Dr. Michael Wald, aka, The Blood Detective’s Top 10 Lab Test Picks for Children
1. Vitamin D, B12, C – energy, tissue repair, cancer, diabetes and heart disease risk
More information:
http://www.healthychild.com/vitamin-d-levels
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/vitamin-b12-deficiency-anemia-exams-and-tests
http://www.livestrong.com/vitamin-c/
2. Blood lipids – measures total cholesterol, HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol), and Triglycerides
More information: http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/blood_test_lipid_panel.html
3. Chemistry – levels of: iron, sodium, potassium, creatinine, glucose, etc.
More information: http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest5.html
4. Homocysteine – energy, inflammation, immunity and future risk of many diseases.
More information: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/23/9/1348.full.pdf
5. CRP—indicates inflammation, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. indicator
More information: http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/test_crp.html
6. HgA1c Diabetes screen – blood sugar control/diabetes
More information: http://www.cpnonline.org/CRS/CRS/pa_hemoa1c_pep.htm
7. Ferritin level – evaluates iron level in the blood – iron overload/inflammation
More information: http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/test_ferritin.html
8. Gluten intolerance antibody test – for those with strange health problems and gut issues
More information: http://glutenintoleranceschool.com/gluten-intolerance-in-children/
9. Body composition testing – percentage of body fat, water, muscle & metabolic rate
More information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2082845/
10. TSH – free T3 and T4 – metabolic rate, weight, thyroid hormone problems
More information: http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/test_tsh.html