Dietary supplements are extremely popular, and multivitamins can seem particularly appealing for their potential to cover multiple possible nutritional issues. But do you really need supplements? Do multivitamins actually help? Should you take a multivitamin every day? Contrary to common marketing practices, we do not believe that multivitamins are a worthwhile expense, as they can be (at best) a waste of money or (at worst) cause dangerous nutrient toxicities.

We're fully committed to providing you with a full view of your health and the tools to improve your biomarkers. This logic extends to the Iron Group, a collection of 11 different blood biomarkers that assess different characteristics of your body's iron status, from storage, to transport, to oxygen-carrying capacity, to the size and composition of your red blood cells. It is by far the most detailed group that we analyze from your blood results, and it's complicated! But true to our word, ...

While blood cells are the driving force behind a healthy immune system. But a low white blood cell count doesn't necessarily mean there's anything to worry about. In fact, white blood cell measurements from blood tests are best considered in context of your historic data and whether recent tests deviate from your normal. Here's a comprehensive overview of white blood cells, the reasons they might be low, and how to support their production.

  Afraid that your naps or sleeping in on the weekend may not be good for you? Well, not only can they help you make up for lost sleep, but research suggests that they may also be beneficial for cognitive function, memory, and (perhaps counterintuitively) help you fall asleep at night. The next time someone comments on your napping habit or forces you up early on a Saturday morning, you’ll be able to back up your extra shut eye with science!

As we’ve talked about before, birth control can have some drastic effects on blood biomarkers including sex hormones. If you’ve received your blood test results and been concerned about some elevated (or low) sex hormone markers like DHEAS and SHBG, it’s important to consider how lifestyle factors, like whether you're taking hormonal contraceptives, may play a role. Here's how birth control can affect blood levels of various hormones – and the implications those imbalances have on your health.

Like many other biomarkers, age is a contributing factor in how our sex hormone levels change. Males experience a more gradual change throughout their lifetime, while women have a more abrupt change during the years leading up to menopause. Although we can’t stop the biological clock that dictates some of the changes to our hormone levels, we can alter some lifestyle factors in order to slow the process.

A common misconception about holiday meals is that we should starve ourselves before and after them. This isn’t true! In fact, we should try to stick to our usual routines as much as possible leading up to a big holiday feast and jump right back into them after it. Under eating before or after the meal can do more harm than the large meal itself.  

Not only is oatmeal one of the best ways to start your day, aside from having someone else make breakfast for you, it's also among the easiest. Here, we'll share yet another health benefit of starting your day with a delicious bowl of oatmeal, lowering your cholesterol levels one spoonful at a time.