Registered Nurse Marlene Geren said the secret to better health can be found in our blood.
Geren owns Bwell4ever, a wellness center which provides in-depth lab testing, health and wellness consultations, lifestyle coaching and first aid and CPR training.
Geren said most blood tests done at physicians’ office, called a CBC (complete blood count) test, looks at overall health and can be used to find a wide range of conditions, including anemia, infection and leukemia.
Doctors will let you know if the results are within normal, low or above normal ranges and provide guidance on medications or treatments that may be necessary to improve your health.
But Geren said there are more things your blood can be tested for, not included in a CBC, that could provide answers to a multitude of internal imbalances or medical issues.
Bwell4ever offers a variety of blood testing packages and options providing an in-depth analysis on things like hormone levels, cortisol levels, inflammation levels, thyroid levels, cardiovascular health, vitamin and minerals levels, lipid panels, cholesterol levels and much more.
Geren said once the results are in, the team will review the results with you to help you understand what all the numbers truly mean and how you can take the necessary steps to resolve any issues.
Geren works with a group of professionals that have been in the wellness industry for several decades. Her team at Bwell4ever partners with Nutrition World and Optimize U to help you find the right course of action. Her team can also work with your current physician to implement a plan about the best way to guide you toward better health.
It could mean tweaking current medications or expanding your options using other means.
“Supplements, food changes, lifestyle changes, stress management, sleep management are all ways to improve your health,” she said.
Geren said the first step is setting up an appointment and consultation. There are several package options to choose from depending on what you’d like to test. The tests offered are typically ones that insurance companies may not cover but provide a truer look about what is happening in your body.
The fees are structured so you can pick from a variety of options. Payments are in cash, checks or credit card and are less than you might pay with insurance due to your deductible.
Geren said it is important to understand the test results.
“You might get a CBC test from your doctor, and they might tell you that it all looks good, but there's also optimal values,” she said.
Her team at Bwell4ever can guide you to the resources you need to help you reach these optimal values utilizing a more holistic approach to health. The goal is to achieve homeostasis.
Optimal health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Homeostasis is the state of balance that living systems maintain to keep their internal physical and chemical conditions stable. It's the condition in which an organism functions best.
Geren said people recovering from illness, injuries, and even the natural aging process can cause the internal systems to be thrown off balance due to vitamin deficiencies, hormonal changes or new medications or changes to your medications.
She said the human body always tries to heal itself. Blood tests can help show areas that may need some assistance by utilizing supplements, exercise or lifestyle changes. She recommends a subsequent blood test after 90 days to allow the body time to adjust to the changes and see if there are any changes in the new test results.
“So, it's so important for people to come in and get that baseline,” she said. “You're creating a study so you have your baseline, and then subsequent tests will let you know whether your tweaking is actually helping or hurting and then after that maybe once a year, to maintain that baseline and see where you're at.”
Appointments can be booked through their website. Testing is done at their office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. until noon. Bwell4Eever accepts walk-in clients, but appointments will be given priority. They are also at Nutrition World for tests on the last Friday of each month.
They also offer other health services and corporate wellness consultations.
Bwell4ever
- 6237 Vance Road, Suite 8
- Chattanooga, TN 37421
- (423) 531-2955 or (423) 531-9355
- https://www.bwell4ever.org/
Full list of available tests and pricing can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y8osjxGcVvJ79G94V-5fr8lKUc2AwMZA/view