02/03/2026
âAll your labs are normal.â
And yet⌠your body is still telling a different story.
I recently worked with a patient whose thyroid blood work looked completely normal â numbers right where theyâre âsupposedâ to be.
But her thyroid was enlarged.
So where's the disconnect?
Labs tell us whether the body is keeping up.
They donât always tell us how hard the body is working to do so.
In her case:
⢠Thyroid hormones were in range
⢠Stress hormone production was adequate
⢠Inflammation was elevated
⢠Her nervous system was living in a constant state of âonâ
Her body was compensating â not failing.
When stress, inflammation, sleep disruption, and circadian rhythm are off, the body often adapts by working harder behind the scenes.
That adaptation can look like:
⢠Enlarged glands
⢠Persistent symptoms
⢠Feeling âoffâ despite normal tests
This is why true health isnât about chasing perfect lab numbers.
Itâs about understanding context:
â How your lifestyle is signaling safety or stress
â How inflammation affects hormone efficiency
â How long your body has been compensating
- How each organ system is working together
Normal labs DO NOT mean optimal health.
They often mean your body is still strong enough to adapt.
Our job is to lower the load â not just push the system harder.
If youâve ever been told âeverything looks normalâ but you know something isnât right⌠youâre not imagining it. It just means you haven't seen the whole picture yet. đ
