

• Organ systems inform greater areas of physiological optimization. Organ systems serve more than one purpose and contribute to greater function classifications throughout the body, or “functional areas”. These are often classified in the general terms that have made their way through mainstream health and wellness. Most wouldn’t think of the liver or pancreas as an important part of the general term “gut health”, but they play a crucial role. These two organs play supporting roles in digestion. If the gut cannot perform a primary function like digestion, its ability to support other processes throughout the body is greatly hindered. 

• Functional areas add up to complete physiological readiness. Each of these function areas is a pillar that supports overall physiological readiness to perform. Shortcomings in any of these pillars are ultimately reflected in an individual’s overall performance. 

Not only does this approach help identify greater functional constraints, but also drills down to the specific root of the problem. Even more understanding can be gained with expert interpretation as inter-system relationships are revealed.

Bloodwork gives some of the deepest detail into physiological workings. By understanding serum biomarkers, a deeper understanding of organ and organ system functioning can give way to realizing specific reasons for shortcomings in greater functional areas. All of the guesswork is gone.