June 22, 2025

#167 | Navigating Bloodwork | Richard LaFountain, PhD & Brandon Fell, MS of Healthspan

1 hour 15 minutes

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About the guests: Richard LaFountain, PhD & Brandon Fell, MS

Clinical Staff at Healthspan (gethealthspan.com)

Rich LaFountain, PhD - Health coach and science writer; his academic and research focus centers on metabolic health, cardiovascular physiology, and the optimization of physical performance through dietary and exercise interventions.

Education: Ph.D. in Kinesiology from The Ohio State University; Bachelor of Science in Biology from the College at Brockport, State University of New York.

Research: His academic and research focus centers on metabolic health, cardiovascular physiology, and the optimization of physical performance through dietary and exercise interventions.

Current Role: Senior Scientist on Healthspan's clinical staff

Brandon Fell, MS - Wellness Coach, with expertise in keto nutrition, clinical research, and longevity science.

Education: M.S. in Kinesiology (OSU, 2020); Dietetic Internship with rotations through Volek’s lab.

Research: Graduate Research Associate in Dr. Jeff Volek’s ketogenic diet studies; major controlled trials.

Current Role: Head of Metabolic Coaching at Healthspan

Episode Summary:

Blood testing isn't perfect but it's one of the best tools available to shine a light into the black box of your personal physiology to see how your body is doing: compared to other healthy people and compared to yourself over time as you age and implement health and longevity interventions. Healthspan now offers an online Longevity Pro Panel blood testing and analysis service to provide expert guidance into lifestyle-based health enhance, and as a gateway into more aggressive interventions to recover lost athleticism, extend healthspan, and maybe even life a long healthy life.

Healthspan comprehensively analyzes pivotal longevity biomarkers to help you optimize your metabolic and cellular health. Examining over 100 biomarkers, Healthspan identifies health insights, enabling personalized recommendations for a successful longevity journey.

Some important notes:

Webinar for healthspan onboarding

gethealthspan.com

What is Healthspan, and why does it offer the blood testing / evaluation service?

Blood panel is a big part, but what else is needed to fully assess biological age status (identify areas for improvement)? BP, DEXA: bone, lean mass, visceral fat, VO2Max, grip strength (bar hang time), etc.

Reliability of blood tests for identifying “optimal” vs. “problems”? wide ranges based on population “normal” (40% obesity rate), different labs/procedures, test result variability, time of day test taken, workouts / foods eating in proximity to testing, blood is only a proxy (not the same thing as organs)

Personal trends vs. “vs. normal” vs. low ACM? Or centenarian typical blood marker ranges?

Need to look at multiple blood markers and understand context to interpret blood test results

Example of a blood panel review session (using Joe Lavelle's data)

Related episodes & links:

Episode 141 | Your Blood Tests Results May Vary | Dr Austin Baraki

Episode 154 | Adaptive Range Expansion (Functional Youth) | Dr Mike T Nelson

Episode 161 | Omega 3: Science vs. Hype | Bill Harris, PhD

Episode 140 | Solving Low Vitamin D | Dr Grant E Fraser

Episode 139 | Finding Your Iron Sweetspot for Performance and Health | Dr Grant Fraser

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*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.

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