Let’s face it, our current medical model in the U.S. is built around “sick care,” not health optimization. We’re excellent at managing emergencies (if you’re having a heart attack, rapid response in the ER can truly save your life), but when it comes to preventing chronic disease and supporting long-term wellness, the statistics tell a different story.
While the U.S. spends the most on health care (17.2% of our GDP, about double the average of other high-income countries), we have the lowest life expectancy at birth among those same nations (by more than four years).(1) Only about 3–4% of our health care spending goes toward prevention. The rest is overwhelmingly spent on diagnosing and treating disease after it shows up.
At the same time, almost half the population of U.S. adults live with multiple chronic medical conditions.(2) Practically, this means:
- Less time and energy to enjoy life and participate in your community
- More medical appointments, monitoring, and “symptom management”
- More medications and higher healthcare costs
- Overall lower quality of life
The most heartbreaking part? Many of these chronic conditions are largely preventable with an active lifestyle, balanced nutrition, restorative sleep, stress support, and appropriate screening.
Chronic Disease Doesn’t Happen Overnight
Chronic illnesses don’t usually appear out of nowhere. Long before a diagnosis, we can often detect:
- Subtle metabolic changes
- Early insulin resistance
- Nutrient imbalances
- Rising inflammation
- Hormonal shifts
These imbalances can be present years before you develop symptoms that meet criteria for a medical diagnosis.
Unfortunately, the conventional medical system is often not designed to look for these early shifts. Many labs are only ordered when they meet “medical necessity” criteria, meaning a diagnosis is already suspected. Proactive, deeper screening that looks for early patterns of dysfunction is less commonly offered.
How Biomarker Testing Can Change the Story
This is where biomarker testing becomes a powerful tool in your prevention and longevity toolkit.
With a simple blood draw, we can:
- Measure key indicators of your metabolic, hormonal, cardiovascular, and inflammatory health
- Reveal subtle changes before they become bigger problems
- Use evidence-informed strategies to intervene earlier and protect your healthspan (the years you live in good health, free from disease and disability)
Take metabolic health as an example. By the time someone is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, they’ve typically had elevated insulin for years. It’s estimated that nearly 9 million adults over age 18 in the U.S. have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (3), a condition that is often reversible when caught early and supported with appropriate lifestyle changes.
Yet in our current system, labs are frequently ordered only to confirm disease, not to detect early metabolic stress. And when labs are ordered preventatively, many patients simply hear that their results are “normal” or “fine”, even if they feel anything but.
“Normal” vs. “Optimal”: Why You Can Feel Awful With “Normal” Labs
There is a big difference between “normal” and “optimal.”
- Conventional lab reference ranges are based on the averages of the general population. “Normal” often means “common in the population”, and as we’ve seen, much of the population is living with chronic illness or far from vibrant health.
- This is why you might feel exhausted, foggy, inflamed, or “off,” yet be told that your labs are “normal.”
“Normal” labs don’t always mean you’re truly well, they often just mean you don’t meet the criteria for a medical diagnosis yet.
Optimal ranges, on the other hand, are more aligned with:
- How well your body is actually functioning
- How resilient your systems are
- How you feel day-to-day
As a functional medicine nurse practitioner, my goal is twofold:
- Make sure nothing serious is being missed using a conventional, evidence-based lens.
- Help move your labs and symptoms toward optimal, so you can experience more energy, better mood, easier digestion, clearer thinking, and long-term health protection.
Why I Offer Customized Biomarker Testing
This is why I began offering personalized biomarker panels based on your:
- Health history and family risk
- Age and life stage
- Current symptoms (even if they’re “mild” or brushed off by conventional medicine)
- Health goals and priorities
Deeper testing with expert interpretation provides actionable information so you can be more intentional about how you care for your body.
You don’t have to be sick to benefit from labs. In fact, the ideal time to test is before disease develops, when we can still course-correct. The goal is to reveal patterns that may be moving you away from resilience and toward dysfunction, and then intervene early.
My priority is to help you step out of the “sick care” model and move toward a prevention-focused, longevity-oriented approach, so you can enjoy a healthier, happier life with better quality of living for years to come.
What It Looks Like to Work Together
Curious how a functional medicine nurse practitioner approaches biomarker testing and health optimization? Here’s an overview of the process:
- Comprehensive intake
We start by reviewing your symptoms and concerns, lifestyle, nutrition, medications, and medical history to understand the full picture and begin connecting the dots. - Targeted evaluation of 60+ biomarkers
We assess key markers that can reveal underlying imbalances contributing to dysfunction in the body, often long before a diagnosis shows up. - Optimal vs. conventional ranges
We talk through where your results fall within both conventional and optimal ranges so you can understand how your body may be trending toward or away from metabolic, hormonal, and overall resilience. - Root-cause context across body systems
We integrate your biomarker results with key systems - gut, hormones, immune function, detox pathways, and metabolism - because everything is interconnected (no organ works in a silo!). - Personalized, actionable recommendations
You receive a clear, step-by-step plan that may include nutrition changes, lifestyle strategies, targeted supplements, and medications when appropriate, designed to meet you where you are and support your specific goals. - Signature programs for support and follow-through
My structured programs help you integrate these recommendations with ongoing education, clinical support, and sustainable habit change, so your lab report becomes a roadmap for real-life results, not just a stack of numbers.
You Don’t Need to Be “Sick Enough” to Get Help
You don’t need a diagnosis - or a crisis - to deserve care.
If you’ve ever looked at your labs and thought, “They say ‘normal,’ but I don’t feel normal,” or if your goal is to live longer and feel healthier at every stage, you’re exactly the kind of person who can benefit from an optimal-range, prevention-focused approach.
Biomarker testing is not about chasing perfection; it’s about catching patterns early, supporting your body’s resilience, and protecting your future self.
Prevention-focused care is what healthcare should be.
If you’re ready to move beyond “everything looks fine” and start asking, “How can we help me feel and function better?” - this is where we begin.
- Rakshit, S., & McGough, M. (2025, January 31). How does U.S. life expectancy compare to other countries? Peterson–KFF Health System Tracker. https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-life-expectancy-compare-countries/
- NIHCM Foundation. (2025, April 3). The growing burden of chronic diseases. National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation. https://nihcm.org/publications/the-growing-burden-of-chronic-diseases
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). National Diabetes Statistics Report: Data & research. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/php/data-research/
