How to Optimize Your Biochemistry & Elevate Your Performance I conducted my first blood panel + biomarker diagnostic about 10 years ago. But back then, it was painful & somewhat expensive. I spent about $2,500 on the various tests and another $1,500 or so analyzing the results (a downloadable PDF) with my functional medical doctor. It was a beneficial experience (I made impactful changes to my diet & supplement routine based on the results) but very hard to repeat because of the cost & non-existent UI/UX. The tests weren't designed to be repeated, which was problematic because what we really want to see are health trend lines over time. Fast forward to the 2020s, and we have multiple companies, including Lifeforce, that offer quarterly diagnostic testing at a relatively low cost. The recurring nature of the product is what makes it powerful. My first diagnostic with Lifeforce was on August 10th, 2022, and these were my top-level results:
2 years later, my overarching results looked like this:
So I've definitely made some improvements.
My main issue has been genetically high cholesterol (though a good ratio of HDL/LDL and overall low CVD risk as measured by a cardiac scan). I thought about taking a prescription statin to get my cholesterol in range immediately but decided to go at this naturally first, primarily through the inclusion of psyllium husk and red yeast rice. And it's had a major effect:
This was done without any medication. Pretty wild.
High cholesterol is often hereditary and should not be alarming on its own. There are many experts who believe high cholesterol is a sign of health. Overall I'm happy to see the progression of my cholesterol levels purely as the result of supplementation (and people say supplements don't matter ;).
The fun part about all of this is that I get to treat my biochemistry and health like a game…testing out various tactics & strategies, assessing their impact, and doing my best to achieve a higher level of health.
A lot more interesting & engaging than a yearly physical with next-to-no constructive feedback.
But remember, everything in your body is connected. When one thing goes up, another may go down. This has happened to me with…
Testosterone.
We are dealing with an epidemic of low testosterone in America and beyond.
Few things are more important to experiencing vitality in life than having adequate levels of this hormone. Want to optimize your energy & how you generally feel?
First, focus here. Both men and women.
My Total Testosterone levels are in an overall good range for my age. But you can see they've been vacillating, with a weird dip in my recent results. This is the lowest Test reading I've ever received:
Though I like my SHBG trend:
An elevated SHBG can lead to low Free Testosterone, which is the testosterone that is actually available for your body to use. If your SHBG is too high (often due to stress), your Free Test may be lower than you'd like it to be.
What's been going on here? Well, I'm diving into it with my doctors (with my next telehealth visit scheduled for January), but my thoughts are as follows.
In Q1 of this past year I began supplementing with DHEA in an attempt to boost my free-test and increase my DHEA levels (I only did this because both my DHEA and Estradiol levels were low):
You can see that this has had the intended effect—increasing DHEA and Estradiol. But the "problem" is that while the DHEA initially had a very positive impact on my testosterone and Free-Test levels…
The recent results for my Test and Free-Test have been underwhelming and decreasing to levels I do not like.
The cause?
I believe it could be that while DHEA originally helped, it eventually "hurt" my Testosterone levels as a result of continued use.
OR this could all be due to the Red Yeast Rice—sometimes a "positive" impact in cholesterol (a lowering) can also yield unintended effects (a decrease in other hormones like testosterone). And it's why the jury is still out on whether a "high" total cholesterol is actually good or bad IF your other Cardiovascular risk factors are low (which mine are):
And of course there are many other lifestyle impacts that can have big impacts here (notably—stress, diet and sleep).
Considering that my lifestyle changes have not been significant, I've decided to do the following:
i. Stop taking DHEA to see what the net-net impact is of this (perhaps I'll supplement on and off with DHEA over the year), and
ii. Depending on the results, I may also cycle the use of Red Yeast Rice
The fun and important thing here is that just like in business, I'm testing out different tactics to see what works best for me…and learning a lot along the way. By treating my biochemistry like a game, I'm giving myself a lot of data and information that will be useful to me in the future, and giving myself a chance to experience greater health.
My belief is that just about everyone will be doing this in the future, and it's one of my goals to encourage people to join this game today. Not only to optimize performance but also, and most importantly, to get ahead of some real problems that can derail your life.
Note that I believe in always exhausting natural means before moving to alternative therapies…although alternative therapies can be very effective for certain individuals where natural means aren't effective.
This is a massive subject, and I'm only scratching the surface here…just trying to show specific examples of how I'm using quarterly diagnostics to improve my health & performance. And how you can, too.
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