My 2025 Functional Blood Work: Immune System - Part 1
Earlier this year, as part of the Midlife Mavericks Blood Work Workshop, I took a deep dive into my own blood results. And let me tell you — it's a strange mix of confronting and empowering when your own blood starts whispering secrets about your health.
We’ve teamed up with Dr. Rick Davids, a Functional Medicine Practitioner from The Health Formula, to help men like us get proactive about health. Not reactive. Not crisis mode. Proactive.
If you’ve never heard of Functional Medicine, think of it as health care that asks why — not just what pill should we give you? You can read more about that here.
My results are in, and I’m sharing them with you — not because I want sympathy, but because I want more men to take their health seriously before the wheels fall off. We’re great at pushing through pain, ignoring warning signs, and pretending we’re fine — until we’re not. So consider this a permission slip to be curious about your own biology.
How This Works
Over the next few month, I’ll be breaking down different sections of my Functional Medicine report — what concerned me, what I’m doing about it, and how it all compares to the usual advice you’d get from your GP.
This week, we're starting with the big-picture overview — what’s known in Functional Medicine land as the Functional Body Systems report. It’s not just looking at individual numbers, but patterns. Think of it like detective work for your body.
My Functional Snapshot
The report uses an algorithm to compare multiple blood markers across different systems — immune, kidney, liver, gallbladder, GI, etc. Anything above 50% gets flagged as a priority system to investigate.
Here’s what lit up for me:
Immune function
Kidney function
GI function
Liver function
Gallbladder function
Yeah... that’s a lot. Looks scary, right? Like my body’s trying to wave every red flag it can.
But before we panic — remember: the algorithm doesn't know me. It doesn’t know how I eat, train, sleep, or manage stress. That’s why having a practitioner like Dr. Rick matters — he brings the context, not just the numbers.
Let’s Talk Immune Function
This was my highest priority score, and it makes sense once we dig into the markers:
In Plain English:WBC slightly high → Immune system is activated
Neutrophils low → Not currently fighting bacteria (but potentially run-down)
Lymphocytes high → Likely viral activity or chronic immune stimulation
Monocytes high → Chronic inflammation or immune clean-up
Albumin low → Possibly inflammation, liver stress, or just not enough recovery
Globulin high end → Immune proteins are on alert
Put simply:
My immune system is running hot. It’s not chaos... but it’s definitely busy.
What’s Going On?
At the start of this year, I had a recurrence of glandular fever (Epstein-Barr Virus) — the viral hangover that just won’t leave the party. EBV is known to hang around in your system for life, and it can reactivate when you're stressed, rundown, or not sleeping well.
Even months later, your immune system can still show signs of that battle.
So yes — my blood work is still waving flags from that fight. And if you’ve had a nasty virus in the past year (COVID, EBV, flu), it could explain a lot about why you feel “off,” fatigued, or like you’re not recovering the way you used to.
What I’m Doing About It
Recovery isn’t passive. It’s an active decision to work with your body — not against it.
And that’s where a lot of men get stuck. We’re conditioned to push through. To grind. To show up strong no matter what. The world tells us to outwork the problem, train harder, raise the intensity — even when we’re running on empty.
But here’s the truth: if your immune system is already under pressure, pushing harder doesn’t make you tougher — it just digs a deeper hole.
Right now, my body’s asking for something different. Not to stop training… but to train smarter. Not to quit working… but to manage the cost. Not to collapse… but to listen.
Every hard session I do pulls energy away from my recovery systems. And when you’re dealing with viral reactivation, chronic inflammation, or immune stress — that energy is needed elsewhere.
So I’ve made a shift.
🛌 Rest & Recovery (Expanded)
Prioritising deep, consistent sleep — ✅
Pulling back from intense training — ✅
Programming low-intensity, recovery-based movement — ✅
Rethinking my workload and business stress — actively building in buffer time and saying no more often
Looking at ways to improve my sleep: earlier nights, blackout blinds, sleep supplements, better wind-down habits
This isn’t just about supplements or protocols. It’s about learning to respect my energy. And that’s not something most men are taught to do.
✅ Immune Support
Vitamin D (100–150 nmol/L) – ✅ Already doing
Zinc + Copper (balanced) – ✅ Already doing
Quercetin, Curcumin, L-Lysine – ☑️ Added recently
Adaptogens (Ashwagandha, Rhodiola) – ☑️ Just ordered
🛌 Rest & Recovery
Prioritising deep sleep – ✅ Already doing
Pulling back from hard training – ✅ Already doing
Programming recovery-based movement – ✅ Already doing
🌿 Gut & Liver Support
Gut repair protocol – ✅ In progress (read more here)
NAC for liver support – ✅ Already using
Might consider glutathione and further testing down the track
Takeaway for You
Most men won’t go this deep — not because they don’t care, but because they’ve never been taught how.
We’re taught to push.
To grind.
To ignore pain.
To “man up” and keep moving.
But here’s the hard truth: if your immune system is already under pressure and you keep adding load — through work, training, poor sleep, or stress — something’s going to break.
This isn’t about becoming fragile. It’s about becoming smarter.
You only get one tank of fuel. Spend it wisely.
So before you jump into another HIIT session…
Before you accept those late nights as just part of life…
Before you dismiss your fatigue as “just getting older”...
Stop and ask:
Is my body asking for more — or less?
Is now the time to push — or the time to recover?
Am I making deposits into my health — or just withdrawals?
This is your permission slip to stop pretending.
To start listening.
To lead yourself — before your body forces you to.
Coming Up Next
In the next post, I’ll unpack my Kidney Health, what those markers really mean, and how they’re linked to my kidney function.
If you’re a man in midlife who wants to stay sharp, strong, and out of the doctor’s office — stay tuned.
This is just the beginning.
