Jake Carter (00:00):

I'm going to be unpacking six different ways that you can personalize your client's nutrition plans or maybe your own with specific foods by looking at blood work to gauge nutrient deficiencies in iodine, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and vitamin B six. And vitamin B12. So stay tuned. Welcome to Health School where we help health professionals create life-changing results for their clients and patients through functional medicine and nutrition, whilst equally helping them scale their business online and attract high value clients. I'm Jake Carter, your host and the founder of The Institute of Health. Make sure you sit back, grab your pen, but we're going to dive in deep.

(00:37)
The first nutrient we're going to go into today is iodine, and you may have already heard of this. It's so important for thyroid health because the main hormone produced T four requires four iodine molecules and one tyrosine molecule. When we look into the thyroid, it does many different things. It sets the metabolic pace of the body, so most people only associate that to metabolism, but it's also the speed of which we produce things like stomach acid, the speed of motility within the gut all the way through to hormone production. Now, iodine doesn't stop. There isn't only important for thyroid health, it's actually imperative for breast health as well. So there's a few things we're going to do. We're going to first of all look in the blood work. We're just going to give you one key marker to pay attention to, and then we're going to look at some subjective biofeedback markers.

(01:20)
These are questions, these are symptoms that you could assess to gain insight into the probability of iodine deficiency. And then what we're going to do next is look into the top ranking foods for iodine, what you can add into someone's diet. And then what we're going to do is look into the top ranking foods of iodine of what you can then add into someone's diet if they have the blood work and if they have the symptoms, which suggests that you should do so looking into blood work, what you can actually do is look into free T four or total T four. This isn't going to definitively indicate that iodine is low if T four is low, but it's going to give you a strong hunch. So then the next thing, what you want to do here is look into the subjective biofeedback markers, and this could range from fibrocystic breast tissue, so this is obviously going to be more common in women.

(02:07)
And then we could look into things like infertility because generally when people suffer from hypothyroidism, it is harder for them to have children. So if they're experiencing fertility issues, it may correlate to issues with their thyroid. On top of this, we can recognize that individuals with obesity generally have lower thyroid function, whether that is cause or effect, it depends on the individual, but that is a factor what you could look into there. And then we could look into certain other factors which associate to low thyroid function, such as tiredness, such as headaches in the morning, such as an enlarged thyroid or other symptoms like this. Now, if your client has low FT four, and if their markers are below 15 PML per liter, that's going to give you a bit of an indication that it may be something you want to investigate. So the third step, what we'd do here is then look into the diet.

(02:55)
We'd want to make sure that they're consuming iodine rich foods, and if they're not, you want to add some of these in. So number one is seaweed per hundred grams of seaweed. It actually provides 664 micrograms of iodine. Number two, we've got cranberries, a hundred grams of cranberries provides 400 micrograms of iodine. And then next upon the list, believe it or not, we actually have camel milk. Now, if you're working with clients in Egypt, this is a lot more accessible. A hundred milliliters of this can provide 210 micrograms of iodine, and then we go to things like cotton haddock, a hundred grams of this can provide 150 micrograms of iodine. Then we have Greek yogurt, a hundred grams of this can provide 116 micrograms. And then last but not least, we have one egg. One egg can provide 26 micrograms of iodine. So you can see there's a big difference from seaweed all the way through to eggs, and we want to take that into account because if someone doesn't have access to seaweeds and they doesn't have access to cranberries or caramel milk, well then the next on the list is going to be cards hadda, and maybe we want to support that and lift it up with some eggs there.

(03:57)
On the flip side, there are some risks for iodine. If someone has Hashimoto's, we don't want to put too much iodine into their diet. It may actually make it worse because the area, the tissue within the thyroid gland, which produces the antibodies, may actually get aggravated here with any excess of iodine. So bear that in mind. So that is mineral number one, iodine. Now we're going to go into selenium, which is also associated to thyroid health. So continuing on with selenium, one thing that we want to pay attention to on blood work isn't T four, it's actually T three. Selenium is essential for the conversion of T four through to T three. So if selenium is low, there's fundamentally going to be low levels of T three. So if we are seeing low levels of FT three below 4.5 P more per liter, that could be an indicator of low selenium in someone's diet.

(04:49)
On top of this, we could actually elevated RT three, and if we see this elevated over 200 PG per L, then that's going to be an indication that they may not have enough selenium as well, because the T three may be converting to RT three, and that can be stopping the reception from being as effective. On the flip side, we equally have the subjective questions to ask. So if someone has brittle nails, if they have cold intolerance, particularly hands and feet, if they have menstrual irregularities, depression, if they have hair loss fatigue. And then one which is quite unique to selenium is a weakened grip. These are all subjective biofeedback markers that they may be deficient. Then we want to look into the food and make sure they're actually consuming selenium rich foods. And if not, maybe we want to add some in. So first on the list, we have Brazil nuts, a hundred grams of Brazil nuts provides 544 micrograms of selenium.

(05:39)
Next we have kidney a hundred grams of this provides 125 micrograms of selenium. Then we have yellowfin tuna, a hundred grams provides 92 micrograms. Then we have crab a hundred grams of this provides 75 micrograms. We have muscles a hundred grams of this provides 72 micrograms. And then last but not least, we have sardines. A hundred grams of sardines provides 45 micrograms of selenium. So third on this list we have magnesium. I'm sure you've heard of this before and you probably even supplement it already. Magnesium is required for a number of things within the body. In fact, it's required for 350 different biochemical reactions. Some of them include the breakdown of stress chemicals such as the requirement for cat polymethyl, transferase, COMT, and breaking down things like norepinephrine. We equally require that same enzyme to convert estrogen into healthy forms. We require it for brain health, we require it for methylation, we require it for insulin sensitivity.

(06:31)
There's many different things what we need magnesium for. So first up on the blood work, we want to look into G gt, which stands for gamma transferase as part of the liver enzymes. When this is low, it can correlate to low levels of zinc, low levels of magnesium. It can correlate to the oral concept of pill use because that simply depletes both of those minerals. It can equally indicate glutathione requirements too. So don't forget this is just one marker isn't definitive, but it has got a correlation to this. So when we see GGT below 18 units per liter, it could indicate magnesium deficiency, but nonetheless, we want to get cross correlations here so we can have a stronger prediction in the likelihood of this being true. Next up, we have vitamin D. If we see this chronically low despite sun exposure or even supplementation, this could equally indicate magnesium deficiency because we require magnesium for vitamin D to work effectively.

(07:20)
On top of this, we may see high levels of potassium in the blood. And then last but not least, there is serum magnesium on the blood test, but this doesn't really represent a large portion of magnesium in the body. Studies show that it only represents around 1%, so it's not that strong to go off there. Now equally, we want to look on the biofeedback markers and we may see things like anxiety. We may see things like irritability, we might see twitching, eyes, cramps, twitching, calf muscles. We might see things like photosensitivity headaches. We could even see insomnia or high blood pressure or high stress as well. If your client has any of those symptoms or if they have some of the blood work markers as well, then this is going to give you an indication to do that third step again and investigate that diet a little further and make sure they're consuming some of these foods.

(08:07)
And if not, you may want to add them in. Those foods can range from pumpkin seeds with a hundred grams of pumpkin seeds providing 535 milligrams of magnesium, which is a huge amount. It's actually more than twice as much as cacao, which largely gets touted for its magnesium rich sauce. Next on that list, we have Brazil nuts, a hundred grams of Brazil nuts provides 380 milligrams of magnesium. Then we have almonds, a hundred grams of this provides 285 milligrams of magnesium. Then we have flaxseed, which provides 266 milligrams, KE notes 257, and then we have a hundred grams of cacao, which provides 228 milligrams. So as you can see, pumpkin seeds and Brazil nuts are an awesome source of magnesium here. Hey, if this has been useful so far, we'd love to share some of our resources with you. So simply reach out on Instagram and send the word podcast.

(08:58)
So the next marker is zinc. Now, zinc is important for many different things. It's required in the production of stomach acid. So if someone has low levels of zinc, they're going to have possibly lower levels of stomach acid, and it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy because we equally require stomach acid to actually assimilate the zinc in the body. On top of this, we require zinc for a white blood cell production, which is actually a marker we're going to talk about in a second. So therefore, our immune system, and we even need zinc to produce luteinizing hormone. So in males, luteinizing hormone goes to the late cells and the testicles to stimulate the production of testosterone. That's just a snapshot. It's required for many different things, even cellular repair. So on blood work, what we could look at here is low A LP alkaline phosphatase. If this is below 60 units per liter, we are going to be considering zinc deficiency.

(09:44)
Generally, when we look into people which are plant-based, we see this closer towards 40 units per liter, which is obviously reflective of the lack of bioavailable zinc inside their diet. Next up, we want to look into white blood cells, and if we see white blood cells below five, then we're going to be questioning whether or not there is sufficient zinc status. It could equally correlate to things like high stress or chronic infection or many of the things, but nonetheless, this is just a snapshot of what it could possibly correlate to. On top of this, we could then look into total protein. Now granted, if someone is plant-based, total protein may be lower, but if we see total protein below 6.8 grams per liter, we may start to question whether their zinc status is sufficient. Now, in terms of some biofeedback markers we may want to pay attention to, we could look into things like acne dermatitis, we could look into eczema, psoriasis, we could look into a reduced appetite.

(10:37)
We could even look into a loss of taste or even a loss of smell because they are zinc dependent. Equally, we could pay attention to an increased frequency of sickness and illness. We could pay attention to white spots on the nails or even vertical ridges on the nails. So as you can see, there's a number of different things we can look into here in terms of food sources for zinc, we have oysters leading the way, so a hundred grams of oysters provide 61 milligrams of zinc. Now the catch here is that oysters can equally behind things like cadmium, and we may want to be mindful of that. That is a heavy metal and that can bioaccumulate in our body and create harm. On top of this, we even have hemp seeds, which is a great source for plant-based dieters. The only catch here is that a hundred grams of hemp seeds provides 10 milligrams of zinc, which is reasonable, but the caveat here is that's a lot of fat and a lot of calories, which is going to be consuming a large portion of their dietary intake.

(11:30)
Moving on, we have beef a hundred grams of beef generally provides 11 milligrams of zinc, and then we have lamb, a hundred grams of lamb provides seven milligrams of zinc, and then we have clams around 20 clams provides five milligrams of zinc. So there we have it. They are the food sources there. So if your client has any issues with those biofeedback markers or if you can see these certain markers being low on the blood such as low ALP, low WBC, or low total protein, then we may want to consider assessing their diet and ensuring that they're consuming at least some of these zinc rich foods. So second to last on this list, we have vitamin B six. Now vitamin B six can be assessed on blood work through a number of different things. We may see things like low AST and low ALT.

(12:12)
So if we see the AST being below 15 units per liter or the ALT being below 12 units per liter, this could potentially indicate vitamin B six deficiency. We could even see things like low GGT. If GGT is below 18, that could equally indicate low B6 or if we see low MCV mean COR cellular volume. If this is below 85, this could potentially indicate B six deficiency. And then last but not least, if we see high levels of prolactin, that could potentially correlate to B six deficiency as well because studies show that vitamin B six, particularly in the form of paradoxical five phosphate at 50 milligrams per day, works as effectively as sare goal to reduce prolactin levels. Now, in regards to the biofeedback markers, the things that you can ask and assess on your clients, they may exhibit symptoms of cracked lips and inflamed tongues or glossitis.

(13:02)
They could have dermatitis, so inflammation on the skin, they could have sleeplessness, they could have anxiety, they could have depression or irritability. The reason for that is P five P, the bioactive form of B six is required to convert five hydroxytryptophan through to serotonin. It's required to convert DOPA through to dopamine and equally convert glutamate through to gaba. So dopamine, serotonin, and equally GABA are all neurotransmitters responsible for different mood and behavior. Now, when looking into the foods, pistachios leads the way in terms of its rich source of vitamin B six. We can see a hundred grams of pistachios provides 1.7 milligrams of vitamin B six. Now obviously with any nut sauce seeds, a hundred grams is going to provide a large amount of fat, probably between 30 and 50 grams of fat. So anywhere from, let's just say 300 to 500 calories. So in some cases, we have to be mindful and use lesser dense nutrient sources such as maybe in this case tuna or chicken and have a higher volume because in that case, we're not eating into the macronutrients and calories what we'd want to be giving clients.

(14:07)
Next on this list, which is rich in vitamin B six, we have sunflower seeds. A hundred grams of this provides 1.3 milligrams. Then we have garlic, which is 1.2 milligrams. We have chicken breast at 1.2, ground Turkey at 1.1, and then we have tuna at one milligram. So they are the options if your client exhibits any signs and symptoms of B six deficiency. Now granted with some of these vitamins, we do require certain genes to effectively utilize them and convert them into the bioavailable form. So sometimes the dietary forms may not actually rectify the depleted state within their body. Now the last one, vitamin B12. Now this is largely deficient in plant-based dieters simply given that the foods which you can get B12 from are kind of removed from their diet. So when looking on blood work, we can see things like high MCV. We could see this being over 90.

(14:58)
We could see high MCH and this being above 32, or we could see high mc, hc, and this being above 350. Equally, we could pay attention to homocysteine, and if homocysteine is above eight UL per liter, we may want to start paying attention to their vitamin B12 status. The reason for that is methylation is a process which recycles homocysteine and also helps with cellular regeneration. So we may actually start to experience cells being kind of hanging around for a period of time and getting bigger and therefore less durable. So this is why we'd expect to see higher MCV and equally elevated homocysteine. Now, some of the benefits for vitamin B12 can range from neuromuscular coordination. It can correlate to cognition and even energy. So when we take that into account, when we look into the symptoms here, well, we might start to see things like fatigue coming into play.

(15:49)
We could see neurological problems even tingling or numbness in the extremities. Now, that is equally a symptom when people have vitamin B12 toxicity, so be mindful of that. On top of this, we could see low stomach acid being a problem here because we need sufficient stomach acid levels to break B12 down from the food. And equally, the peral cells within the stomach, which produce stomach acid are also required to produce something called intrinsic factor, which bans onto the B12 to assist with the absorption into the ilium and absorbed into the body there. And then on top of these symptoms, we can see poor memory recall and depression now for the food sources. So liver leads the way when it comes to B12, a hundred grams of beef liver actually provide 17 micrograms of vitamin B12, which to put this into reflection of the RDA, the recommended daily allowance, which we like to reframe as the recommended deficiency allowance because when you have below the RDA, you start to become deficient and problems start to occur, but nonetheless, as a comparative tool here we can see that just a hundred grams of beef liver provides 2916% of the RDA.

(16:49)
So it's huge in comparison to the RDA. Now, equally we have chicken liver, which has much less B12, a hundred grams of chicken. Liver provides 21 micrograms of B12 there. Now, we don't want to consume liver too often or too much because there could be some challenges there when it comes into other nutrients, which we might have in excess, such as iron, for example. Next on this list we have herring, a hundred grams of herring provides 14.2 micrograms of vitamin B12. Then we have macro, a hundred grams of macro, provides 7.6 micrograms of B12, and then we have smoked trout, which provides 4.6 micrograms of B12. Last but not least, we have muscles a hundred grams of muscles, provides 21.5 micrograms of vitamin B12. So there we have it. This just really shows you the power of asking the right questions, looking on blood work, understanding the markers on a deeper level, and equally understanding the power of food so you can truly personalize your client's plans. When you can do this, you can overcome health challenges and you can equally compound success and build momentum to create life changing results. So if you want to download any of our resources, check out the description below because we have a ton of information which you can use in your business for your clients to truly create life changing results and implement blood work into your business.