Issue #306: The Red in Our Blood
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, February 20th.
Stat of the Day
The number of red blood cells in a single teaspoon of blood. What’s crazier - each of those cells contain 250,000 molecules of hemoglobin. (source)
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The Red in Our Blood
For anyone that’s ever gotten their blood panel - you go get a few vials of blood taken, you wait a few days and then, depending on your health plan, you get an online report of the results.
It looks something like this:
And unless you’re in the danger zone, your doctor probably doesn’t take the time to review it all with you. So you assume you’re “good to go” - but have no idea what it means when your hemoglobin is 15 g/dL.
You’re the Captain
Think about all the people on this planet who are 100% committed to you being 100% healthy.
Hint - it’s not your doctor (it’s not possible).
You are the only one who wakes up every single day with complete focus on yourself and your health. Only you know how you feel everyday - your energy, your level of pain, your mindset, your stress. Only you know your personal goals - what you want to be able to do today, what you want to be able to do in 10 years, in 25 years.
That’s why when it comes to how to manage your health, you can’t afford to be a bystander. We all need to be educated enough so that we can ask the right questions, seek out second opinions, and most importantly - understand what we can do to impact our health based on what the data is telling us.
This doesn’t mean we need to get our PhD or know everything.
But there are few things more important than learning about how our own body works.
If you invest in a stock - you research the company and why you think it will provide a positive return.
If you buy a home - you research the HVAC, the hot water heater, the flood area around the home.
If you become a parent - you research how to raise a healthy, awesome kid.
So take the time to understand your blood panel - it might be the biggest ROI of all if it means more years of healthy living with that money, in that home, and those kids who’ve now grown up (thanks to reading those parent books).
Today we’re going to cover three biomarkers on a standard blood panel:
1. Red Blood Count (RBC)
Red blood cells have just one job - deliver oxygen to all of our cells. They don’t have any of the parts of a typical cell - DNA, mitochondria. They are laser-focused on just doing their one job.
These blood cells live for 3-4 months traveling throughout our entire body. When they die, our bone marrow creates new ones - but iron, Vitamin B12 and folate (B9) are all required to make more RBC’s.
RBC’s decrease as we age and it’s super important to maintain high red blood count to keep delivering that oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide.
If they get too low we get anemia.
But you also don’t want too high a count of RBC’s - that might create blood clots and other more serious problems.
Optimal Red Blood Cell results:
Men: 4.8 - 5.5 M/µL or ×10⁶/µL (millions of cells per microliter)
Women: 4.3 - 4.8 M/µL
2. Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is what’s inside the red blood cells to actually transport the oxygen. So all the factors for RBC’s are pretty much the same for hemoglobin.
Optimal Hemoglobin results:
Men: 14-16.5 g/dL (gram per deciliter)
Women: 12-15 g/dL
3. Platelets
Platelets are less than one percent of our blood’s volume, but are essential for clotting. It’s why when we get cut, our blood continues to flow to the rest of our body - platelets arrive on the scene of the cut to stop blood from continuously pouring out.
Turns out platelets do way more than that - they are also part of how we repair the tissue after the cut and seemingly get back to normal. New innovations in tissue repair include the use of platelets.
Optimal Platelet results:
200,000-300,000 platelets per uL (microliter) of blood
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
Caraway believes non-toxic cooking surfaces and thoughtful design lead to cleaner cooking. Max bought a cookware set in December, right after our Holiday Gift Guide dropped. He’s been through so many pots and pans - stainless steel, non-stick, you name it - they’ve had it, but he finally found a brand that lives up to their promise.
Laugh
We’re Midwesterners
What can we say - Max and I are just a couple of guys from Ohio too. Kinda reminds us of growing up, except it’s sunny!
In the News
The Lost Art of Doing Nothing: Ever reminisce on those carefree days when you were younger, where doing absolutely nothing with friends was the greatest weekend activity? Why don’t adults do this anymore? (NYTimes)
Good or Bad Mutants?: In a study on stress response within plants, researchers re-discovered the value of the Golgi. The Golgi apparatus (or Golgi body) is an organelle that contains proteins called COGs which attach sugars to proteins or lipids to send to another part of the cell. The researchers identified that COG mutants control aging of the plant. This finding doesn’t just apply to plants, we’ve got Golgi inside us too. (Source)
Nothing in Life is Free: Life is challenging - with constant twists and turns that challenge all of us. When you encounter a persistent problem, don’t seek a perfect, pain-free solution. There are no pain-free options in life, choose the most empowering one. (Big Think)
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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.