
← The Chad Franco Podcast14. Juli · 54 Min.
Episode 134: Where the standard health markers fall short with Nick Tognietti
<p>Why "normal" bloodwork doesn't mean you're healthy — and what the labs are actually missing.</p><p>Join me with Nick Tognietti, The Founder Of Lifestyle of Eden and the 7 Pillars of disease reversal, prevention, and longevity.</p><p>Most standard lab panels are built to catch disease, not to define what optimal health looks like. In this episode, we sit down with a leading functional health coach to break down the gap between "normal" and "optimal" — and why the number of Americans who are truly metabolically healthy is likely far lower than the headline statistics suggest.</p><p><br></p><ul><li><strong>Why "normal" ≠ healthy</strong> — the difference between disease-detection thresholds and true optimal ranges</li><li><strong>Blood sugar isn't the full story</strong> — why fasting glucose alone can hide insulin resistance</li><li><strong>Fasting insulin</strong> — the test almost no one gets, and why it's one of the earliest warning signs of metabolic dysfunction</li><li><strong>HOMA-IR</strong> — a simple calculation that can reveal insulin resistance even when glucose and insulin look "fine" individually</li><li><strong>Triglycerides and the TG:HDL ratio</strong> — an underused but powerful predictor of metabolic and cardiovascular risk</li><li><strong>The cholesterol myth</strong> — why two people with identical LDL can have very different actual risk, and where ApoB fits in</li><li><strong>The markers standard panels skip entirely</strong> — hs-CRP (inflammation), uric acid, and vitamin D</li><li><strong>Hormones beyond TSH</strong> — why thyroid, sex hormone, and cortisol testing is often incomplete</li><li><strong>The real number</strong> — what percentage of Americans are actually metabolically healthy once you apply a true functional standard</li><li><br></li></ul><p><em>"The system isn't measuring health — it's measuring the absence of a diagnosis."</em></p><ul><p>Vitality Score assessment - Get yours by <a href="https://vitalitynation.org/vitality_score" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">clicking here</a></p><p>Nick Tognietti - Contact Nick by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nicktofficial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">clicking here</a></p></ul><p><br></p>