hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic

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Are your blood tests coming back normal even though you're struggling with fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, or hormonal changes after 40?
In this solo episode of hol+, Dr. Taz MD breaks down 7 important blood tests and lab panels that may provide a more complete picture of your metabolic, hormonal, and overall health.

Learn why fasting insulin and hemoglobin A1c matter for blood sugar regulation, what ferritin reveals about iron stores, why thyroid testing sometimes deserves a closer look, and how vitamin D, inflammation markers, and sex hormones can contribute to conversations about your health.

Dr. Taz also explains why tracking lab results over time can be helpful, how symptoms provide important context, and what questions to bring to your next doctor's appointment.

In this episode:
  • The limitations of routine annual blood work
  • Fasting insulin and early insulin resistance
  • Hemoglobin A1c and long-term blood sugar
  • Ferritin, vitamin D, and thyroid testing
  • High-sensitivity CRP and inflammation
  • Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone after 40
  • How to track and discuss your lab results
Ready to take a closer look at your health?
Schedule a consultation with a hol+ provider to explore your symptoms, lab results, and personal health goals:
➡️ https://holplus.co/appointments
Explore holistic health resources and integrative care:
➡️ https://holplus.co/

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Produced by https://ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)

Creators and Guests

Host
Dr. Taz Bhatia MD
Dr. Taz Bhatia is a triple-board-certified integrative medicine physician and founder of hol+, where she brings together science, spirit and the human experience to deliver holistic, whole-person care.
Producer
Pat Gostek
Founder of ClipGrowth.com - End-to-End YouTube, Podcast & Clips Management (you just record).

What is hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic?

hol+ with Dr. Taz MD is redefining modern medicine through a comprehensive, evidence-based holistic approach; integrating functional medicine, integrative medicine, and time-tested healing systems to treat the whole human, not just symptoms.

Hosted by Dr. Tasneem Bhatia (Dr. Taz), triple board-certified physician in integrative, functional, and holistic medicine, bestselling Penguin Random House author, and founder of hol+; a comprehensive evidence-based holistic medicine platform with clinics in Atlanta, New York City, and Los Angeles, and virtual care available nationwide.

At the heart of hol+ is a revolutionary framework: the Five Body Map- physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and social/community bodies that create whole health. This whole-human approach connects hormone imbalances, gut dysfunction, microinflammation, cortisol dysregulation, metabolic disease, autoimmune conditions, perimenopause, and stress-driven illness to the full spectrum of who we are; body, mind, and spirit.

Each episode explores Dr. Taz’s original clinical frameworks ;The Cortisol Loop, Microinflammation, and The Invisible Load alongside conversations with leading experts, celebrities, and thought leaders including Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Katherine Schwarzenegger, Cameron Mathison, Carol Alt, Jane Seymour, Tamsen Fadal, and Kris Carr.

Topics include hormone health, gut health, GLP-1 and metabolic therapy, thyroid dysfunction, weight loss, inflammation, autoimmune disease, mental and emotional wellness, energetic health, and the future of holistic medicine.

This is the show where science and spirit converge- driving health, happiness, relationships, and family ecosystems.

Want to go deeper? Join Dr. Taz’s private community, the hol+ Circle ; medicine beyond the exam room. (holplus.co/circle)

A 2025 Webby Award honoree, recognized alongside the Mel Robbins Podcast in the 29th Annual Webby Awards, hol+ is built on the foundation of Super Woman Wellness, which surpassed 1 million downloads over 8 years.

This is medicine beyond the exam room. Welcome to hol+

[00:00:00] Dr. Taz: This episode is sponsored by Hol+ a holistic health platform built around [00:00:05] education, personalization, and integrative care. Hol+ blends [00:00:10] holistic, integrative, and functional medicine clinics with learning resources like blogs, [00:00:15] YouTube videos, and of course this podcast, so you're not just treated, you're informed.[00:00:20]
The platform also includes holistic health quizzes and a curated wellness shop, helping you [00:00:25] make choices that support your body at the root level. Hol+ is [00:00:30] holistic healthcare designed for real life. Visit us at holplus.co [00:00:35] to learn
more about the platform. Again, that's [00:00:40] holplus.co
Standard annual blood work often stops at a basic metabolic panel [00:00:45] and cholesterol. A more complete midlife panel adds fasting insulin, [00:00:50] also adds in things like a hemoglobin A1C, a ferritin, vitamin D, [00:00:55] and a full thyroid panel. Sometimes you'll also see a CRP and [00:01:00] sex hormones. These markers frequently reveal early dysfunction [00:01:05] years before standard panel flags disease.
Normal is not a [00:01:10] diagnosis. It is a range built from a population that includes a lot of [00:01:15] unwell people. If you are over 40 and something feels off, these are the [00:01:20] markers that catch dysfunction while it's still reversible. The standard [00:01:25] physical usually checks a very narrow set, a basic metabolic panel, a blood [00:01:30] count, and cholesterol.
Screening is designed to catch disease, not to [00:01:35] catch the decade of drift that precedes it. Fasting glucose alone misses [00:01:40] early insulin resistance, often by many years. Normal [00:01:45] ends the conversation even when you don't feel normal. What we try [00:01:50] to do in functional medicine and holistic medicine is really close that gap.
We [00:01:55] understand that dysfunction is a gradual slope. It's not a switch. The goal is to catch the [00:02:00] slope while it's happening. The optimal ranges are narrower than traditional [00:02:05] lab ranges, and they're a lot more useful in midlife. Markers are usually [00:02:10] interpreted together to tell a story. There's not a single value alone.
Most of what these [00:02:15] tests reveal is modifiable, which is exactly why it's worth knowing early. [00:02:20] So here are the markers that are actually worth asking for, and [00:02:25] again, a great place for you to take notes. Fasting insulin, which actually [00:02:30] catches insulin resistance years before glucose rises, is the most underused [00:02:35] tool in medicine.
A hemoglobin A1c, and we look at these all the time. [00:02:40] These also are super helpful in looking at your average blood sugar over [00:02:45] three months, not just a single morning. A ferritin, looking at [00:02:50] iron storage, is commonly missed as a source of fatigue and hair loss in women. [00:02:55] A vitamin D level, which is often low and tied to immunity, mood, and bone [00:03:00] health.
A full thyroid panel, including a TSH, a free T3, a [00:03:05] free T4, an rT3, and antibodies, and a high-sensitivity [00:03:10] CRP, which is a window into chronic low-grade inflammation. The sex hormones are important as [00:03:15] well, with estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which shift meaningfully [00:03:20] through your forties. When we get into the functional medicine root cause framework, we [00:03:25] understand that labs answer a question, they don't necessarily close one, and this is why a holistic [00:03:30] approach matters as well.
Ev- early insulin resistance really [00:03:35] underlies a lot of midlife change, the weight, the energy, the cardiovascular [00:03:40] risk. Nutrient depletion starts quietly through decades of dieting, [00:03:45] cycles, and pregnancies. Hormonal transitions often start earlier than [00:03:50] most expect, and this in turn impacts how every other system behaves.[00:03:55]
Chronic inflammation accelerates all of it, which is why an hsCRP is [00:04:00] worth tracking. Your stress load shapes nearly every marker on this list. [00:04:05] Context matters when interpreting results Now, when it comes to what [00:04:10] we do at hol+ and what I do in clinical practice, here are a couple things that might help you [00:04:15] as well.
First of all, write this list down and bring it in. We know that specific requests are [00:04:20] usually likely to be honored in any exam room. Ask for your actual [00:04:25] numbers and keep them year on year, and then look at these trends over time. A [00:04:30] value drifting within a trend still tells you something. It tells you that maybe something is [00:04:35] changing with your health.
And then we wanna retest under consistent conditions, [00:04:40] fasting, same time of day, same lab. And then pairing these results with how you [00:04:45] feel, the labs describe terrain, your overall environment, your [00:04:50] symptoms tell you where you're standing. Work with a provider who interprets [00:04:55] optimally, not just diagnostically.
The point of testing is [00:05:00] not to worry sooner, it's to have options while you still have them. I wonder if you've [00:05:05] had any of these symptoms of inflammation that have been slow and creeping, but have [00:05:10] never had the opportunity to look at your labs and your patterns to catch it [00:05:15] before it turned to disease.
To connect the dots on your own story and understand [00:05:20] which markers really matter for you, schedule a consultation with one of our hol+ [00:05:25] providers who can dig into your personal health journey and your challenges at [00:05:30] holplus.co/appointments.