Here are the blood tests which you may want to have performed
* Basic Metabolic Panel, including Sodium; Potassium; Calcium; Chloride; Carbon dioxide; Glucose; Blood urea nitrogen (BUN); Creatinine.
* Hepatic Function Panel including ALT, AST, Albumin, AP, Bilirubin, and Total Protein.
* Lipid Panel including total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides).
* Blood pressure
* Complete Blood Cell count (CBC) including white blood cell with differential and red blood cell
* HbA1c
Also recommended are:
* Thyroid panel (TSH, T3; T4 and rT3 if possible)
* Fasting insulin
* Fasting cortisol
* Free testosterone (males) or estrogen (females)
* Albumin
Other tests useful for the purposes of the Study:
* DHEA-S
* IGF-1
* Body Fat (via calipers, buoyancy or DEXA scan)
* VO2 Max
* Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGGT)
* Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
* DEXA scan
Typical findings :
* Very low total and LDL cholesterol
* Low blood pressure, often including postural hypotension
* Low fasting blood glucose and HbA1c
* Low fasting insulin
* Low WBC, especially absolute lymphocyte count
* Low T3, particularly in combination with normal TSH and high rT3 as a result of low peripheral conversion of T4
* Mild brachycardia
* Elevated ALT and alk phos, especially during preliminary weight loss
* Low rennin
* Low creatinine
* Low BUN
* Low body temperature
* Elevated (women) or lowered (men) prolactin
* High MCV (in the absence of B12 or folate deficiency)
* Low levels of major sex steroids; elevated sex hormone binding globulin
Pay particular attention to :
Iron deficiency anemia is not unusual in CR practitioners, due to low heme iron consumption, high-phytate diets, and a metabolic reduction in iron absorption. Ferritin should be monitored regularly, and iron supplements (preferably polysaccharide-iron complex (eg. Niferex) or iron protein succinylate (eg. nonprescription IronSorb (Jarrow Formulas) or Iron Protein Plus (Life Extension Formulas
Of greater concern is the mild osteopenia that often accompanies weight loss. While this should be monitored closely, findings in humans (Fontana et al, 2005 (enclosed)) and animal studies (esp Black et al, 2001) suggest that reduced BMD is secondary to overall weight loss and is not a degenerative process: in particular, bone microarchitecture/“quality” may remain high in CR subjects, particularly when present in persons who are young and in otherwise good health, and may not predispose to fracture to a significant degree. The monitoring of markers of bone resorption (urinary C- or N-telopeptides) may be useful in distinguishing the former from the latter once weight has stabilized. Additionally, cadaver studies (Bolotin HH, 2001, 1998a, 1998b; Tothill 2005)) indicate that DEXA-assessed BMD may be systematically inaccurate for unusually slim subjects, principally as a result of absorptiometric disparities between the intra- and extraosseous soft tissues and he specific yellow/red marrow mix within the scanned bone; these inaccuracies exceed the precision error of available equipment and may either over- or under-represent true changes in BMD resulting from weight loss. This is a subject of ongoing study that is unlikely to be resolved for some years