Knowing The ABC’s of Hepatitis

The cases of people living with hepatitis C have reached such staggering numbers that the CDC is calling it a “silent epidemic.” They report a 150 percent increase in new cases in recent year — but that’s not the most concerning number. At least 50 percent of people living with hepatitis C don’t even know they are infected.

What is Viral Hepatitis?

Viral hepatitis can be confusing, but the good news is there have been advances that make all three types of the disease curable, but you have to be diagnosed first. First of all, there are three types of viral hepatitis. According to the CDC, each version can produce similar symptoms and they all affect the liver.

Hepatitis A is a short-term illness that is vaccine preventable. Most people who do get infected with the hepatitis A virus recover over time with little to no lasting effects. It is usually transmitted person to person when you consume food or water that has been handled in an unsanitary fashion. The symptoms usually include fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach pain, nausea, and jaundice. They usually resolve on their own within several months.

Hepatitis B is also vaccine-preventable, but can become much more serious. The hepatitis B virus is transmitted from an infected person to a non-infected person when body fluids are exchanged. This can happen through sexual contact, needle sharing, or from the birth of a baby by an infected mother. The hep B virus begins as a short-term infection of the liver. It can be mild with few, if any, symptoms or be severe enough to require hospitalization. Not everyone is able to clear the infection and they go on to develop chronic hepatitis B. That’s a lifelong infection that can lead to serious health problems, like liver damage, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and even death.

Hepatitis C is similar to hepatitis B except in one key component — it is not preventable. There is no vaccine that will protect you against the virus. People born between 1945 and 1965 are five times more likely to have hepatitis C than most, but young people who inject drugs account for the staggering rise in numbers. Most people who get infected go on to develop a chronic, lifelong infection, which can cause serious liver damage and even liver cancer over time. New treatments offer a cure for many people, but they are costly and won’t prevent you from contracting the virus again.

The keys to beating hepatitis are:

Vaccination if available.
Avoiding transmitting behaviors.
Getting tested so treatment can begin.

Hepatitis Awareness Month

The month of May is Hepatitis Awareness Month. Any Lab Test Now is working to shed light on this hidden epidemic by raising awareness of viral hepatitis and encouraging people to get tested. Our Hepatitis Panel tests for all three types of the virus. We also offer individual Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C screenings as well.

The road to treatment begins with knowing where you stand. Working together with Any Lab Test Now, let’s shine the light on this “silent epidemic” and do our part in helping KO the ABC’s of hepatitis.

Making Yourself Priority One Is Easier To Do Than You Think

Does your list of “must do” tasks seem like a mountain on the verge of a landslide? For many women, there’s a laundry list (pun intended!) of things to accomplish that feels infinite… and it’s usually sandwiched between working and raising a family. Any Lab Test Now encourages you to take a look at your “must do” list and add one more item on to it. YES! You read that right. We not only want you to add one more item to your “must do” list, but we also want you to prioritize it at the top. That’s because Any Lab Test Now wants you to prioritize your health.

MAKING TIME FOR YOU

National Women’s Health Week is celebrated May 12–18 this year and it’s all about making sure you put as much energy into taking care of yourself as you do others. We encourage you, your mother, your sister, your grandmother and your friends to get together and take steps to improve your health and to let Any Lab Test Now be a partner in your journey toward a healthier you.

So how can Any Lab Test Now help women make their health a priority? Convenience tops the list! How often do you put off getting a much-needed test because you just haven’t found the time to make an appointment? Many women are reluctant to make that appointment because they worry it will include long wait times which could mean valuable time lost at work or make you late for a carpool pickup.

With Any Lab Test Now, you don’t even have to schedule an appointment (although you can if you wish). You can simply pop in when you’re near one of our more than 170 conveniently located labs across the country. Generally, we’ll have you in and out in 15 minutes! You won’t miss the first part of the ballet recital.

TESTING WITH LADIES IN MIND

Our lab experts are always available to make sure you’re ordering the right test for your needs. A Comprehensive Female Panel is always a great place to start your journey toward better health. It’s designed to help women at all stages of life make informed decisions about their healthcare goals. It includes blood work (and cholesterol counts) that will provide you with a snapshot of your heart health. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. The panel also includes a metabolic panel that checks kidney and liver functions, female hormones, thyroid condition, and nutritional status. All around, a great annual panel that provides you with a wide range of information.

Some conditions affect women more than men. Take urinary tract infections (UTI) for example. How many times have you felt that distinctive burning sensation? Usually, it’s late on a Friday afternoon! Well, UTIs occur in women significantly more than in men, and we can thank our anatomy for that. You don’t have to suffer until you get in to see the doctor. Some of our locations offer convenient Saturday options. You can get a routine Urinalysis to share with your doctor so you can get to feeling better, faster!

And how many times a week do you grab a quick burger or pick up a to-go salad because you just didn’t have time to stop and sit down to a nutritious meal? A basic building block to a healthier you (man or woman!) is proper nutrition. If you’re so busy making lunches for everyone else that you neglect making one for yourself, it can lead to problems. A regular diet of quick and easy ramen noodles isn’t always best. A Basic Nutritional Panel will let you know if you’re getting enough of what you need to experience optimal health.

Making time for yourself doesn’t have to be another chore to add to the list. When you take care of your own health, you aren’t being selfish. You’ll feel better and more energized and be ready to tackle all of your “must do” list and maybe even more!

Precision Medicine – Available at Any Lab Test Now

“Precision medicine.”

It sounds like something from the future. When most of us think about “precision,” images of watches, computers, or lasers may pop into your mind. But when we talk about precision medicine, we’re talking about optimizing the treatment effectiveness of prescription drugs and minimizing the adverse reactions to them. We’re talking about pharmacogenomics.

Pharmacogenomics (or PGx) is a growing area that blends the study of pharmacology with the field of genetics. Basically, it’s taking individualized medical care down to your very genetic makeup. That’s some pretty heavy stuff, and it’s available right now at Any Lab Test Now.

One Size Does NOT Fit All

Until now, medications have been a sort of a one-size-fits-all model. Doctors try patients on one drug. If that doesn’t work, they move on to the next. If that one works, then they may fiddle with the dosage until they get that just right. Pharmacogenomics takes that time-consuming (and sometimes costly) process and tosses it out the window.

Pharmacogenomics can empower every doctor and every patient with the specific knowledge to properly prescribe to the patient’s symptoms and conditions with accurate medication for the best possible results. How is it done? It’s as easy as a simple DNA swab across your cheek.

Here at Any Lab Test Now, we are proud to offer you seven different PGx panels that address some of the most common conditions faced by patients.

They all work the same. Each kit will come with two buccal (cheek) swabs. Once you collect your DNA sample and turn it in, it will generally take 5 – 7 business days for you to receive your lab results. Simply choose from one of our more than 170 testing locations with work-friendly hours. You can schedule an appointment online, or you can walk-in. Once you receive your results, share them with your doctor and start your journey toward targeted healthcare.

Healthcare: Tailor-Made For You

The days of the trial-and-error of prescription drug prescribing are over. Now, you can have a treatment plan tailored specifically to your body type and physiology, and it’s as simple as accessing your body’s DNA. Stop in to your local Any Lab Test Now location and ask for more information about pharmacogenomics testing.

A Tiny Mineral with a Big Job

In today’s society, we’ve almost grown used to being tired all of the time. Far from being unusual, fatigue and exhaustion almost seem to be the norm — even an expected and accepted state of being — ALL THE TIME.

But, aside from the occasional bouts of insomnia or the nights when Netflix wins the binge-watch battle (“Just one more…”), lasting fatigue is usually a sign that something is not right with your body. A possible culprit: iron deficiency.

Iron — An Essential Mineral

Iron is called an essential mineral because it is — well, essential. Your body needs iron to make healthy red blood cells. It’s in every cell in your body, and without it, your body would not be able to make hemoglobin and myoglobin, which are both oxygen-carrying workhorses! Iron-deficiency anemia is a common type of anemia that occurs if you do not have enough iron in your body. You can be assured that your body will let you know soon enough if you are lacking, but many health experts believe it should never reach that point.

Signs and Symptoms

As we mentioned above, fatigue is the most common symptom of iron-deficiency anemia. It can make it hard to do even the most basic activities. Some other signs and symptoms, according to the National Institutes of Health, include:

Brittle nails or spooning of the nails
Cracks at the sides of the mouth
Pale skin
Swelling or soreness of the tongue
Coldness in the hands and feet
Difficulty concentrating
Dizziness
Headache
Shortness of breath
Weakness
Restless legs syndrome
Chest pain
Irregular heartbeat

Irregular heartbeat is usually a sign that the iron deficiency has gotten to a very serious level. And one other symptom worth noting is “Pica.” Pica is when a person has unusual food cravings for nonfood items — things such as ice, dirt, paint, or starch. It is a disorder that can be associated with other conditions as well.

It’s Not Just a Diet Thing

Many people think of iron-deficiency anemia as a problem for those following a strict vegan diet. It is true that those not getting enough iron-rich foods like meat and eggs need to be aware to consume enough dark, leafy greens to keep their levels high enough. But, there are plenty of other reasons you might be iron deficient. Women with heavy periods are at risk as are women who are pregnant. People with slow, chronic blood loss (things like peptic ulcers, hiatal hernias, colon polyps, or colorectal cancer) should be aware of their increased risk. Some people find their ability to absorb iron from their food is compromised because of disorders such as celiac disease.

Take Control of Your Health

If you’ve been experiencing any of the signs and symptoms above and suspect you may have iron-deficiency anemia, Any Lab Test Now offers you two options:

TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity) Test – This is a basic test that will measure the amount of iron in your blood. Samples are preferred to be collected in the morning from a fasting state, since iron values naturally decrease during the course of the day.
Anemia Panel – This is a comprehensive panel for those looking to take a deeper look. It includes the TIBC Test along with five others: Complete Blood Count, Ferritin, Reticulocyte Count, Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Tests.

Both of these tests will provide you with critical information that will help you get to the root cause of your symptoms and give you and your doctor the details you need to move forward towards a stronger, healthier YOU.

Win Your Fight Against Fatigue

Exhaustion doesn’t have to be a way of life. If you’ve addressed the obvious (we’re looking at you, binge-watching!) it may be time to consider other possible causes. Consider Any Lab Test Now your partner in putting your health first.

OBESITY, DIETS, AND MALNUTRITION: HOW THE THREE ARE CONNECTED

We all have an image in our minds about malnutrition and what that looks like. But, malnourishment isn’t just an issue for the very poor in third world countries. It can affect all people, both rich and poor, both hungry and satisfied, in cities around the world. What connects malnutrition to all of these different groups? More and more often, we’re finding that obesity and diets share a connection. That’s why Any Lab Test Now believes it’s now more important than ever for you to be certain you are getting enough nutrition, because you certainly cannot judge by looks alone.

What is Malnutrition?

Let’s start by making sure we understand exactly what malnutrition is. According to the World Health Organization (WHO): “Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients.” It covers two broad areas. The first is “undernutrition.” Undernutrition includes underweight and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies. The other is overweight and obesity. In plain speak, you can be malnourished even if you’re overweight, underweight, or even perfect weight, if you aren’t eating enough of a wide variety of nutritious foods. This can happen particularly if you are overweight or if you are on a diet or choosing a lifestyle that restricts or even abolishes certain foods.

Obesity and Malnourishment

Many people could look at themselves and think: “I can’t possibly be malnourished. I am getting more than enough to eat!” It has been said that Americans are overfed and undernourished. Diets of fast food and convenient processed products make life easier but aren’t able to provide a steady source of the nutrition our bodies need. But more and more, people are eating calorie dense/nutrient-poor diets. Evidence is mounting that despite excessive dietary consumption, obese individuals have high rates of micronutrient deficiencies which also appears to play an important role in the development of diabetes. Poverty also can play a role. Many of the cheapest foods available are often the highest in calories and the lowest in nutrition.

Diet and Malnourishment

On the flip side is our obsession with dieting and so-called “lifestyle diets.” Whatever you call it, many of these diets/lifestyles depend on the elimination of certain foods or even whole food groups! If you choose to follow one (or find that it’s medically necessary to follow one) it’s very important that you make sure you find acceptable sources to provide you with all the nutrition you need. Let’s take vegan/vegetarian as an example. Eating a plant-based diet offers health benefits, but if you do not make an effort to replace crucial nutrients found in meat, you can find yourself facing nutritional deficiencies.

Where do YOU Stand?

Take a critical look at your diet; if it includes a lot of fast foods, processed foods or if you are following a diet that includes food restriction you might want to consider a Basic Nutritional Panel from Any Lab Test Now. The Basic Nutritional Panel includes a variety of tests that can help you determine if you are getting enough nutrition, including:

Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)
Iron and Total Binding Capacity (TIBC)
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)
Folate
Vitamin D
Vitamin C
Zinc
Ferritin
Homocysteine

Remember — malnutrition may not “look” the way you expect. Some common signs are fatigue, dry hair, thin or spoon-shaped nails, dental problems, constipation, confusion or depression, and a weak immune system. The Basic Nutritional Panel offered by Any Lab Test Now can provide you with a broad picture of your health and should be considered if you are working toward a healthier diet — and a healthier self!

Also at Risk: The Elderly

It’s worth noting that our senior citizens are also prone to malnutrition for a variety of reasons. It could be because they have trouble getting to a store or a lack of money. Some seniors may feel lonely and isolated and have no desire to cook a proper meal for just themselves. Loss of appetite can also be a side effect of medications or a symptom of an illness. Any Lab Test Now encourages everyone to keep an eye on family, friends, and neighbors who may be at risk.

Remember, getting a test at Any Lab Test Now is easy. You don’t have to make an appointment and you don’t need a doctor’s orders. We are private, affordable, and convenient and there’s no better way to take control of your health.

The Preventable Cancer; A Take-Home Test Takes The Fear Out of Colon Cancer Screening

Most people don’t like to talk about (whisper) cancer.

Even more people don’t want to talk about colorectal cancer.

But here at Any Lab Test Now, we’re going to have this uncomfortable talk, because it’s a talk that could save your life. That’s because, with early screening and testing, colon cancer is preventable, treatable, and beatable for anyone. Any Lab Test Now is very pleased to provide you with a potentially life-saving option.

The Colon Cancer Screening (FIT) Test is a simple, non-invasive test that will check for blood in your stool. That’s the best way to provide you with early detection of polyps that could result in colon cancer. Research has shown that early detection is the key to winning the battle against this very treatable disease. Making this option even more of a game changer — you can conduct it in the privacy of your own home, with no special preparations.

A SILENT CANCER

Colon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer, according to the Colon Cancer Coalition. It’s also the second leading cause of cancer death. Anyone can get it. It seems to affect men and women equally as well as people of all races and nationalities. The disease is most often defined by the development of colorectal polyps. The polyps can sometimes turn into cancer. And here’s what makes early detection so crucial: colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer don’t always cause symptoms, especially at first. That’s why regular screening for colorectal cancer is so important.

IF you do have symptoms, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say they are most likely to include:

Blood in or on your bowel movements.
Changes in bowel movements including constipation or diarrhea.
Stomach pains, aches, or cramps that don’t go away.
Unexplained weight loss.

There are some risk factors you should be aware of, and a family history of colon cancer tops that list. People suffering from ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease also appear to be at an increased risk, as are those living with diabetes.

As with many cancers, there are associated lifestyle risks as well. People who eat a lot of fat and cholesterol and very little fiber should be more aware. Drinking excessive alcohol, smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle are all potential risk factors.

EARLY DETECTION — POSITIVE OUTCOMES

The American Cancer Society recently updated their guidelines for colorectal cancer screening. According to the new recommendations, screening should begin at the age of 45 for people at average risk, possibly sooner for those with a family history. With the Colon Cancer Screening (FIT) Test from Any Lab Test Now, you can take the test when it’s convenient for you. You don’t need a doctor’s orders or even an appointment. Simply come by one of our convenient locations and pick the test up.

Many people let embarrassment stop them from getting a colonoscopy, or they have heard horror stories about the prep work required for that test. The Colon Cancer Screening (FIT) Test removes both of those hurdles. It’s a test that you conduct for yourself in the privacy of your own home. And, there’s no fasting involved. Simply pick up the test, follow the instructions, and return the test for processing. Results generally take no longer than five to seven business days.

TALK ABOUT COLON CANCER SCREENING

Share your results with your doctor and see what the best course of action is for you. Remember, colon cancer is usually preventable, treatable, and beatable if detected early. Don’t let embarrassment or fear get in your way. The easy to use “take at home” Colon Cancer Screening (FIT) Test from Any Lab Test Now is worth talking about.

When Food Becomes The Enemy; Why Proper Testing Is Important

Can you imagine living in fear of a bread crumb?

It sounds crazy, but it is a sad reality for millions of Americans. One in every 133 people suffers from celiac disease, and most of them haven’t even been properly diagnosed. That can lead to long-term health complications.

Researchers are working on vaccine therapy to help those with celiac disease, but the first step is spreading awareness and getting a proper diagnosis. Any Lab Test Now can help with that. The Celiac, IBS, Crohn’s Test can help you determine if you have celiac disease or some other gastrointestinal disorder so that you can treat your symptoms properly.

What is celiac disease?

Celiac disease is NOT an allergy — it’s an autoimmune disorder that’s triggered when a sufferer eats gluten. That culprit is a protein that you’ll find in a lot of foods and in some other very unexpected places. It’s found in wheat, barley, rye, and other grains, so people most often think of breads, dough, cakes, pasta, and cereals. But celiac sufferers have to be real detectives! That’s because gluten can be found in a wide range of ingestible stuff, like medications and toothpaste — even lipsticks and envelope glue!

When someone with celiac ingests something with gluten, their body overreacts and their intestines are ground zero. They’ll often experience stomach pain and nausea, but the reaction can also include:

Diarrhea or constipation
Headaches and fatigue
Bone and joint pain
Heartburn
Itchy rashes
Anemia
Mouth ulcers

What’s happening inside your small intestine is slow to develop, but devastating over time. The villi that line your small intestine are damaged with every reaction. Eventually, they won’t be able to absorb nutrients from your food.

The damage to the undiagnosed.

For the millions of people walking around with undiagnosed celiac disease, the damage is growing. The Celiac, IBS, Crohn’s Test (sometimes referred to as the CICA Test) measures your gut health on the genetic, antibody, and cellular levels, taking these often hard-to-diagnose diseases down to the most in-depth levels so you can get to the bottom of your symptoms. The CICA includes the following tests:

Genetic – HLA Typing for Celiac Disease (HLA-DQ2.5 AND HLA-DQ8; ATB16L1 + N0D20) – The genetic testing portion of the profile determines the likelihood that what you are suffering is celiac disease, as opposed to gluten intolerance. 95 percent of people who have either the HLA-DQ2.5 OR HLA-DQ8 genes will have celiac disease.

Antibody/Serological – This test will indicate whether specific antibodies are missing and others have developed. This could cause damage to the small intestine and can indicate the presence of celiac disease as well as differentiate between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, both of which have similar symptoms to celiac disease.

Total Serum IgA

Tissue Transgluatminase Antibody (tTG) – IgA and IgG

Deamidated Gliadin Peptide (DGP) Antibody – IgA and IgG

Anti-Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Antibody (ASCA)

You don’t need a doctor’s order to take the test, but if your CICA Test comes back indicating celiac disease, it’s a good idea to share those results with your doctor so you can get professional guidance on how to best move forward.

What you don’t know can hurt you.

Celiac disease can develop at any age. If you leave it undiagnosed and untreated, you could leave yourself open to some additional serious health problems down the road. These include:

Type 1 diabetes
Multiple sclerosis
Osteoporosis
Infertility
Miscarriage
Epilepsy
Migraines
Intestinal cancers

If you’re suffering from abdominal discomfort or have a family history of celiac disease, it may well be worth considering the Celiac, IBS, Crohn’s Test at your nearby Any Lab Test Now. There may not be a cure, but with a proper diagnosis, there can be relief.

Four Good Reasons To Have Your Liver Function Tested

Your liver is amazing! It is the second largest organ in your body (your skin takes the top spot!) and it has the greatest regenerative capacity of any organ! It is so amazing that doctors are able to perform “living-donor transplants.” That means that surgeons can remove a portion of a living donor’s healthy liver and place it into a patient who needs a new one. After the surgery, the donor’s liver regenerates to full size, while the patient’s new liver also grows to a normal size.

Maybe we tend to take our liver’s health for granted because it is so amazing! But your local Any Lab Test Now location wants you to be aware that your liver is too important to take for granted. While you’re going about your busy day, your liver is busy —

Cleaning your blood of toxins.
Producing bile for your digestion.
Processing what you eat and drink into nutrients.
Filtering out harmful substances from your blood.

And that’s just SOME of what your liver does. Knowing all the work the liver performs should make you determined to take care of it, but some people should take extra care because they are at an increased risk.

YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT

One of the domino effects of the obesity epidemic is something commonly known as “nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.” As the name implies, the disease results when too much fat is stored in liver cells. In the United States, it is the most common form of chronic liver disease, affecting an estimated 80 to 100 million people. It should be noted that you could develop fatty liver disease and NOT be overweight as well.

YOU DRINK (OR DRANK) ALCOHOL

Here’s the thing about alcohol and your liver: they really don’t mix well. And because we each have our own biochemistry, how alcohol affects Jack’s liver will be different than how it affects Jill’s. Whether it’s three or four drinks a day or weekend binges, the toxic effects of alcohol on your liver usually develop over time, so testing can be crucial.

YOU ARE A BABY BOOMER

According to the CDC, people born from 1945–1965 are five times more likely to have Hepatitis C than other adults. What’s worse — most people with the disease do not know they are infected. They can go for decades without symptoms while their livers are slowly under attack. The reason baby boomers have such high rates of Hep C isn’t completely understood, but researchers theorize that many were infected from medical equipment or procedures before universal precautions were adopted or from receiving contaminated blood before screening eliminated the virus in the 1990s.

YOU TAKE MEDICINE

Liver damage is a known side effect of many medications and supplements — both prescription AND over-the-counter. Your doctor may order liver function tests to watch for possible side effects.

The Liver Function Panel at your local Any Lab Test Now can help you take control of your health. The panel consists of seven tests. Some of the tests will look at how well your liver is working at producing protein and cleaning bilirubin waste from your blood. Others measure enzymes that the cells in your liver release if it has been damaged or is diseased.

If your liver is under attack, you may not even know it. Symptoms can be vague until damage has progressed. The good news is that the liver is very resilient. If you are diagnosed early, you have a better chance of a positive outcome. Come in to your local Any Lab Test Now and let our experts help you.

Be Prepared To Meet Your Weight Loss Goals

Another year is winding down. Is it another year that you didn’t meet your weight loss goals? Before you beat yourself up and vow to try again, Any Lab Test Now® wants you to know that it’s important to realize that there may be something at play here that you don’t even realize. If your metabolism isn’t working efficiently and properly, then no amount of proper diet and exercise is going to work. If you’ve suffered from a lack of success before, you might want to consider some testing before you give it another try.

A good place to start is with the Basic Nutritional Panel offered by Any Lab Test Now. This panel includes a variety of tests that can give you a good idea if your body (particularly your metabolism) is functioning properly. It can reveal signs of anemia, infections, or other factors that may cause fatigue, as well as reveal deficiencies in the most common vitamins and minerals

Want to look a little deeper into your nutritional status? Our Micronutrient Test is our most wide-ranging nutritional test. From vitamins and minerals to amino acids and antioxidants, this test measures your body’s ability to absorb 32 vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other essential nutrients. It can be especially helpful in making sure your diet is providing everything your body needs to function optimally.

Many people don’t realize the connection between your hormones and your weight. Hormonal imbalances can lead to weight gain, obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. The Weight Management Take Home Hormone Kit can provide you and your doctor with valuable information on imbalances that might be contributing to excessive weight. Too much estrogen and too little testosterone have been linked to unhealthy weight gain. The so-called “stress hormone” cortisol has been shown to lead to abdominal weight gain. This panel will test for all of those and more.

Want to take a deeper dive into your thyroid health? Then, the Thyroid Panel is recommended for you. The thyroid gland is responsible for regulating how your body uses energy. If your thyroid is underactive, you may suffer from fatigue and weight gain. The Thyroid Panel includes tests for:

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
T4 Total
Free T3
Free T4
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO)

Thyroid imbalances can lead to more than just weight fluctuations; they can end in heart disease, infertility, or osteoporosis. That’s why it’s important to know where you stand with this important hormone producer.

Hormones and nutrition play a huge role, along with diet and exercise. Any Lab Test Now can be your partner on your weight loss and health journey. A quick trip into one of our convenient locations will help you take control of your health now… and for years to come.

A Lab Test As A Christmas Gift? You Bet!

When a lot of people think about getting lab testing, probably the first thing that comes to mind is health. Lab tests are for finding out if something is wrong, right? The answer to that question is a little more complex. Lab tests are for finding out information — and believe it or not, the results can be helpful AND fun.

Here at Any Lab Test Now® we’re thinking specifically about our GPS Origins Test. GPS stands for Geographic Population Structure. Basically, the test can tell you where your ancestors are from. This simple test analyzes over 800,000 autosomal markers from your DNA to pinpoint your origins. It can help identify “when” and “where” your DNA formed by matching the populations that came together to create a genetic line that eventually leads to you.

If this sounds like information worth knowing, then consider this: The GPS Origins Test is a great gift worth giving this holiday season. It can help you mark a few folks off your list.

The History Buff

There is a person in almost every family that is the “holder of the history” — the person that knows all the stories about Great-Great-Grandpa Eric. They may already have completed some work on the family tree. Imagine what having this type of information could mean to them. A simple cheek swab turns into a detailed report about where your family originated and how it migrated around the world to where you are today. This test is so advanced it may even indicate the town or village where groups of your ancestors from different cultures met. Your family historian will spend hours poring over the detailed results.

The Hard to Shop for Person

Isn’t there always someone on your Christmas gift list that seems impossible to buy for? It’s because they’ve already bought everything they could possibly want or need for themselves! The key here is to think about something they didn’t even realize they needed! That’s the beauty of the GPS Origins Test. One gift can help you answer questions about your family’s history, shed light on the origins of certain family traits, and help you better understand exactly who you are.

The Person You Always Forget — YOURSELF

Why not buy one for yourself? Learn more about your family story. Maybe you’ve always been told your people were Irish, but you have no proof. Now you can separate fact from fiction and bridge gaps in your family’s records. Getting your results will be like curling up with a good book… only the story is about YOU.

It might seem strange to start your holiday shopping at Any Lab Test Now, but we offer dozens of tests that offer useful information that will be helpful for a happier and healthier New Year. Browse through our list — or come into one of our convenient locations and let the experts help you pick something out.