What Your Primary Care Doctor Isn’t Testing—But Should Be

Medically Reviewed by:Maria Beach, NP

Written by: Our Editorial Team

Last updated: 09/11/2024

What Your Primary Care Doctor Isn’t Testing—But Should Be: A Holistic Approach to Health Optimization

At Marek Health, we don't just focus on preventing disease; we prioritize a holistic approach to health optimization that covers your entire well-being.

While traditional healthcare often waits until symptoms arise before taking action, we believe the future of medicine—Medicine 3.0—lies in optimizing health proactively, tackling root causes, and treating the body as a whole system.

Through comprehensive testing and personalized care, we aim to uncover what your primary care doctor might be missing. Routine checkups and standard blood tests can often overlook key markers of health. In contrast, Marek Health focuses on a 360-degree view of your body, helping you stay ahead of potential health issues while enhancing your overall performance, energy, and longevity.

The Flaws in Traditional Healthcare

Traditional healthcare tends to treat patients reactively—offering treatments once a disease or condition has already set in. It’s about managing symptoms rather than solving the root cause.

This leads to many patients being told that they’re "healthy" despite ongoing fatigue, low energy, poor sleep, or hormonal imbalances. Unfortunately, many essential health markers are left untested in routine primary care visits, leaving patients with unresolved health issues and chronic problems that can worsen over time.

At Marek Health, our approach to wellness is different. Rather than offering temporary fixes, we take a preventative and holistic approach. By focusing on the full scope of your health—nutrition, hormones, metabolic function, and lifestyle habits—we create personalized, data-driven strategies to help you achieve optimal health and performance.

‘I've been with Marek for about a year now and it has changed my life (as cliche as that is) because they addressed a thyroid problem that even my primary care physician had overlooked (even with me doing blood work through that PCP). They have also optimized every other area of my health via lifestyle and nutrition changes, in a manner more detailed and empathetic, and less judgemental than I had experienced before from medical professionals elsewhere.”

Nick

What Your Primary Care Doctor Isn’t Testing — But Should Be

With all that being said..here are some critical tests that traditional healthcare often overlooks but are essential for optimizing your health:

1. Free Testosterone: Vital for Men’s Health and Longevity

In traditional healthcare, testosterone testing is often ignored or limited to measuring total testosterone. However, total testosterone doesn’t always tell the full story. Free testosterone—the unbound, active form of testosterone—plays a critical role in muscle mass, energy levels, and libido.

Many men with normal total testosterone levels can still suffer from symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, and reduced physical performance because their free testosterone is low. At Marek Health, we test both total and free testosterone along with Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG) to get the most accurate understanding of your hormonal health.

Traditional Healthcare’s Limitation:

Primary care doctors often overlook free testosterone or dismiss low levels as a sign of aging. However, with a holistic approach, we see hormone balance as a key factor in maintaining long-term vitality, well-being, and performance.

2. Free T3: The Missing Link in Thyroid Health

Most traditional doctors only test TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), which only gives part of the picture when it comes to thyroid health. TSH is the signal your brain sends to your thyroid, but it doesn't tell you how well your thyroid is actually functioning. Testing Free T3, the active thyroid hormone that directly impacts metabolism, energy levels, and temperature regulation, provides a more complete look at your thyroid health.

Suboptimal Free T3 levels can cause fatigue, weight gain, and cognitive fog, even if TSH levels appear normal. With Marek’s comprehensive approach, we dive deep into your thyroid function to ensure your metabolism is optimized for long-term health.

Traditional Healthcare’s Limitation:

Most doctors only check TSH, often missing subclinical thyroid issues. Our approach is more thorough, looking at the complete thyroid cascade and ensuring your Free T3 levels support your energy, metabolism, and overall well-being.

3. Fasting Insulin: A Critical Marker for Metabolic Health

Traditional healthcare often focuses on blood sugar levels or HbA1c to diagnose diabetes, but fasting insulin can reveal underlying metabolic dysfunctions even before these markers become abnormal. Elevated fasting insulin levels indicate insulin resistance, a precursor to pre-diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Testing fasting insulin allows us to detect potential metabolic issues early, giving you the chance to make lifestyle changes before problems like diabetes or heart disease arise. It’s an essential tool for improving metabolic function, reducing fat, and enhancing overall vitality.

Traditional Healthcare’s Limitation:

Doctors often wait until glucose levels become problematic to diagnose metabolic issues. By measuring fasting insulin, we can catch metabolic dysfunction early and take a proactive, holistic approach to improving your health.

4. ApoB: A More Accurate Measure of Cardiovascular Risk

Traditional lipid panels focus on LDL-C, but ApoB is a more accurate marker of cardiovascular risk. The data is clear that a higher number of unfavorable lipoproteins is most associated with increased risk of developing heart disease. The ApoB lab test directly measures the number of these lipoproteins (90-95% of which are low-density lipoproteins, or LDLs). In some people, you can have a normal LDL-C with an elevated ApoB which means you would be at higher risk

Why a Holistic Appro

ach Matters

At Marek Health, we don’t just focus on lab values. Our holistic approach to health optimization ensures that we treat the whole person—mind, body, and lifestyle. This means addressing not just your lab numbers, but also your daily habits, nutrition, sleep, stress, and overall well-being.

Our philosophy is rooted in helping patients feel better, perform better, and prevent future illness by going beyond the conventional reactive healthcare model. This involves optimizing your health in every way possible, rather than simply treating symptoms as they arise.

"Before Marek, my primary care doctor told me I was perfectly healthy, but I still felt awful. After comprehensive blood testing, Marek identified deficiencies my doctor overlooked. Now, I have more energy, less stomach issues, better sleep, and stronger cognitive function."

Ashley s.

How Marek Health’s Medicine 3.0 Approach Helps You

The traditional healthcare system often overlooks vital health markers because it’s designed to treat illness once it arises. But at Marek Health, we aim to prevent these issues before they start. Our Medicine 3.0 approach focuses on:

  • Early Detection: By testing for crucial biomarkers like Free Testosterone, Free T3, Fasting Insulin, and ApoB, we catch potential issues before they escalate.

  • Holistic Optimization: We look at the entire picture—your lifestyle, fitness, and bloodwork—to ensure you're functioning at your best.

  • Personalization: There’s no one-size-fits-all treatment plan. Based on your comprehensive lab results, we create a strategy tailored specifically for you.

By addressing root causes and focusing on a preventative, holistic strategy, Marek Health empowers you to take control of your well-being in a way traditional healthcare simply can’t.

Take Control of Your Health Today

Stop settling for incomplete lab tests and reactive treatment. At Marek Health, we take a preventative and holistic approach to your health—empowering you to optimize every aspect of your well-being. Don’t wait for symptoms to appear—take control of your health with our comprehensive lab panels designed to address the full spectrum of your health.

Book a free call today and start your journey toward optimal health and wellness today.

Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your wellness routine.