High fasting serum insulin levels in a blood test can certainly suggest a high carbohydrate diet over a longer period of time. This can also suggest a possible “insulin resistance” issue if the serum insulin result is quite elevated, which can be a risk factor for the development of diabetes.

We know that blood glucose cannot get into a cell without the help of insulin to “open the door” to the cell. But even in the presence of high blood glucose and high insulin, glucose levels can remain high or get very high, which can lead to diabetes.

I’ve come across a different thought on this situation from a Professor of Human Physiology and Nutrition, Prof Bart Kay. He says that “insulin resistance” is not a pathogenic situation at all, but a protective mechanism!

​We also know that having a high blood sugar level is very toxic in the body, as it causes high inflammation and oxidative damage to cells and organs and tissues. In situations of high blood sugar and insulin, the cells will already have enough unused/stored glucose and Prof Kay suggests that our cells know that high blood sugar causes oxidative damage and hence won’t allow any more glucose into the cell to prevent further oxidative damage. This is therefore a protective mechanism by the body and the cells!

Unfortunately this protective mechanism to stop oxidative damage then can lead to other symptoms and eventually to diabetes. I get his thoughts on this, but insulin resistance still occurs and will lead to further health issues. I also understand that insulin resistance is not a root cause of diabetes development, but it is a factor. But we still have to go back to the root causes of the high oxidative damage, high inflammation, high blood sugar and high insulin levels, and reduce or limit or even temporarily avoid carbs which is driving the whole chain of events.

This metabolic process of limiting fuel intake into a cell also occurs to prevent of fats for fuel if a cell is currently using carbs and has enough of this in the cell. This also happens if a cell has sufficient fats inside to use for energy - it won't take in any more fuel, including carbs, as the current priority fuel is fats. This is a metabolic process called the "Randle Cycle".

Does this different perspective of high blood sugar, insulin and oxidative damage make sense to you? What are your thoughts on this being a protective mechanism?

I cover a lot more on insulin and diabetes, including additional root causes and factors in the IIFP Level 3 pathology analysis training course.

See more on the IIFP courses on our website here.

An iron deficiency occurs in stages, as the attached infographic shows. But you might not see these stages developing, as people don't often get regular blood tests, so we more likely see that they are well into anaemia and iron deficiency symptoms when they see us and we analyse their results.

However these stages and resulting changes in iron studies biomarkers are not always the same as in the infographic, as there are other factors which can affect the iron-related markers, especially of Ferritin. As a result, Ferritin isn't always the first biomarker to show the signs of a possible iron deficiency.

Hence the 4 stage progression, assuming no infection or inflammation or tissue damage, should be:

Stage 1 – the iron stores as Ferritin, starts showing as low
Stage 2 - the iron being available to be transported, being the Transferrin Saturation %, starts showing as low
Stage 3 – Haemoglobin, the oxygen transport protein in the red blood cells, starts showing as low due to the reduced iron
Stage 4 – MCV is usually the last of these biomarkers to show low iron, in our experience.

More often we would actually see that Transferrin Saturation starts showing as low first, and before low ferritin shows as low!

Also, a reminder to never just test for Ferritin on its own, or interpret iron levels from this one biomarker! In so many cases, we have seen low Ferritin in early to advanced stages of iron overload conditions (such as Haemochromatosis)! We have seen doctors and other practitioners recommending iron infusions and/or iron supplements in these cases of low Ferritin, when all other iron-related biomarkers are showing as very high iron overload situation.

Pathology analysis is an art and a science!

Learn more about pathology analysis on our website (including EOFY special deals on now!) from the IIFP training courses for practitioners!

This article is a reminder for health practitioners who check blood test results, including GPs, doctors, Nutritionists, Naturopaths, Dietitians, Allied Health practitioners, and others. This information and advice is especially related to the Iron Studies test and its biomarkers.

Please remember this – you CANNOT determine if a patient has an iron deficiency or overload just from checking the Serum Ferritin test result!

Despite what you may have been taught in college, university, or from other sources, Ferritin is NOT the main or best test for a patient’s iron status. The full Iron Studies test MUST be done (ie, serum iron, TIBC and/or Transferrin, Transferrin Saturation and Ferritin), and ALL of the Iron Studies test results must be checked and interpreted TOGETHER!

Too many times we have seen practitioners, including doctors/GPs and others, suggesting that a patient has an iron deficiency or overload issue just from Ferritin alone, but all the other iron results indicate the opposite diagnosis. If the wrong diagnosis is made, such as an iron deficiency when in fact the patient has all the signs of an iron overload but with low Ferritin, the prescribed treatment of iron supplements and/or iron infusions can make the patient’s symptoms much worse. 

If your practitioner is only testing for Serum Ferritin, or diagnosing either an iron deficiency or even an iron overload issue from Ferritin only, then send them the link to this page!.

The full article, with detailed explanations of three real case studies of recent patients being incorrectly diagnosed and treated, based on their Ferritin results, complete with references to published studies, is attached here as a PDF file to download for your reference.
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When I see new clients for the first time and they bring in their pathology results from their GP/doctors, 99% of the time they were told by their doctor that the results "were all normal". Clearly the results are not normal, or they wouldn't go to see the doctor!

Why do doctors or other practitioners typically never find issues in the pathology results?

Because they simply compare your latest result to the "Reference Range" from the lab. The Reference Range is sometimes called the "normal range" or "standard range" when it is neither normal nor a standard!

As you can see in the above pathology test results, this is the same test from the same client at 2 different labs, admittedly at different times, showing very different "reference ranges" for the same test markers. This is because the reference range is the lab's own statistical average, of people who get that test at that lab.

So a question to think about - "Do healthy people get blood tests?"!

Do you get it? Do you now understand why doctors almost never find issues in your blood tests?

The reference range is just a statistical average of UNHEALTHY people who get blood tests!

That is NOT the way to correctly use or interpret blood tests.

This frustrated me so much in the past that I spent a lot of time and money on training courses to learn more about pathology tests and analysing the results, on textbooks and reading many studies, and I have developed my own unique way of analysing and interpreting blood test results, and reporting software, to provide this as an extra service for everyone. I have even developed 3 training courses for other practitioners to learn this new method of pathology analysis which many hundreds of Nutritionists, Naturopaths and other practitioners have done.

Just yesterday I had a new client with major mental health symptoms which recently started, including severe anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, mood swings, being very emotional for no reason, and fatigue. She had new blood test results from her GP and she was told that everything was "normal". So the GP couldn't (and didn't) do anything to help, because there was apparently nothing wrong in the test results. Truly pathetic.

I found in her results that there were several major nutrient deficiencies which directly cause mental health symptoms, even though her diet is very good. She had also results clearly showing major anaemia, low immune system function, reduced kidney function, low thyroid function, and probable haemochromatosis (a hereditary blood condition, to be tested to confirm), all missed by the doctor.

For other clients I have found very obvious signs of chronic health conditions, and including cancers, again missed (or ignored) by the doctor. I would say that I have always found something in the blood test results which explains the symptoms and conditions, when clients were told that everything was ok.

I analyse pathology results in a different way, which is how we at the IIFP trained practitioners:
• By not using the useless statistical ranges which are the lab reference ranges, and using "optimal ranges" which are based on healthy people instead
• Looking for confirmations across multiple test results
• Looking for combinations of results which can point to causes of the symptoms and conditions
• Understanding the nutritional factors and co-factors which can affect results, and especially looking for nutrient deficiencies in the results
• Interpreting the results as a whole
• Looking for organ dysfunctions which can be causing or contributing to symptoms and conditions.

By all means get pathology tests done with your GP/doctor, but if you are told that everything is normal when you clearly have some symptoms or are unwell, get a second opinion from us here at the IIFP, or an IIFP-trained practitioner!

More information on these services on the other pages on this website.

We can provide a short consultation to review blood test results, and a report on our analysis, and recommendations for action and further tests if appropriate. This pathology analysis service can also be used for those who think they are healthy, for prevention purposes, or to find issues before they become a major problem.

Stay healthy!

Dr Norman Swan, a so-called celebrity doctor is often on the ABC as a medical advisor. He was the Australian federal government's main health spokesman during the COVID years, where he was (and still is) pushing the you-know-what as being "safe and effective". Despite all the science to the contrary.

In his almost 50 years as a doctor, he seems to have learnt something shocking today!

Dr Swan had an interview with a fellow doctor about blood tests for liver function and fatty liver disease. She explained how she quickly skims through pathology results which have come in from the labs each day, which is a concern. She was only looking for highlighted or bolded results for patients which fall outside of the reference range, and nothing else!

Dr Swan told a story from a listener about her husband's blood test results, and in particular the liver function markers, which were in the "normal" range but he in fact had a fatty liver. He spoke with a liver specialist doctor who said that the pathology lab's reference ranges (she called them the "normal ranges") are lab-specific, even when labs use the same equipment! If the normal ranges are lab-specific, they are also location-specific too, as population centres with more cases of fatty liver will have different reference ranges to other locations. Dr Swan was "gobsmacked" when he learnt this!

I could have told him 10 years ago!

I wonder what Dr Swan will say when he finds out that the reference ranges for ALL blood pathology results are just a statistical average of unhealthy peoples' results! This is not a great way at all to interpret patients' blood test results.

It seems that all the doctors in this podcast need to do the IIFP pathology analysis training courses, and to learn how to properly interpret all blood test results!

Here's the link to the ABC interview with Dr Swan:
www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/healthreport/fatty-liver-function-alt-test/105234594
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For more info on the IIFP pathology analysis training courses, please see the other links on this website.

While this is a funny pathology related meme, it is so close to the truth!

But also what you can do about it...

We regularly hear about patients being told that their bloods are all "normal", when they have a number of symptoms and they are not feeling well. Because doctors don't understand how to interpret blood test results properly. So what hope do these patients have to getting answers to their health issues? They need to come to see YOU, but only if YOU know how to interpret the blood test results properly, in a holistic, personalised and holistic/naturopathic way!

With the IIFP (Institute for Integrative and Functional Pathology) training courses on interpreting and understanding pathology results, you can find issues in a patient's results, even when they are told that there's nothing wrong. You can find issues well before they become a serious problem. And you can help these patients and turn their health issues around!

Have a look at the IIFP's pathology analysis training courses and resources on this website, including  our pathology analysis software for helping you to analyse the results and generate reports for patients, and bundles of the training and software too.
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