Bloodwork analysis to support performance

Comprehensive physiological insight for personalized protocols

The health and wellness space is undergoing a transformative shift in bloodwork analysis. The digital age has made information more readily available. For your health-conscious patients, that means access to a myriad of information on every topic associated with health, performance and longevity. However, most of this information is general in nature and not rooted in individual physiology.

Advancements in technology have started to address this problem. Smartwatches and other wearable devices have made it possible to start tracking personal metrics, such as resting heart rate, movement frequency and sleep performance. These data help individuals gain insight into their own physiology and allow for more informed decisions concerning interventions for selected outcomes.

Among these tools, blood analysis has started to gain attention as one of the most powerful ways to collect personalized physiological data. While blood chemistry is itself not a new concept, its application has evolved from a routine diagnostic tool to a comprehensive method for assessing physiological readiness and performance potential.

Limitations of traditional bloodwork

A typical annual blood test administered in clinical settings is designed to identify disease and confirm health status. Most commonly, the blood collected is subjected to analysis of biomarkers found in the complete blood count (CBC), comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) and lipid panel. If these biomarkers are found to be within standard reference ranges, the individual is often deemed healthy, and no further action is taken.

However, this binary model of healthy vs. sick fails to serve individuals pursuing peak physical and cognitive performance. Many essential markers are excluded from these panels, and broader physiological patterns are overlooked.

In essence, traditional testing offers a surface-level view of health, which can miss more nuanced analyses that have implications for physical and cognitive performance optimization.

The emergence of performance bloodwork

Performance bloodwork takes the concepts found in traditional laboratory analysis and expands their purpose, scope and interpretation. Rather than focusing solely on a binary scale of health and sickness, performance-oriented blood analysis views biomarker concentrations on a scale relative to optimal ranges found within standard reference ranges and works to uncover physiological constraints and opportunities for optimization.

Key distinctions of performance bloodwork analysis

• Expanded biomarker panels: These include markers for hormonal health (testosterone, cortisol), inflammation (hs-CRP), nutrient status (vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids) and organ function (liver enzymes, kidney filtration rates).
• Refined reference ranges: Performance-based interpretation compares results to redefined biomarker ranges based on scientific literature and athlete data as opposed to those based on normal “health” ranges.
• Systems-level analysis: Rather than just viewing each biomarker in isolation, performance-based bloodwork also takes a wider view, taking biomarker interactions into consideration, which reveals how specific organ systems contribute to (or hinder) broader physiological readiness.

These distinctions help give deeper insights into physiological processes and inform individuals of areas that are impeding progress. Further, the nuances found in a performance-based blood test reveal the insight needed to take general guidelines and create personalized interventions. Each biomarker is individually analyzed and taken in relation to others to create a complete understanding of a person’s unique physiology.

Build performance from the inside out

Human performance is not the result of systems functioning in isolation. It is the product of complex biological systems working together in harmony. A breakdown in one system can result in the compromise of cognitive and physical performance.

As previously mentioned, the data found through performance-based bloodwork can be invaluable. With a deeper understanding of the patient’s individual physiology, you can more effectively apply various interventions specifically tailored to address the physiological needs of the patient.

When a patient presents with specific concentrations falling outside of optimal, these techniques can be used to help lower or raise biomarker levels, effectively promoting positive changes in the systems that each biomarker reflects.

As these systems start to demonstrate optimal biomarkers, representing optimal organ and system performance, the greater expression of physiological optimization can be realized through outward performance measures, whether physical or cognitive.

The importance of continued monitoring

Physiology is dynamic because life is dynamic. People are constantly responding to the demands of their daily lives. The responses to these demands are reflected in an individual’s unique physiology. A single blood test offers a snapshot of a moment in time. To fully support performance, retesting is essential.

As the body responds to various intervention strategies and changing environmental demands, biomarker concentrations fluctuate. Retesting at regular intervals (every three to six months) ensures the body’s needs are continuously understood and appropriately supported.

Monitoring allows for the refinement of protocols and ensures that interventions remain effective.

Bring it all together

Performance is the result of physiology. Put another way, optimal performance requires optimized physiology.

Testosterone is a cornerstone of men’s health and has been associated with metabolic health, muscle mass and libido. Moreover, testosterone concentrations have been shown to influence measurements of fatigue.

Testosterone testing is not part of normal blood panels and requires a specific lab order. Often, patients need to present symptoms of low testosterone before a test is ordered. Even when it is ordered, only looking at testosterone concentrations is shortsighted. For example, zinc is an essential component of testosterone production, and zinc serum concentrations are positively correlated to total testosterone levels. Zinc concentrations are also not a part of common lab orders.

Without specific orders, abnormalities in these biomarker concentrations would be missed. Since performance-based bloodwork monitors these concentrations from the start, it allows for a greater physiological understanding of any symptoms associated with decreased testosterone concentrations.

If a patient is presenting testosterone levels outside optimal concentrations and decreased zinc concentrations, a possible root cause can be established and addressed. In this case, decreased zinc levels could be affecting testosterone production.

DCs can then address the root of this problem, low zinc levels, instead of treating a symptom, low testosterone levels. From here, nutritional interventions, such as supplementing with 30mg of zinc and consuming zinc-rich foods, such as oysters, can be prescribed.

After three months, patient symptom analysis and another blood draw can be performed to assess biomarker concentrations and inform next protocols.

While this example is simple, it is all too common. Performance-based bloodwork allows for earlier detection and also helps build bigger pictures for better root cause assessment.

Final thoughts

With the evolution of data collection and analysis, more precise interventions can be selected to elicit significant physiological changes, which are then reflected in outward performance measures.

Performance-based bloodwork has emerged as one of the most comprehensive ways to collect physiological data and allows for the greatest insight into physiological pathways, which ultimately determine an individual’s ability to perform. It can shed light on individual organs and their respective systems and also be used as a metric for physiological readiness to perform.

As the age of information continues to press forward, patients are demanding more than health; they are demanding performance. Bloodwork pinpoints physiological constraints and informs intervention protocols that work to efficiently remove these pain points and optimize physiology and readiness to perform.

Vince Kreipke, PhD, received his PhD in exercise physiology with a focus in sports nutrition in 2016 from Florida State University. During this time, his research focused on the safety and efficacy of various dietary and lifestyle interventions on body composition, metabolism and human performance. Kreipke has more than 10 years of experience working with athletes and high-performing individuals in various capacities. Currently, he serves as the director of content for Vitality Blueprint, a performance bloodwork company specializing in blood biomarker analysis and intervention prescription. He can be reached at vince@vitalityblueprint.com.