What Your Labs (and Your Heart!) Are Trying to Tell You.
September is Extra Special! National Self-Care Awareness Month. National Cholesterol Education Month.
September is a genuinely special month for me (especially this September when I'm expecting my first grandchild!)—it's both National Self-Care Awareness Month and National Cholesterol Education Month, and if you know me, you know that combination is basically catnip. Self-care isn't just candles and bubble baths (though I love those too)—sometimes the most powerful act of self-care is simply knowing your own numbers. And then making small shifts to keep optimizing what you're after. THAT is the catnip. I love the "test and learn"!
As a coach, I don't diagnose, prescribe, or treat—I educate, and I live what I teach. I'm always curious about strategies for optimizing my health and testing things on myself, lab results included. And when I learn something that I feel others could benefit from, I love to share!
So consider this your invitation into my own N of 1 research portal. Here's a glimpse into what my labs say, what I've learned about reading them beyond the surface numbers, and what new research has me rethinking about movement and heart health this fall.
Beyond the Basic Numbers: The Power of Particle Size!
Most of us know our overall cholesterol "number." Even LDL (the "bad" cholesterol), HDL (the "good" cholesterol), and even those terrible triglycerides. Some of us are even more evolved in our focus on particle size.
Wait, back up a minute—particle size?!? Yes! It's not on everyone's radar, but it's a genuinely important detail you want to include in your lipid panel lineup. You see, all LDL cholesterol isn't created equal. It comes in different sizes—from large and buoyant (those more fluffy "Pattern A" particles)—to small and dense ("Pattern B"). Smaller in this case is not better; those small, dense particles carry meaningfully more cardiovascular risk than the large ones, even at an identical total LDL number, because they're more prone to squeezing into artery walls and contributing to plaque buildup.
Pro Tip: You may need to request this metric directly from your doctor, as particle size isn't part of every practitioner's standard lipid panel. It typically requires a specific test—called an NMR LipoProfile.
My Own Numbers (Because I'm an Open Book).
While one test does not a trend make (and believe this data geek, I trend it all), I wanted to share the results from my most recent panel. Not perfect (it's NEVER perfect lol), but genuinely great and I'll take it!
HDL: 78. Nicely high, and HDL is the "good" cholesterol that helps clear excess from your bloodstream.
Triglycerides: 56. Nicely low, a strong marker.
Total cholesterol: Solidly within range.
LDL: 111. Could come down a touch (it does go up and down); room to fine-tune, not a red flag.
LDL particle size: 21.7 nm. Comfortably in the favorable "large and buoyant" range (the dividing line sits around 20.5 nm).
Apolipoprotein B: 83. ApoB counts your total number of atherogenic particles, giving an even fuller picture than LDL alone; comfortably under the general <90 desirable marker.
A1c: 5.4 and glucose: 93. I personally like them lower but they are in normal range as healthy metabolic markers.
C-reactive protein (cardiac): <0.15 mg/L. A marker of inflammation, and mine is always low but I'm celebrating this one as a milestone as it has never been lower!
Vitamin D: 78.6, B12: 671. Both healthy, supportive numbers.
This analysis is exactly why I love labs the way I do: it's not about chasing perfect, it's about approaching your own numbers with curiosity, not judgment, asking questions, thinking about strategies to improve, and making small shifts to best support YOUR vision for YOUR health.
New Research on Exercise and Heart Health: Short Bursts = Big Benefits.
I've been incorporating walk-run repeats into my movement for the past two months—part active recovery from some arm tendinitis, part curiosity about shifting things up a bit and seeing how this felt for my body. I've been feeling great, and new research just gave me another fascinating reason to keep at it.
A Rockefeller University study (published recently in Cell Reports Medicine) compared 90 minutes of moderate continuous cycling against short, all-out sprint intervals—and found the sprint intervals activated 32 of 33 proteins linked to lower cardiometabolic risk, compared to just 3 activated by moderate exercise alone. To be clear, this doesn't mean sprinting replaces steady-state cardio—there's a place for both—but it does suggest short bursts of intensity offer unique benefits worth including. Here's a recent Medical News Today write-up about this study.
One cardiologist commenting on the findings suggested a practical real-world alternative for those of us not doing literal sprints: walking briskly or uphill for a short period, then returning to a comfortable pace. That's essentially my walk-run repeats—sometimes with a weighted vest for extra resistance.
The New Milestone Outcome I Didn't Expect: "Much Younger"!
My Oura CVA data from 9.9.26 AM (overnight 9.8.26).
My Oura ring has been tracking my cardiovascular age (CVA) throughout this journey (well, actually since I started with Oura over 4½ years ago now), and I recently hit another new milestone worth sharing: my CVA crossed into "Much Younger" territory—Oura's label for -15 years, the lowest the app displays.
While I've toggled between -9 to -12.5 years younger very consistently with Oura, over the last two months I've hit new territory: first -13 years, then -13.5, -14, -14.5, and now -15 years younger! I love optimizing my health and age though this was not something I was chasing directly. My hypothesis is that it's the pleasant byproduct of some shifts I've made and the power of consistency—the walk-run repeats, honoring rest as its own strategy (my "Power of the Pause" from July), my twice a year "reset," and perhaps more that's not squarely on my radar.
The body is so complex and it's really hard to normalize for everything, but the bigger picture is the human body is amazing and responds positively when you crack the code and consistently give it a version of what it needs (recognizing foundational basics though priorities are always shifting). So here's to continued "test and learn"!
It's important to note that consistency shows up in many more places than movement—one key being sleep schedules.
Coming Soon: Heart Health-Related Sidebar—Consistency of Sleep-Wake Times and Why You're Still Tired.
The body loves consistency. Sleep-wake times are no different, and really help to set circadian rhythm. Consistent sleep is a "Good Guy" for heart health! Here's a quick preview of something I'm digging into more fully in October-November: if you're waking up feeling groggy despite a full night's sleep, there's a real reason—it's called sleep inertia, tied to how your brain clears a compound called adenosine as you wake. More on that (and a genuinely good-news angle involving November's time change) in a future issue.
Here's to Curiosity Over Perfection.
Self-care and heart health aren't separate conversations—they're the same conversation. Your health starts—and ends—with your heart. Knowing your labs, moving your body in ways that feel sustainable, and giving yourself real rest are all forms of the most important kind of self-care: taking your own health seriously enough to actually look, with curiosity instead of judgment, at what your body is telling you.
Here's to Your Healthiest Happiest YOU! ☀️
Chris
NBC-HWC | FMCHC | Founder, BrandCraftYOU
Ready to Embrace YOUR Healthiest Happiest YOU? Work with Me!
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