Let's Get Personal: My Primal Bloodwork
- Bret McClellan
- Apr 16, 2017
- 5 min read
I suppose it's about time that I show you why I've been preaching the benefits of the Paleo/Primal lifestyle for nearly the last 5 years. So today I decided to post my own personal historical bloodwork results (shown below) in an effort to demonstrate efficacy. First, let me give you a little background:
Prior to August of 2012 I had been living the "normal" life of a fairly healthy, somewhat active American male - eating the standard American diet, working out sporadically, playing seasonal sports, etc. However, I was starting to experience negative shifts in how I felt, such as massive daily energy fluctuations, extreme arthritic pain in my feet, reflux, and other issues. My weight was, while not extremely heavy, at an all time high. My annual cholesterol panels had also become worrisome to my (standard practice) doctor, who, due to the relatively recent passing of both of my parents to cardiovascular disease, decided to preemptively place me on a daily regimen of Pravastatin. Not knowing anything at all about health and wellness at the time, I haplessly conceded. When I asked him why I was apparently deteriorating, his answer was, in essence, "You're just getting old."
I was 40, and this answer didn't sit right with me.
Unfortunately I don't have copies of my bloodwork prior to 2012 as of the time of this writing, or I'd add them to the below table. However, one can assume that the January, 2012 bloodwork in the table is fairly representative of my status prior to that date. Let's dig in...
You'll notice the very limited amount of data collected in January, 2012. This is because most standard doctors are still stuck in the decades-old mindset that all you need is total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL and triglycerides (Tg) to evaluate heart disease (HD) risk. For those like me who may have a familial disposition towards HD, basing risk on such a limited data set (and relatively inaccurate test calculations, at that) is nothing short of careless. Such people deserve an expanded lipid panel replete with ALL of the supplemental tests shown above (and more), especially the LDL particle #, and small LDL particle #, which are far more indicative of HD risk. However, in my experience, the expanded lipid panel is something that an informed patient has to request themselves! So, not only must you be well-read on your cholesterol issues ahead of time, but sometimes you'll have to argue with your doctor to have them order the right panel, so that you'll get the most accurate data to properly evaluate your risk! And what are the chances of that happening with most people?!...
Sorry, I got sidetracked on my soap box there... Back to the issue at hand...
Keep in mind that my numbers from January, 2012 above were taken while I was an uninformed non-health nut, and on daily Pravastatin. Statins, as you may know, inhibit your liver's ability to generate the cholesterol that it thinks your body needs. However, what you may NOT know is that statins work equally as hard to inhibit HDL ("good" cholesterol) production, thus my borderline-low 46 mg/dL HDL result. Tg was markedly high on this date, as statins do not affect fat that is circulating in your bloodstream - just liver production. So, one can assume that if I were NOT on the statin, my TC, HDL, and LDL-C would have been commensurately higher at this time.
Eight months later, after having read Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution, I was 30 days into my Paleo reset (including quitting the statin on my own volition), and feeling better than I had in decades. No more brain fog, reflux, energy fluctuations, and greatly reduced incidence of arthritic pain. I decided to get the proper bloodwork done so that I could assess my own risk, since standard modern medicine was obviously not up-to-speed (hint: they're still not). You'll note that in September, 2012, my TC was only 1 point above my TC when I was on Pravastatin in January! HDL was about the same, while LDLP#, small LDLP#, and LP-IR were still eyebrow-raisingly high enough for the doc to recommend (wait for it...) a higher statin dose. I didn't bite. My Tg levels had been cut in half in only 30 days, so I knew good things were happening. Plus, this was the first time that I'd ever been tested for the right parameters, and I knew that my body's systems were still in flux, adjusting to the new lifestyle. So I couldn't consider this first round a solid baseline - it was more of an ongoing recovery period.
In February of 2013, I had logged a solid 6 months of recovery from the standard modern lifestyle. "You have the blood of an 18-year old," my doctor said. Everything was well within my target ranges - which, by the way, are NOT the target ranges that Big Pharma gives today's medical practitioners for general distribution - but that's a story for another post. Most noteworthy were the dramatic dips in LDLP#, small LDLP#, and LP-IR scores, all of which were relatively worrisome 5 months earlier. While I have no scientific research to support my hypothesis on this, I believe that it takes your body (or at least MY body), a minimum of 2 to 5 months to significantly recuperate from 40 years of nutritional abuse.
My annual bloodwork for the last 3 years has been remarkably consistent, as shown above, especially with respect to LP-IR - which has been below quantifiable levels. Insulin resistance is certainly one of the best measures of how your body is responding to your new paleo/primal lifestyle. It's also a great marker with respect to overall health. The lower your LP-IR, the better - the more sensitive you are to your body's production of insulin, the master hormone.
In closing, if I were to give you one takeaway from this post, it is that you are the only person who is ultimately responsible for your own health. Therefore, it is up to YOU (or a good health consultant - like us! :-) to research the latest information and testing parameters for proper, accurate evaluation of your specific conditions. Unless you're seeing a particularly progressive functional or integrative doctor who is keeping up with the latest scientific findings on cholesterol and general health, you're likely stuck in a medical practice that bases their recommendations on outdated, obsolete pseudo-scientific studies dating back 40+ years. (You'll know this if all you gain from your doctor visits is a new prescription...)
You are NOT just numbers on a sheet of paper. Correcting health issues is MORE than prescribing drugs to suppress symptoms! Tired of popping daily meds, suffering the side effects, and not seeing improvement? Isn't it time you discover the root causes of your issues, and address them? Contact us for your free initial consultation and let us do the homework FOR you! Get a jump start on your health by taking advantage of our experience and knowledge! It's what we do, so let us do it for you!
Bret McClellan
Certified Primal Health Coach #239
McClellan Natural Health, Wellness & Nutrition
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