A Conversation on Blood Work and Health | ETP#105

[aaron_straker]: 0:28

What's going on, guys, Happy Tuesday. Welcome back to another episode of Eat Train Prosper. Today is going to be an up date episode on Brian and myself. We are going to do a little bit of a deep dive into our current training and nutrition, and then a little bit of forecasting for what we are pretty much planning to do over the next six months or so. as always, we have some updates. Brian. can you kick us off?

[bryan]: 0:52

Yeah, we made it to San Diego. That's probably my biggest up date. Three days driving here went through Santa Fe, Scotts Dale, and then finally to San Diego, and it was cool. I've never taken the southern route before. In the prior years, we've always taken the northern rout, which takes us through Moab, and then Vegas, and then San Diego. From there, so taking the southern route was pretty cool. San Fe was an interesting town At seventy three hundred foot vertical. So it's It's higher than Boulder is, and it was colder and snowier than Boulder. And then I had this idea in my brain for some reason that as soon as we left San, F. it was going to be like a change in weather and I was going to be warm for, like our drive to Scottsdale, I was wrong because basically you are on this elevated plateau for that entire drive, so it was like seven hours, Scott's Dale. It didn't warm up until six and a half hours. In. like literally, we're on the top of this plateau six hours later driving and we're still at seven thousand foot vertical. Um, you know, going through New Mexico and then Arizona and Kim sitting there like I didn't know Arizona was like this and I was like Yeah, Arizona's got all sorts of crazy topography, but it really felt like we were just in the mountains the entire time and then suddenly we descend down and we're in Scott's Dale, And it's like sixty five degrees and sunny. That was a little weird, but but we made it and that's awesome. The weather. the first two days here has been great and we spent a ton of time outside, bought Bryce in a bike, so we didn't actually bring his bike. I figured I would buy him when here because he was needing an upgrade anyways. he had this fourteen inch wheel bike that he had been using and he was way too small for him, so I got him a twenty inch pike, which Is maybe slightly too big for him, but he took it for a spin, handled it like a boss and has gears so literally it's like the wildest thing you have, this five year old kid who's all of forty two pounds and he's on this twenty inch bike that has seven years, and he's like, Not even strong enough to change the gears. He can. He can change the gears to make it harder so he can go from like one, two, three, four, five, six seven. but then he can't get it back from seven to six to five to four to three, so it's like it's actually Bit of a problem. But but yeah, it's been cool and I'm just I'm excited to go out and bike with him. However, the next four days are supposed to be rainy and in the fifties, like all day rain, and I think this may just be the remnants of this storm that's about to hit the rest of the country. So boulder, Wisconsin, the whole Midwest is about to get crushed by a huge snow storm. and I think it's just probably rain in San Diego. So that's what we're experiencing here. and then My ham string is doing a lot better, so it's continuing to improve. I was able to do my single leg girls with forty five pounds this week and it was twenty five pounds last week. My strong leg is doing them with seventy five pounds, so I went from like a third of the way there to two thirds of the way there, and then hopefully next week or the week after I can. I can do the whole thing. Still a little bit hesitant to try by lateral r. d. L's. I kind of want to just stick with single leg stuff as much as I can Until the strength evens out just so I avoid any sort of like compensation injuries under load and stuff like that, but I was even able to jog the other day, not like I went out purposefully to jog, but Bryson got a little too far ahead of me on his bike, and so I had to jog after him a little bit, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could actually jog at like a slow pace, but definitely no sprinting in my future, that's for sure. And then I did a double cardioday yesterday, so I had missed a number of training days through the trip out here because we left Thursday and then didn't train Friday, Saturday, or actually, Sunday, I did train. I was able to get to the gym, but basically three days of no training and no cardio, So yesterday I did zone two and then rested for three hours, got some food and then Zone five, So that was just a massive day of output. My apple watch, I set to seven hundred calories of expenditure, as like my daily goal, and that, in most cases is either twelve thousand steps and no other exercise, or it's obviously some exercise and then fewer steps. but yesterday my watch said I hit sixteen hundred Alaries of expenditure, So that's like the equivalent of probably thirty thousand steps. Or what I did was twelve thousand steps, and then a ton of actual exercise. So that was wild. I haven't done a day of that much energy output for a really long time, and slept super well last night. Also sea level is a wild thing. Um, especially because I've spent the last year in elevation. I know Just two things with sea level One that my cardio output was way improved. I could maintain a hundred and forty plus beats per minute for my zone two, and it felt easier than when I maintain a hundred and thirty five beats per minute at elevation. And then I slept really well, too. The last two nights of being at sea level, my sleep has been insane. I slept six hours unbroken last night before I woke up to go P, one time, and I don't think I've made six hours on Broken in years. I mean literally years. So that's kind of wild to kind of makes me wonder if maybe sea levels like a better place to be, But that's definitely not something I'm going to to do as far as moving or anything is just just you know, food for thought type thing. But anyway, I did get my blood work back. I was kind of talking about on the last episode How it just was never coming back. It finally came back. So I want to talk about that a bit. but before I'm gonna pass it over to Aaron and let him talk a little bit.

[aaron_straker]: 7:26

Yeah, the thought that not a thought, but follow up to the sea level comment. It's what is it when there's a specific term for like when something is like brand new, and then you get the like you know stamp stimulus from it and then it kind of fades over time.

[bryan]: 7:41

Repeated.

[aaron_straker]: 7:41

I can't

[bryan]: 7:41

bad

[aaron_straker]: 7:41

think

[bryan]: 7:41

effect.

[aaron_straker]: 7:41

of.

[bryan]: 7:42

Maybe,

[aaron_straker]: 7:43

Yeah, but it's like The the longer you stay at sea level, you basically adapt

[bryan]: 7:48

Oh, you

[aaron_straker]: 7:48

to

[bryan]: 7:48

just

[aaron_straker]: 7:48

that

[bryan]: 7:48

adapt

[aaron_straker]: 7:48

environment.

[bryan]: 7:48

to it and it becomes normal.

[aaron_straker]: 7:49

Yeah, I mean, because that's always happened to me and then conversely, like when you go from sea level, Like Denver for a week, or you know, Salt Lake or something like that, you're like Whoa. Why am I getting my ass kicked Like walking around? You know,

[bryan]: 8:04

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 8:04

Why is

[bryan]: 8:04

I mean,

[aaron_straker]: 8:04

my

[bryan]: 8:04

I'm

[aaron_straker]: 8:04

sleep

[bryan]: 8:05

not.

[aaron_straker]: 8:05

dog

[bryan]: 8:06

I'm

[aaron_straker]: 8:06

ship?

[bryan]: 8:06

not excited to go back to the boulder and have to deal with that re adaptation to the elevation again. That's goin to

[aaron_straker]: 8:13

Yeah,

[bryan]: 8:13

be normally.

[aaron_straker]: 8:14

When we were in twenty twenty one, living in Salt Lake and then went to Scottsdale Right after that, we went hiking like the second day we got in and I was like, Why is this so easy? It was like crushing it, My heart. He was like super low. I was like barely breathing hard. and I was like, Oh yeah, we just came from altitude right and then within like two weeks I was a regular ass person again. Unfortunately,

[bryan]: 8:37

Yeah, I have that to look forward to.

[aaron_straker]: 8:41

Some updates on me. Me is doing so so much better again. What? I kind of what I was hoping for what happened. There were still times where I would have to laterally step gingerly. Really good examples like moving heavier. dumb bells would be a very cautious. very, you know, non natural movement sort of thing. Excuse me, and this has been kind of faded away and it does feel feel pretty good. Now barely noticeable. I was able to Push the Hack squad which was my first week on a new hack squad quite hard. There was like I could feel a tension in that knee area at the very very bottom of like a fully lengthened quad. But as you know, I performed my hack squads very slow and controlled eccentric. A pause in the bottom. There's no like quick rebounding off of tending or anything like that. It felt really good, so I am happy. the knees Damn near. you know. hundred percent,

[bryan]: 9:43

That's

[aaron_straker]: 9:43

um,

[bryan]: 9:43

awesome.

[aaron_straker]: 9:45

yeah, I'm very very excited about it. I am also officially out of new gym there. One of the new gyms have the like grand opening. All of the equipment every piece of equipment is in except the like extension, which leads me into my next you know kind of note here. I was really interested to see like Okay, I don't have a like extension, but I have like. I'm going to modify some things in my program, Man, and let's see like Can I put together a really really stimulant as stimulative of F, a quad session without the leg extension. So without training that kind of fully shortened position Um. and with the hack squad and the leg press essentially there the hack squad is good. It's not great. It is one where there's like a big gap like we have. Okay for everyone watching on Ou tube. We have actually the angle of the sled, but the foot plate doesn't meet at the bottom. The footplate starts

[bryan]: 10:39

M.

[aaron_straker]: 10:39

up Here, so there's This is just like open air there, and there's only so low You can put your feet. And what happens is then, at the to get like the very full range of motion, you're actually getting less knee flexion and your knee actually rotates back into. I guess

[bryan]: 10:57

Hm,

[aaron_straker]: 10:57

what would be extension slightly and you're getting that final rum at hip flexion.

[bryan]: 11:02

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 11:02

Um, so I was able to get like a very, a good quad stimulus out of Not as good as I could on the previous hack where I had full deflection, the entire maxim deflection and then the leg press, of course, doesn't go to depth and it was like Okay, Well, I'm just going to do like dead stop, you know, lower it to the very very bottom in the and then dead stop. The hard thing there is that just becomes very very hip dominant. So I took those.

[bryan]: 11:34

Hm,

[aaron_straker]: 11:34

Essentially the failure actually did fail. One of them. push that as hard as I could. And then I was like Okay, I'm goin t see, and from that I'm like I have. My third exercise would generally be the like extensions, and I was like I could go do like sissy squads, but I was like, I don't really want to put my knee under the sissy squad strain right now. It's like just feeling good. I don't want to push it. but the answer was like No, I couldn't get as good as a quad stimulus. And now you know it's Wednesday morning for me here. Wednesday is when I would find my quads would be like most sore, and my weight with spike the most from the inflammation in that, And to a much less notable degree, so I was kind of had to answer my question. Like does the kind of equipment the the options the equipment give you like? Is that a degree of? does that play a role and how good of a stimulus you can get, Sort of thing, Because that's something that I've always kind of thought I was like. For years, you know, I tried. I trained super hard, but I could never get that quad pump or stimulus that I was looking for. Like how much does equipment play a role in that? Now knowing the information I have like, I would fair to say it does play a significant degree. Those final few angles in ranges

[bryan]: 12:49

Hm.

[aaron_straker]: 12:50

do make a difference. in my opinion.

[bryan]: 12:52

Yeah. Well, I mean, especially considering that the reckfem is the largest quad muscle and it runs right up the middle of your thigh, and so leg press and Hack Squad are both going to train a little bit more of the other three Quad heads, and probably not the Rcfm And so yeah, I guess like my, My suggestion was going to be the sissy squad, or like the reverse Nordic, But if your knee isn't feeling up to it, then you just kind of have to wait on that. I'm pretty sure you're not going to have any reckfemshrinkage for A couple weeks, but over the course of time like to improve the quality and get like a more thorough complete quad session. You do probably want to figure out a way to train that until the machine arrives.

[aaron_straker]: 13:35

Yeah, I was told like two weeks, so it'll be at most probably three sessions. Hopefully by next week my knee will feel even better and I'll probably just do the like. a body weight. Of course, a body weight, sissy, squat set or two to kind of polish that off. but it was. It was kind of a little bit I opening for me there because I

[bryan]: 13:56

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 13:56

went

[bryan]: 13:56

that's

[aaron_straker]: 13:56

in

[bryan]: 13:56

cool.

[aaron_straker]: 13:56

with Like Can I do? What can I do to make this as good?

[bryan]: 14:02

Hm.

[aaron_straker]: 14:03

I try and like It does Really matter when you can get like a hack squad. That allows you to put your heels, you know, right up against your butt in those sorts of things Like it is a notable degree of difference.

[bryan]: 14:15

Yeah, I guess the other thing you could do is hook up an ankle cuff and do like a cable like extension. I mean, that kind of sounds like a blot of work.

[aaron_straker]: 14:24

Yeah,

[bryan]: 14:25

Oh

[aaron_straker]: 14:27

yeah, but for updates for me, I think that's about it.

[bryan]: 14:31

Cool. well, regarding my blood work, it finally came back. I was bitching about this on the last episode because it took a full two weeks, and their website legit says five to seven days, So I'm like this, an old guy you know, emailing them like Hey, blood work. still not here. Come on, where's my blood work? I'm sure they hate me, but eventually I got the blood work and so over all, I think it's mostly a lot of positive. There are a few things that I'm curious about and wonder if you have any input because they're not Things that usually are something that I generally find myself looking at as like you know. You always have those five or six things that you look at and yo're like These are the things that matter. And now there's these other things that I'm not sure how much they matter. So one interesting piece is the last three years of blood test that I've done. My total tea has been under three hundred on every single test the entire time. It's been between two sixty and two eighty Every time. Um, regardless of dieting or surplus or whatever, This time it was four or fifty, so the only thing that I can say has been really different this time around is that I started mouth taping and breathing through my nose at night. Um, and that is apparently something that can happen when you start getting higher quality sleep. Um to levels could go up, so I find that interesting. but one Interesting piece about that is that my free t did not go up, and at least when I hear from Peter Tea, who's kind of the guy I follow on a lot of this blood work stuff. He said that his in his clinic, they only look at free tea. They don't even care about total T at all. they only look at free T. M. And so my free T was at the very very bottom of the range. The range is like eight to twenty five or something like that, and mine was like eight point five, So it was like right there, but aside from that like the total T being higher seems like a positive at least, And then the ones that I'm kind of curious about and don't really know what to think of. My D. A S. salat is above the reference range. For the first time I looked back at all my other blood works, and it was always in the three hundreds, and this time it came back at five sixty, which is like two Hundred points above where it was in prior blood tests, So I don't know. Do you have any thoughts on D? h. A S. I looked it up on line and it seems like it's an effect of adrenal glands, and it could be a sign of having a tumor on your adrenal glands, but of course Google loves to scare you

[aaron_straker]: 17:21

Yeah, of course, Google definitely loves to scare you. So D a sulphate is like your your usable form, So we have like a d. A. and then sulphate is kind of like the active form and that is essentially like an upstream hormone to test ostrom, So sometimes what people will do is like when we have lower test ostrom. If especially if d A is low, you can like, Some people say you can like supplement d a sulphate to help, kind of encourage the test. Ostrom would be a total. You come up so that, in my opinion, is probably why the Test of Throne is up to a notable degree, because it's not like we're talking about. Oh, my, like, your test of Trone will will vary within like like your ranges, especially as you get more and more blood work. Like mine is generally five sixty, to like a six ten. Like I am always in that range. Yours, damn your doubled.

[bryan]: 18:16

Right

[aaron_straker]: 18:17

so From that the data being now High, the d a is in not not corroboration, but is like a production of the adrenal gland sort of thing, So that one it would be interested to see where the fasting qartizall was as well,

[bryan]: 18:34

Where What

[aaron_straker]: 18:34

but

[bryan]: 18:35

was?

[aaron_straker]: 18:36

your fasting qartisall, the Qartizallsrum quartzall marker, which I'm sure we could get into

[bryan]: 18:41

Yeah?

[aaron_straker]: 18:42

from from my standpoint when you said Hey, my total T is doing a lot. it's you know, into the reference range. Now the first two things that came to mind And is like Brian started sleeping better, and he stopped smoking weed daily

[bryan]: 18:55

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 18:55

for the first time in twenty years. A sort of thing, so

[bryan]: 18:59

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 18:59

I'm interested just to hear a little bit more as we talk about the blood work and kind of thoughts

[bryan]: 19:04

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 19:04

around that as. well,

[bryan]: 19:05

cool. no, I agree. I mean, actually, the smoking weed thing is one that I actually didn't think of as a product of why the tea was better, because I'm still doing weed. I'm just not smoking it. so like the substance is still getting into my body, But maybe the smoking itself does have an effect as. well, Um, my fasting, cortical, I just checked is nine point nine, so I don't know what that means as far as the g. s.

[aaron_straker]: 19:30

Yeah, not super high, not super low, but generally in a perfect world, a little bit like around like a twelve to fifteen. Especially with getting that taken in the morning is what I would consider like an optimal, but other lifestyle things to look at Like If you seem like a very kind of mellow even keel person to me I don't. I don't anticipate like a very, excuse me like a much higher stress period of your life, for a significantly like lull of a stress period in your life, But it does look like that, whatever mechanism could have impacted that D g, A would likely also be correlative to

[bryan]: 20:09

M.

[aaron_straker]: 20:09

that that test, total test ostrom increase

[bryan]: 20:12

Interesting.

[aaron_straker]: 20:13

with the free test ostrom. Where was your sex hormone binding globule or albumen? Notably high?

[bryan]: 20:22

So albumin was four point seven. Last test that I did, and this time it was four point nine, so just

[aaron_straker]: 20:29

Okay,

[bryan]: 20:29

slightly

[aaron_straker]: 20:29

So

[bryan]: 20:29

higher.

[aaron_straker]: 20:30

not a notable difference. I would say

[bryan]: 20:33

Um, as far as globule in you keep kind of breaking up on me And you're actually your picture is all right now, so I don't know if it's an internet issue or what, but my globulin was two point.

[aaron_straker]: 20:46

Sex hormone binding globular.

[bryan]: 20:49

Yeah, I don't. I didn't get a h, b G on this test. That's one that you have to add on separately. And so I don't know what it is. Currently I added it on last year, but I don't have it now.

[aaron_straker]: 21:01

Okay, yeah, that one is where a good majority of total test ostrom will be bound to. So if that came back M considerably high, That could be why the free testostron is a little bit lower. and just to share anecdote, Why personal sex Orman binding globulan tends to run high, and I generally will have you know, right on the cusp of umclinically low free test ostrom on my labor.

[bryan]: 21:30

Interesting. Um, So the other one that I was super curious about on mine is so my Estra dial is still in range. It was in range last time too. so last time I got my my blood work on it was in eight and this time it's thirty so literally my stradiale went up like three and a half times.

[aaron_straker]: 21:53

Yeah, I wouldn't say that's that's necessarily bad estradilike, like for forty, forty, two, forty five. Something like that is kind of like the top end of the reference range there for

[bryan]: 22:04

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 22:04

for extra dial

[bryan]: 22:05

correct.

[aaron_straker]: 22:05

for men. Important an important distinction there for men and the thing with test ostrontoestrogen, is they. We want them to do exist in a relationship like the higher testostron, you have, the higher estrogen you're generally going to have as males, we make our strogen via the Rome Romataseenzi, the romatization pathway, we aromatize test ostrog into estrogen, So if you have just more total test osteron, you are generally going to aromatize more. Some of the considerations where it might get too high are too high body fat percentage level. So if you're like, let's say like as a mail pushing twenty five percent plus, you're generally going to have generalizations right that. it's always going to be different in like one to one kind of context, but generally Generally higher extrogens, Because the adipose has more extrogen receptors there, The pose tissue has more Ixtrogen receptors, so I really wouldn't be concerned with that. The first thing like when extrogen is too high, you will probably start getting personal symptoms. You might get like the itching apples a little bit more emotional, More anxiety. Those things that are that are correlative with higher extrogens, but again in natural context where we're not exogenous, Modifying our hormones outside of like, Maybe some issues and stuff with like puberty. It's very not common at like a Gen Pop fitness person level.

[bryan]: 23:36

Yeah, I figured it was probably better that I had it more in like the mid part of the range than at eight where it was like the very dead bottom of the range. So yeah, that was just one interesting thing, and then the last one and this one I'm like kind of concerned with is, so my fasting insolent is always low. M. It always comes back at like two point five or three point o, M. but this time they flagged it because it was so low it was out of the reference range. so my end In fasting inslentwas point nine

[aaron_straker]: 24:09

That is, that is low. That will commonly happen with me as well. What was the fasting glue coast in H, B, A n C.

[bryan]: 24:20

H B, a one C was five point four and

[aaron_straker]: 24:23

Okay,

[bryan]: 24:24

fasting glue coast was ninety.

[aaron_straker]: 24:26

Okay, so the interesting thing here is like too low of insolent. is a very not common kind of problem because insolent basically keeps your glucose in H, b a n C in check. Right, and kind of what, Like the term insolent resistance that so many people have, I'm sure heard of at this point is like your, In your Pancras, keeps producing more and more insolent to keep the the, the H, B, one C and glue coast in check. So if that was like, higher insolent is worse than lower insolent, and what it really is is, your body is just not deciding that it needs to produce that much insolent to keep the fasting glucose. you know at a lower level. This, if I'm being honest, this is the crux of my own personal vendetta with. with my health, My body does not produce a lot of insolent. Whether that's going to be, I develop Complications of like a type to diabetes sort of thing. Potentially, I have a lot of it in my family, but no matter what I do, my, my insolent is insolent, production is quite low, and my fasting glue coast is normally high, nineties, low, one hundreds, and my hbnecteters right under the the pre diabetes, right under the cut of pre diabetes, but it just doesn't change. I mean, I've been through all the modalities vent been on at forming for a couple months, and it just doesn't reall Change, so

[bryan]: 25:57

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 25:57

I wouldn't say it's too much of a concern. But if it just keep a check on like the glue, coasts and stuff is the first place that would start looking for that.

[bryan]: 26:09

Yeah, I feel like I may be do for an o, g, T, T at some point just to kind of like get the full picture on this thing.

[aaron_straker]: 26:18

I mean, Honestly, what I would say, there's two companies that I know of levels is one. nutrosense is the other one. That's the one I actually did. If you really want to know what your bodies doing with your glucose and stuff, just get a c, g, M. continuous glue Coast monitor paid for one.

[bryan]: 26:32

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 26:32

If I remember correctly, with nutrocense, you could do a two week option when I was looking at doing this, The Levels company was like, still kind of in Bata. They may have gotten out of that, but basically you popped the c g M on the back of your try, Cept, it appears to it to an app on your, And you get like Wat's not essentially real time. It actually has about like a thirty minute lag of continuous glue, coast monitoring. And what's cool there is, you can see what happens during your sleep fasting, and then you get the like. Most important information is how do you respond to meals right? Like what is your post pando levels? Are they? I mean, Obviously, when carbs go

[bryan]: 27:09

Right,

[aaron_straker]: 27:09

up, especially with how you have, like your gate or eight, and those sorts of more liquid carbohydrate in the morning they're going to go up kind of. But then how quickly Coming back down to base line? What is your average base line throughout

[bryan]: 27:20

Right,

[aaron_straker]: 27:20

the day that? I mean, honestly, that's what I would recommend for anyone that

[bryan]: 27:25

Yeah, I think

[aaron_straker]: 27:26

really

[bryan]: 27:26

that's probably

[aaron_straker]: 27:26

helped

[bryan]: 27:26

going

[aaron_straker]: 27:26

me.

[bryan]: 27:26

to be my first step. Yeah, I think that's probably

[aaron_straker]: 27:31

Go ahead.

[bryan]: 27:31

going to be my first step, But I've heard a ta talk so much about the o, g, t, T. and he said that whenever he gets a new patient in his clinic, that is the first thing they do because like it will tell you even more than the c g, M. And he even cited some some case studies where he said he had somebody on the C g M. and the standard deviation was like fifteen, so it never went up like super high or down super low. It just kind of hung out between like eighty five and one fifteen, or whatever. And he said, then this person like they still weren't finding the answer from that, And so they did a g, t, t and found that like they just weren't clearing the glucose at all, and like two hours later it was still at like one seventy or something crazy like that.

[aaron_straker]: 28:18

Yeah, I mean, I think I'm a big fan of testing and stuff and I

[bryan]: 28:22

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 28:22

especially like. Obviously you're healthy, Brian, and those sort of things. But you want to know like what's going on with yourself and it's almost kind of like a hobby, sort of thing, like health, my own

[bryan]: 28:31

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 28:31

health as a hobby.

[bryan]: 28:32

yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 28:33

Yeah, I'm all for it and then we can talk

[bryan]: 28:36

Yeah,

[aaron_straker]: 28:36

about it on the podcast.

[bryan]: 28:37

so you had some blood work too? Yeah, for

[aaron_straker]: 28:39

Yeah,

[bryan]: 28:40

sure.

[aaron_straker]: 28:40

so

[bryan]: 28:40

Do you? do you have any insights on yours?

[aaron_straker]: 28:44

Yeah, I have. I've known for a while like I don't have good limpid. Well, I don't have good Ldllipits like my H is always well above forty. Generally in the like eighty to ninety range, my triglyscerides are always well below one hundred as well, but my l. d. l. has always just been high. I don't think I've I don't think I've ever seen it below one hundred on a set of lab, So that's always kind of like been in the back of my mind and like Okay, it is what it is. It's not like a A huge thing, but I also was like being more flexible with with my nutrition. In the past I would have. I would have higher fat days. and and that sort of thing, I was never too much of a concern. M. I got an a p. O be one recently, and that came in at like a ninety nine. I think the reference interval that that I saw here was like a, like a forty to like a one thirty, and then kind of once you get above that like one thirty is where that is getting a little bit higher now, And that reference ranges off of Indonesian labs, which is where I got that done here. And if I remember Carle, Brian, you had an a p o B done recently and it was like fifty.

[bryan]: 29:54

Yeah, so from what Yeah, I was fifty four. From what I understand from a t is, he said he wants all his patients under thirty, which is like, like, Basically he puts them on a state if there, if they're above thirty

[aaron_straker]: 30:10

Hm.

[bryan]: 30:10

as the age. so obviously you know we're not at a point right now where I don't think it's that risky, but yeah, I mean, he even has himself on a state because his A B was above thirty and he's fifty years old now, so I like. I don't know how I feel about that whole Thing of using medication and longevity and all that. But but yeah, that's that's his thing, And he said the reference range in America is under ninety, and then anything over ninety is risk.

[aaron_straker]: 30:36

Okay, so yeah, that would put me in that risk category And then I was listening to something. I can't remember exactly what it was. but we have another kind of the landscape of the lipids and colesteral sort of conversation in Western medicine is starting to, I think, shift away from just pure l. d, l, h, d, L. Sort of thing, We have, you know, new markers like the A V. Another one is lipoproten, A offen, spoken about as like L. P. little A, which is kind of like a genetic Independent marker. So I was like looking for that. I found I was like. Well, it's was an expensive test. Was Ike. Im only goin to run it once, So sure I'll at it and that came back very not good. That was like a ninety five point like four and the reference

[bryan]: 31:22

And

[aaron_straker]: 31:22

range

[bryan]: 31:22

what's

[aaron_straker]: 31:22

was

[bryan]: 31:22

the

[aaron_straker]: 31:22

like

[bryan]: 31:22

range

[aaron_straker]: 31:22

anything.

[bryan]: 31:22

on that

[aaron_straker]: 31:24

Anything over thirty is like bad, and I'm like triple that. I was like fucking sick. so um, that's been a little bit of like an eye opening thing for me. What's frustrating is when you look at when when you look at when you read research on this stuff. When you look at guidance, it's like Okay, You have your lip. Its on't create like stop alcohol, stop smoking. get exercise. eat better. sleep Well, Like what do you do when you already when like? It's kind of like a joke Like that is my life. My life doesn't exist outside of those things. Like I don't smoke. I haven't had alcohol in over three. Its right. like training fitness nutrition, like taking care of myself Is my life? Like what do you do when those when you already do all those things? So that's where I've been like this week and now looking into a little bit more of things of like, kind of more preventative, kind of sort of things. Okay, what does endothelial function actually look like? Right blood pressure? Those sorts of things. it may have these, you know, unfortunate, genetic kind of predispositions, but we know the like. You know. what is it called? the M. The genetic versus likeepogenetic thing, Like I might have not great genetics on the kind of

[bryan]: 32:46

Epi

[aaron_straker]: 32:46

M.

[bryan]: 32:46

genetics?

[aaron_straker]: 32:48

Yeah, but is does that mean that like the risk is actually there, or like what is relativity of the risk? I ve had the conversation with my dad Because lipids aren't great. He's actually like A text book type to diabetic, but my dad's six foot two hundred and eighty pounds. Like not remotely overweight. whatsoever. Bend in the gym is entire life. and now it's kind of interesting when you're finding yourself kind of outside the standard deviations of what a lot of the information is on. And then who do you go to talk to around like Hey, I think I'm like an outlier or or something, but like how do I know or is it like in the back of my mind, am I just Of waiting for a hard attack sort of thing, kind of like. what was that dude?

[bryan]: 33:44

Yeah, I mean,

[aaron_straker]: 33:44

Bob

[bryan]: 33:44

that's

[aaron_straker]: 33:44

Harper,

[bryan]: 33:45

obviously

[aaron_straker]: 33:45

the biggest,

[bryan]: 33:45

very disconcerting,

[aaron_straker]: 33:46

the biggest loser guy. Yeah, the Bob Harker, the biggest loser, like coach, who was like fitnesses life, and like fifty two in the gym, heart attack sort of thing, so that one has been kind of in the back of my mind, and then, unfortunately, at a time like this like I'm in Bolly, where I can't go. Get a lot of this. you know, not preventative, but like pro active testing done so that's kind of. My next step is like Okay, let's check like endotheral funk And blood pressure If I have like nitric oxide. If all of these things look really good, Is it purely just a Hey? you have some unfavorable genetics in the limpid department, But as long as you continue living the life style that you currently do, it's very unlikely that that will actually become an event or hey, enjoy your life. But you know fifties hit. You might check out or sort of thing. I'm not sure.

[bryan]: 34:43

He added, I am. I'm not really sure how I would feel about that. I mean, I know, even looking at markers that I see that are not even as significant as that, and I'm like King D. S is elevated like maybe there's an adrenal problem like it seems kind of like small potatoes in comparison, but like from what I learned about all the zone to stuff like that literally is kind of what zone to does is improve limpid function And glucose and all the things that go into metabolic function Right And so maybe you just need to start actually doing some like concerted zone to like three days a week, you know, get on a bike and pound away for seventy five minutes or something.

[aaron_straker]: 35:30

Yeah, I mean, that's another thing, too. I think with, it's hard right now because of my primary goal of increasing body weight. but that is another one that we're goin to. I guess you know talk we can shift the podcast into into this Now is like I may be finding myself at a point where like pushing body weight for the sake of hypertrophy may be behind me sort of thing. Because Of the, I mean, I've done it for literally my entire adult life. You know, I haven't really spent much time ever in in in calory deficit if we're totaling up like you know, Airn, sixteen years plus, I've maybe spent twelve eighteen months in a deficit of over fifteen years. You know what I mean. Um, and I think it's just a lot of like pushing that M to our pathway. So So much. And what we know about longevity and stuff is it's It's not ideal for that, so it might be one of those things where I shift into like um, hundred and ninety five pounds, whatever may be a little bit lighter, and I stay lean and that is, that is what it is sort of thing. And then I do more like a cardio and that sort of thing, Because what I to put that cardio in Now knowing how much I have to eat just to slowly you know, build here, Matt. I don't want to have to be decreasing food quality just for the sake of getting more calories in To continue playing that

[bryan]: 37:10

Right.

[aaron_straker]: 37:10

out and in game. You know what, I mean.

[bryan]: 37:14

Yeah, no, and I mean, we know the correlation between like higher body weights and elevated limpets and glucose sensitivity issues and things like that. so like, I'd be really curious. what happens to the kelp little A and the B if you were to get to like one eighty five and just hang out there.

[aaron_straker]: 37:38

Yeah, I mean, I think Yeah, I don't. I don't. I don't know and I don't want to know.

[bryan]: 37:49

Yeah, now and you hate getting under one ninety or like, I just feel

[aaron_straker]: 37:52

I know.

[bryan]: 37:52

so small under one ninety

[aaron_straker]: 37:53

I know I do. I do. But yeah, but that will be like the next kind of phase that testing it and seeing things. And then I mean, I've even thought of the hard thing is for me is who to have these conversations with. I know what some of these things that I'm talking about like I am. I'm kind of breaching the the. the scope of where I feel very confident, but my trust in a finding trust in someone who I think is going to give me decent information is limited. I've had and I've had numerous poor experiences with. like just your general, M. Des that your insurance company is like, Oh, this is your person and network. this is your doctor, and they're just like not fucking helpful. so I'm hesitant

[bryan]: 38:40

Right,

[aaron_straker]: 38:40

to go Like down a traditional pathway, but I've even like consideration like we know elevated glue coast in Hbaonec, For the longer it goes on isn't beneficial. Um, but like when your body just doesn't produce a lot. Or maybe my body just likes to keep it there. But like, I've even had the conversation. Like going on small amounts of exogenous, insolent Be beneficial for me, right of pushing those down a little bit into a more appropriate range Like. But who do I talk to about that you have like your, your, your body building, dude's sort of thing, but that's not necessarily from like a health standpoint. I want to find the kind of bridge of that and I just really haven't yet.

[bryan]: 39:26

Yeah, dude, I was literally like just thinking that today, because I was looking at my blood type, my blood work results and I was like who can I talk to about this That really knows it at such a deep level that I trust, and the only one because I've learned a lot of this stuff from Peter tea. I like, think of him as as the figure that I would like to have represent me, But it's like a hundred thousand dollars to get into his clinic and see him, so that's like not going to happen, But I don't know where to go from there like I don't know what the next level down is. you know, So I'm right with you. If you find it, let me know I'll let you know

[aaron_straker]: 40:04

Yeah, I will. I think we are in a. We're in a really interesting place in the landscape of western medicine. Let's call it that where some really, what what I will call really good, right, Take that with, however you may, people are breaking away from the traditional insurance model and moving to a private model. So there's someone Kyle Galette, who's been on the Hobermanlap podcast quite regularly, who's like he's younger, right, let's say, maybe forty, Forty, four, forty five, and in between, like probably thirty five and forty five. somewhere in there, Um, he's like, pretty dialed into like the more health focused side of things, but also like a through med school license. You know that that whole thing and he's someone that like you, Go see him. you pay out of pocket like there is no insurance model sort of thing. And and that that's someone that I I think could be a great resource to look into, and for any of the listeners that are interested in. you know, just keeping it closer Ear to the ground of some of this stuff. that that would be fan fantastic. But that's personally what I am looking at a lot more myself and it's a. I'm finding more of the same with my clients and stuff right. Some clients will come back and they'll have like laps that are off. Like maybe M. C. H is really really off or like we have elevated or super low, Like red blood cell count, white blood cell count. This is outside of like thyroid sex hormones, you know, limpid, sort of stuff, like Go see a doctor and I, well, my doctor ship. Who do I go see like you know, I don't. fucking. but

[bryan]: 41:41

Right right.

[aaron_straker]: 41:42

having that conversation like more and more and I think it's there's a trend moving towards where people don't trust the traditional system that we've had for however long. sort of thing.

[bryan]: 41:56

Yeah, I think what I need is I need somebody that has all the knowledge of the M. d of the hormones and the inner workings of the body, and what each specific blood marker is on like a bigger picture. But I need this person to also be into fitness and I understand fitness so that something like creating being elevated doesn't make them say. Do you have new problems, young man, and I'm like, No, I'm funking on creating

[aaron_straker]: 42:23

Yeah, it's it's someone that understands like, Yeah, like okay, You have a lot more muscle mass than the people that the population are population. that the hat the markers are produced from. Like your creatnin, is going to be elevated, sort of thing, Right like O. Hey, watched the carbs and you're like an ass hole. That's what when when when I first went into like glucose concerns, I had my fasting morning glucose for for like three months, You know, on this spread sheet, every maker new train, everything that I've eaten, and he was like, You know, you got to watch the carbs and he was like, And you know Gate or eight has carbs in it too, and I was like I'm wasting my fucking time

[bryan]: 43:05

Right.

[aaron_straker]: 43:05

here

[bryan]: 43:05

exactly.

[aaron_straker]: 43:05

like I waited three weeks to come. Have this conversation that I'm only goin to get like twelve minutes with you and I'm wasting my fucking time. And that was like that was like the start of it for me And then I had a few more bad ones and I was like Okay. This is something I'm going to have to figure out kind of on my own through pub man And all sorts of different resources there.

[bryan]: 43:26

Yeah, For sure, I mean, at least we are capable of doing our own research as well, so that's always good.

[aaron_straker]: 43:33

Okay, Do you want to shift into some goals and forecasting here, Brian,

[bryan]: 43:39

Yeah, so I'll just say that your connection or what I perceive your connection to be is kind of a disaster like I kind of catch. Maybe like every other word that you're saying, and I'm just trying to piece things together so I don't know if maybe we consider cutting this and go into this stuff next week and I don't know what's going on Exactly

[aaron_straker]: 44:03

Let's do that. We have a pretty good lengthy episode covering like blood work health, The larger kind of scope there. I think this will probably produce some, some some questions from the listener. That will That will get in you know, through you tube or Instagram. And then next week we can figure out internet issues. I'm going to drop a bucket in the head of this is a Brian one, because he's on a new connection and I've been paying for it a bit Internet over here. find out after and then Follow up with our forecasting for next week. Good with that

[bryan]: 44:37

Cool Ye sounds good.

[aaron_straker]: 44:39

Awesome as always, guys. thank you for listening. This was a fun one. Hopefully it was informative for you guys to see that things with Brian and myself aren't always perfect from from a lab marker, and we'll handle any questions and further conversations on it in the future episodes. so talk to you guys soon.