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Serum Rheology and Viscosity

Serum Rheology and Viscosity

by | Apr 1, 2024

Post Categories: Cardiovascular Health | Healthy Aging Practices | Inflammation | Integrative Medicine | Longevity Research | Supplements

Alice was a slim, spry, and ageless, elderly English lady who visited our clinic with some vague, innocuous complaints. After drawing her blood to do some general lab tests, letting the tube sit for 15 minutes and then spinning in a centrifuge for 10 minutes, I removed the tube to decant the serum sample. The lightly yellow-colored serum sample was amazingly crystal clear. She had an impeccably healthy diet and her only bad vice was her daily tea with sugar and a sweetened scone. I believed her serum sample directly reflected the internal state of her clean blood rheology and viscosity.

As a naturopathic doctor who draws blood and sends serum samples to different labs throughout North America for different and unique tests, I have observed an interesting phenomenon after spinning the serum separator tubes (SSTs) in preparation of transport. After following the same procedure, I have seen different levels of serum viscosity after centrifuging. Some patients have serum that is thicker than others and this generally corresponds to their level of lipids, particularly triglycerides or other coagulable factors. While it is easy to lose your focus in the abstraction of lab values, a relatively easy and simple evaluation of blood viscosity might be just looking at serum thickness.

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Author

Douglas Lobay, BSc, ND

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