At Needles, Herbs & Labs, Dr. Naylous may use inflammatory and metabolic laboratory markers to gain a broader understanding of how the body is regulating blood sugar, energy, cardiovascular risk, and inflammation.

These markers can be especially useful when a patient is experiencing fatigue, difficulty with weight management, blood sugar fluctuations, brain fog, poor recovery, cardiovascular risk factors, or other chronic symptoms that may have a metabolic or inflammatory component.
 
Looking Beyond a Basic Metabolic Panel

A standard metabolic panel provides important information about areas such as glucose, kidney function, electrolytes, and liver function, but it does not always provide a complete picture of metabolic health.

Depending on the patient, Dr. Naylous may also look at additional markers related to:

• Blood sugar regulation

• Insulin activity

• Long-term glucose control

• Lipid metabolism

• Cardiovascular risk

• Systemic inflammation

• Liver function

• Nutrient status

• Other metabolic pathways

The goal is to identify patterns that may deserve closer attention rather than relying on one isolated result.
 
What We May Evaluate

Testing is individualized based on the patient’s symptoms, history, and clinical needs and may include markers such as:

• Fasting glucose

• Hemoglobin A1c

• Fasting insulin

• Lipid panel

• Triglycerides

• HDL cholesterol

• LDL cholesterol

• Apolipoprotein B when appropriate

• High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)

• Standard CRP

• Liver enzymes

• GGT

• Comprehensive metabolic panel

• Uric acid

• Homocysteine

• Other inflammatory or cardiometabolic markers when appropriate

Not every patient requires all of these tests. Dr. Naylous selects markers based on the individual clinical picture.
 
Blood Sugar & Insulin Regulation

Blood sugar regulation involves more than a single fasting glucose value.

A patient may have a fasting glucose result that appears acceptable while other markers, such as insulin or hemoglobin A1c, provide additional context about how the body is managing glucose over time.

Dr. Naylous may evaluate these markers together when looking at concerns such as:

• Energy crashes

• Fatigue after meals

• Increased hunger or cravings

• Difficulty with weight management

• Family history of metabolic disease

• Abnormal glucose or insulin results

• Other signs of impaired metabolic regulation

Looking at the pattern as a whole can provide a more complete picture than relying on one glucose measurement alone.
 
Inflammation as Part of the Bigger Picture

Inflammation is a normal and necessary part of the body’s response to injury and infection, but persistently elevated inflammatory markers may warrant further evaluation.

Markers such as CRP or hs-CRP can provide information about systemic inflammation, but they are not specific to one disease or one cause.

Dr. Naylous interprets inflammatory markers alongside the patient’s symptoms, medical history, metabolic health, digestive health, lifestyle, environmental exposures, and other laboratory findings.

The goal is not simply to identify that inflammation is present, but to consider what may be contributing to it.
 
Cardiometabolic Health

Inflammatory and metabolic markers can also provide insight into cardiovascular health.

Rather than looking only at total cholesterol, Dr. Naylous may consider the relationships between triglycerides, HDL, LDL, glucose regulation, insulin, inflammatory markers, and other relevant findings.

Depending on the patient, additional markers such as Apolipoprotein B or homocysteine may also be considered to provide more context.
 
Who May Benefit From Inflammatory & Metabolic Testing?

Testing may be considered for patients experiencing concerns such as:

• Persistent fatigue

• Brain fog

• Energy crashes

• Blood sugar fluctuations

• Weight changes or difficulty managing weight

• Elevated cholesterol or triglycerides

• Insulin resistance concerns

• Family history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease

• Chronic inflammation

• Poor exercise recovery

• Metabolic health concerns

• Previously abnormal laboratory results

• Patients seeking a more detailed preventive health evaluation

Not every patient requires an extensive metabolic workup. Dr. Naylous determines which markers may be appropriate based on symptoms, history, previous testing, and individual risk factors.
 
Connecting the Results Back to Your Symptoms

Laboratory testing is most useful when the results are considered together rather than one number at a time.

Dr. Naylous reviews inflammatory and metabolic findings alongside:

• Symptoms

• Diet and nutrition

• Exercise habits

• Sleep

• Stress

• Medications and supplements

• Family history

• Weight and body composition trends

• Digestive health

• Hormone and thyroid status

• Other relevant laboratory findings

This helps identify patterns that may provide a more complete understanding of the patient’s overall health.
 
How It Works

After your consultation, Dr. Naylous will determine which inflammatory and metabolic markers may be appropriate based on your symptoms, health history, medications, supplements, and previous laboratory results.

He will then place the laboratory order, and you can have your blood drawn at a participating laboratory such as Quest Diagnostics or another designated laboratory location.

Once the results are available, Dr. Naylous reviews the pattern in detail and discusses the findings with you during a follow-up consultation.

Recommendations may then be individualized based on your results and overall clinical picture and may include nutrition, lifestyle strategies, targeted supplementation, Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, or additional medical evaluation when appropriate.
 

A More Complete View of Metabolic Health

The goal of inflammatory and metabolic testing is not simply to determine whether one laboratory value is high or low. It is to better understand how blood sugar regulation, insulin, lipid metabolism, inflammation, liver function, and other metabolic factors may be interacting.

At Needles, Herbs & Labs, Dr. Naylous uses these markers as part of a broader, individualized evaluation to help connect laboratory patterns with symptoms and overall health.