Wow, I'm average

[johnridley]

I finally got around to getting blood work done, for the first time in years. I just got the results, and every SINGLE number is almost exactly in the center of the "normal" range. I guess average isn't bad, in this case.

Well, at least I can finally fill out the stupid wellness assessment. Last time I got 96% only because I didn't have these numbers to plug in.

Comments

[rmeidaking.livejournal.com]

I don't like the implication that riding one's bike 20 miles a day through all sorts of weather only gets one to a state of "Average."

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Well, in most cases, I'd think the center of the range is the ideal. For instance, you don't want sodium too high, but you don't want it too low either. There are some numbers where the reference range says stuff like "< 129" so I guess in those cases, the lower the better. I suppose it might be nice to have an LDL count of 50, but 100 ain't bad, and gives me some hope that I'll be able to stay on the right sides of the lines without drugs for quite a while.

[jennlk]

Blood chemistry /= fitness level, though. You don't want high or low. Yeah, some of those numbers (ldl/hdl cholesterol, f'rex) can be affected by exercise/fitness level, but most of them are more affected by diet or genetics.

Last year, all my blood numbers were smack dab in the middle of healthy -- there was a smiley face on the printout -- and I certainly wasn't spending 2+ hours a day exercising.

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Well, 75 minutes a day.