How To Use The Wonderful World Of Self-Quantification To Take Your Health Into Your Own Hands (& The 11 Best Blood Tests To Get).

I recently had the pleasure to speak at the fabulous and intriguing "Kentucky Castle", a unique destination hotspot with a full biohacking facility, sauna, farm-to-table restaurant, precision medicine arm, hemp farm, horse facilities and much more. The castle is owned by one of the physicians who hosts the "Wild Health" podcast, on which I was recently a guest.

This is part one of a two part series that addresses the oft-confusing world of "taking your health into your own hands" via genetic testing, blood and biomarker tracking, sleep measurements and other forms of self-quantification. In part two, you'll get to sit in on a very interesting post-talk Q&A with myself and several of the physicians in attendance at the conference. Enjoy!

**Editor's Note: Forgive the extraneous background noises. All effort was made to ensure the clearest possible sound in spite of it :)

In this episode, you'll discover... -Ben's history as a bodybuilder, triathlete and his transition to his current message...9:00

• Bodybuilding is a bit of a biohacking sport
• Ben began to take lab tests and was shocked at the results
  • Pre-type 2 diabetes; inflammation
  • Healthy on the outside but dying on the inside
  • Inspired his first book Beyond Training
  • Doesn't work primarily with athletes anymore; mainly people who want to feel good and live a long time

-Some guidelines when examining your lab results...16:15

• Lab results indicate an absence of disease, not necessarily one's potential for health and longevity

The 11 Blood Biomarkers -RBC (red blood cell) Magnesium...26:10

• Insulin sensitivity, physical performance
• Different from extracellular magnesium
• Intracellular Diagnostics
• Jigsaw Health

-Estradiol...29:23

• Men need to be concerned with estrogen, not just women
• Dutch Test

-Testosterone...32:08

• Women should be concerned, not just men
• Hormones can be bound up by proteins
• You want 2% of your testosterone to be free

-High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP)...40:22

• Link between inflammation and heart attack risk
• Numbers will vary depending on your workout regimen

-Triglyceride HGL Ratio...43:25

• Is more important in determining your risk for C/V disease than total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol
• HGL to total cholesterol level: lower is better

-Full lipid panel, and an Omega 3 index...48:15

• Tells you the size of your cholesterol particles
• You want the particles to be "large and fluffy"; count should be low
• You want the Omega 3 index to be higher
• Highest risk zone (4% and below) = 90% chance of C/V disease

-Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)...52:10

• Good for getting bulked up; not so much for longevity
• View life as a set of press/pull cycles
• You want to live long, and live an enjoyable life too
  • Work hard, eat red meat one day; fast and yoga the next
• Sweet spot: 80-150

-Insulin...54:37

• Dexcom G6
• CBC with differential

-Iron...1:00:11

• Lipid peroxides result when interact with iron in the production of hydrogen peroxide (rust effect in the body)
• High iron levels contribute to a number of diseases and conditions

-Food allergies and sensitivities...1:02:41

• Ben's big beef with food allergy tests; you get a bunch of false positives
• Inaccuracies
• No double tests for each protein
• Cyrex Array 10 C: Ben's gold standard food allergy test
  • Must be ordered by a doctor
• Viome
  • My podcast with Naveen Jain, founder of Viome
• Onegevity
  • My podcast with the founders of Onegevity
• Mold toxins
  • See Cyrex Array 10 C above
• Micronutrients
  • Micronutrient analysis
• Gut
  • Microbiome test won't track parasites
  • GI Effects comprehensive stool panel
• Genes
  • Book: 100 Million Years of Food by Dr. Steven Le
  • Book: Dirty Genes by Dr. Ben Lynch
  • geneticgenie.org
  • Kion Coffee

-And much more... Resources from this episode:

-Book: Biochemical Individuality by Roger Williams -Oura Ring

Episode sponsors:

-Kion: My personal playground for new supplement formulations. Ben Greenfield Fitness listeners receive a 10% discount off your entire order when you use discount code: BGF10. -Organifi Gold: A new take on an ancient secret: Pain-soothing herbs, incredible antioxidants, and phytonutrients all in one delicious, soothing “Golden Milk” nighttime tea! Receive a 20% discount on your entire order when you use discount code: BENG20. -Thrive Market: Organic brands you love, for less. Your favorite organic food and products. Fast and free shipping to your doorstep. Receive 25% off your order when you use my link. -WHOOP: The performance tool that is changing the way people track their fitness and optimize their training. Save $30 off your order when you use discount code: GREENFIELD

Got a question for me about the 12 blood biomarkers I talked about in today's podcast? Just leave a comment below and I'll reply!

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