In this episode, Tara breaks down why blood work is one of the most powerful tools for navigating your health — especially in perimenopause and midlife. She explains how conventional medicine often relies on lab ranges based on unhealthy population averages, which can leave many women feeling dismissed even when they don’t feel well. Instead, Tara advocates for interpreting labs through a functional, optimal range lens, offering a clearer, more personalized picture of what’s really happening in your body.
She dives into the most important blood markers to monitor annually to protect against risks like dementia, heart disease, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes — including fasting insulin, glucose, HBA1C, glycomark, cholesterol ratios, and liver health indicators. Tara also highlights the nuances of thyroid and iron metabolism in midlife, why oversimplified interpretations can lead to missed diagnoses, and how comprehensive reviews can uncover root causes behind symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and brain fog.
This episode is packed with empowering, actionable information to help you advocate for better care, understand your body’s signals, and make informed, proactive choices for your health.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Comprehensive Blood Work Reviews – Discover the difference between a standard blood test review and a deep dive into the nuances of your results.
- Interpreting Lab Reference Ranges – Learn why the traditional lab ranges might not always reflect the healthiest standards.
- Key Metabolic Markers – Understand which markers are essential to monitor for optimal metabolic health and why they're critical as we age.
- Iron and Vitamin D Insights – Find out why relying solely on ferritin for iron levels and high doses of vitamin D might not be the best approach.
- Thyroid Health Nuances – Explore the complexities behind thyroid markers and why a comprehensive test is more telling.
You may also enjoy these episodes:
Episode 123: Caution should be taken when supplementing vitamin D, iron & selenium. Do not DIY these supplements!
Episode 22: All about cholesterol, (& how it doesn't cause heart disease).
Mentioned in this episode:
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The Hormone Balance Solution™ – My signature 6-month comprehensive hormonal health program for women in midlife who want to get solid answers to their hormonal health issues once and for all so they can kick the weight gain, moodiness, gut problems, skin issues, period problems, fatigue, overwhelm, insomnia, hair/eyebrow loss, and other symptoms in order to get back to the woman they once were.
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[BOOK A 30-MINUTE SESSION WITH TARA HERE]
Hi, I'm Tara Thorne, FDN-P, RHN, FNC, CMRCP. Basically? I’m a women's health and hormone expert. After serving thousands of women in my 10+ years of clinical experience, I bring you The Hormone Balance Solution podcast – a podcast aimed to educate and empower midlife women.
Midlife can be a confronting time but it doesn’t have to be a bumpy ride. No matter where you’re at, or where you’ve come from we can get you feeling better in midlife than you have in years – plus set yourself up for healthier decades to come.
I’ll be bringing you weekly doses of inspiration, education and conversations with amazing people to give you real, actionable strategies for supporting your health now and in the future.
So tune in, make sure you’re subscribed, leave a review, and get ready to learn important health information that isn’t readily available …. everything you need to know and nothing you don't.
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