Biomarkers and BODYSIM

The BODYSIM Approach / Strategy

Traditionally, biomarkers are useful in diagnosing disease. Our extensive research uncovered that some of those same markers could be used to indicate whether there is potential to increase training or if you might be overtraining and if you are receiving sufficient nutrition in your diet. We’ve combed through a mountain of research where the subjects were healthy and in training, in addition to the traditional symptom oriented studies to select the biomarkers and ranges used in our at home panel. In the instance where a high value for a biomarker can either be an indicator of sufficient resistance training stress or an indicator of a health issue, we include additional markers as controls to separate those outcomes.

Routine monthly testing helps you understand if the changes that you are making to diet and exercise are having the desired effect so it’s important to think beyond the paradigm of annual testing. As you are actively transforming your muscles and metabolism, a lot can happen in a year. Monthly testing provides the data points that you need to actively steer your nutrition and exercise regimens.

Frequent testing is going to change what you’re willing to tolerate to perform the test. Monthly testing is onerous if you have to schedule and travel to the lab to get the tests you need. Our at-home, ready to go, self explanatory kits make getting a blood panel comparable to taking an at-home blood sugar test. No scheduling, no driving without coffee, no navigating waiting room queueing systems - you can administer our test in your pajamas from your own kitchen counter if you want. Your over time results are available within the BODYSIM app for secure, added convenience.

We chose the markers we use very carefully, and specifically selected those that can help guide your diet, vitamin and micro nutrient supplementation, and resistance training and hormone levels, along with control markers to make sure that you are doing that safely.

Markers for Diet

Even meticulous food loggers expect their log to be perfectly accurate. HbA1C, which tells you the percentage of your hemoglobin is coated with glucose, is used to indicate if you are getting too many calories overall¹. We measure total cholesterol to see if you’re getting too much fat. HOMA-IR (a function of fasting glucose and fasting insulin) is used to determine if your carb consumption is too high². We leverage BUN to see if there is sufficient protein in your diet³, while cross checking with CystatinC to ensure there are no negative impacts on kidney function (a rare but possible side effect of very high protein diets)⁴.

Markers for Micros and Supplements

Micro-nutrients sometimes limit muscle gain but too much can be toxic. Luckily, we can measure Iron⁵, vitamin D⁶ and creatine⁷,three micros particularly important to your fitness journey. Measuring these monthly is important because your needs change over time as you produce more red blood cells with muscle/lean mass gain and with the seasons and exposure to sunlight. The results on these markers will inform the need to supplement, taking the guesswork out of supplementation. While critical for development, all of these supplements should be monitored to ensure levels are in the targeted ranges, the Goldilock’s zone, and avoid toxicity. As with BUN, the Cystatin C control marker helps ensure that no damage to the kidneys occurs.

Markers for Training and Hormones

Often Testosterone can be a rate limit for muscle development for both men and women, in different amounts. The BODYSIM lab reports Total and Free Testosterone (a function of Total Testosterone, albumin, SHBG)⁸ to determine if progress is hormonally gated. T3 (triiodothyronine) levels⁹ are monitored to indicate proper thyroid function – a key element of your BMR.

We often see a drive to achieve amongst our clients and include markers to help recognize when the limits should be respected and avoid Over Training Syndrome (OTS). Prolactin¹⁰ and the Testosterone/E2¹¹ ratio are measures of overtraining when the safe range is exceeded. AST¹² or ALT ¹³ indicate sufficient resistance training but should be combined with GGT¹⁴ as a check that target results are from training and not actually liver issues. Check out the BODYSIM blog post on Overtraining Syndrome for more information.