Why Two Lenses on Health Lead to Two Very Different Conversations
We recently ran an analysis of a set of blood chemistry results using the latest AI technology. The outcome surprised us. The AI's conclusions — drawn from the same data we had in front of us — were markedly different from our own interpretation.
Where the AI (reflecting the conventional medical model it was trained on) reported that everything was "within normal range" and that there was no evidence of disease, our Nutrition Diagnostics approach revealed an entirely different scenario: subtle stress patterns, compensations, and inefficiencies that — if left unaddressed — could erode health and set the stage for chronic illness.
Conventional Medicine vs Functional Health
This moment was more than a curiosity. It highlighted the profound difference between two ways of reading the body:
Conventional medicine is built on thresholds of pathology. Cross the line into "disease territory," and action is taken. Stay under the line, and you're considered healthy. It's a binary, yes-or-no framework: either you're sick or you're not.
Functional health — our approach — takes a different view. Instead of asking whether disease has appeared yet, it asks whether your body is operating at its most resilient and efficient. Here, the question isn't "Are you sick?" but "Are you thriving?"
Same Numbers, Different Interpretations
Below, we've listed the comparative analysis of some key biomarkers to highlight the difference in how conventional medicine analyses the data, versus how we analyse the data.
Conventional View vs Our Analysis
Category: Lipids
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| Lipid profile is excellent. Slightly elevated total cholesterol and LDL are balanced by very high HDL and low triglycerides, making cardiovascular risk low. | Total cholesterol flagged as above optimal (5.2–6.2). HDL too high, possibly a compensatory response to toxicity/oxidative stress. LDL and non-HDL mildly elevated → possible atherogenic load. Context (inflammation, stress, hormones, mercury/lead toxicity) matters. |
Synthesis: Both agree lipid ratio is protective. ND tightens thresholds and sees high HDL as a possible adaptive stress response, not purely “good.”
Category: Adrenal & Stress Axis
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| Cortisol is mid-range, DHEA-S within range (though toward the lower end). No problem detected. | Cortisol (290 vs. optimal 303–497) and DHEA-S (2.0 vs. 4–12) are low → suggests chronic stress/adrenal fatigue and reduced resilience. |
Synthesis: Conventional says “normal,” ND sees suboptimal resilience. Clear divergence.
Category: Immune System
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| ANA negative, immunoglobulins broadly normal, CRP/ESR very low. No autoimmunity or inflammation. | Globulin (29 vs. 22–24) and IgM (1.7 vs. 0.7–1.0) elevated → possible immune activation. WBC 9.3 with neutrophilia (71%) = immune stress. Coproporphyrin III + zinc protoporphyrin → possible mild heavy metal burden. |
Synthesis: Conventional = “healthy immunity.” ND = subtle immune activation and possible toxicity burden.
Category: Protein & Mineral Balance
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| Urea slightly high but within range (likely diet/hydration). Calcium, phosphate, bicarbonate, proteins all acceptable. | Elevated urea + high BUN/creatinine ratio = protein breakdown/poor digestion. Low bicarbonate, phosphate, calcium = acid stress, protein deficiency, digestive inefficiency. Low ferritin (69 vs. 100–300) → early iron depletion, possible copper deficiency. |
Synthesis: ND sees nutritional/digestive stress pattern; conventional sees nothing abnormal.
Category: Inflammation
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| CRP 1.0 (borderline low/average), ESR 2 → excellent, no inflammation. | ESR too low (<5) may mean poor immune surveillance or protein insufficiency. |
Synthesis: Same numbers, opposite interpretations.
Category: Thyroid
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| TSH 1.5, Free T4 18 → normal. | Within range, but low DHEA-S, phosphate, calcium suggest possible suboptimal thyroid function. |
Synthesis: Conventional = euthyroid. ND = possible functional sluggishness.
Category: Vitamin D
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| 74 nmol/L = sufficient (>50). | Optimal = 100–150; 74 considered suboptimal, possibly linked to calcium/protein issues. |
Synthesis: Conventional = fine, ND = room for optimisation.
Category: Heavy Metals & Porphyrins
| Conventional View | Our View |
|---|---|
| Porphyrins all normal, no porphyria. | Coproporphyrin III (56%, optimal <40) + zinc protoporphyrin → possible mild mercury/heavy metal exposure. |
Synthesis: Conventional sees no disease. ND interprets subtle shifts as toxicity markers.
As you can see, the numbers haven't changed. What's changed is the interpretation. One stops at the absence of disease; the other digs deeper to uncover the patterns driving those numbers.
Why This Matters
At Nutrition Diagnostics, we hold that disease doesn't occur at random or for no reason. It is the end stage of long-standing imbalances that erode resilience over time. These imbalances often appear long before you ever meet conventional thresholds of pathology.
The issue with conventional medicine is that it is trained to act once the disease has manifested. That saves lives in acute situations. But if we want to prevent chronic illness, reverse fatigue, or simply live with vitality, we need to address the imbalances behind the numbers.
That's the purpose of the ND approach: to identify stress patterns, compensations, and inefficiencies before they calcify into pathology. To recognise that elevated cholesterol, low vitamin D, or suppressed cortisol aren't just "lab values within range," but signals from the body that it is struggling to maintain balance.
Seeing Blood Chemistry Through a New Lens
When you begin to see health this way, blood chemistry shifts from being a report card on disease to a roadmap for optimisation. And in following that map, you don't just avoid illness — you build resilience, energy, and the foundation for a longer, healthier life.
