2026 Issue #7

Why your blood doesn't tell the whole story

From: Nikki Leary I nikki@rootfornew.com

Hi Reader,

I was chatting with a woman at a luncheon last week and within a few minutes I thought,
“Oh… I know this story.”

She told me how much she loves her CrossFit gym.
How intentional she is about what she eats.
How she’s doing all the “right” things.

And yet… the weight won’t budge.

Her labs? Normal.​
Her thyroid numbers? Normal. (of course I asked - I'm an NTP!)

So she did what so many women do — she started blaming herself.
The glass of wine on the weekend.
The dessert she occasionally allows herself.
The one meal that wasn’t “perfect.”

Six years ago, that was me.

Here’s what I wish every woman knew:

Just because your T3 and T4 look normal in your blood doesn’t mean your cells are actually able to use those hormones.

Blood tests tell us what’s circulating. They don’t always tell us what’s getting into the cell — where thyroid hormone actually does its job.

And that’s where minerals come in.

This is why I love using tissue testing instead of relying on blood alone. Hair is a tissue, and tissues tell a longer story. They show patterns — not just what happened the morning you got your blood drawn.

When I review a mineral test, I’m not just looking at whether a mineral is “high” or “low.” I’m looking at how minerals are interacting with each other, because that’s where function lives.

Two minerals I always pay close attention to when thyroid symptoms are present are calcium and potassium.

Here’s the simplest way to understand why:

If calcium is too high relative to potassium, I think of it like a thin eggshell that forms around each cell.

That “shell” can make it harder for hormones — including thyroid hormone — to actually move into the cell where they’re needed. So even though your blood says, “Yep, thyroid hormones are here,” your cells may be sitting there saying, “Cool… but we can’t use them.” 😱

When that happens, it can look like:

• stubborn weight that won’t shift
• fatigue that doesn’t match your lifestyle
• feeling cold, slow, or puffy
• doing everything right and still feeling off

And it’s incredibly frustrating — especially when you’re being told nothing is wrong.

This doesn’t mean blood work is useless. It’s helpful. It’s important.
But sometimes it’s only part of the picture.

Tissue testing lets us zoom out and ask a different question:
​Is your body actually able to respond to the hormones it has?

There may be more going on beneath the surface. And it’s probably not the occasional dessert.

Sometimes your body just needs the right support — in the right places — to finally start responding.

If this sounds familiar, I’d love to help you look a little deeper.

Learn about a Mineral Test

xo,

P.S. There's still time to join the Wellness Tea Club to get your February tea - grown right here on my Wisconsin farm! For just $29, you get 15 servings of a monthly tea and a guided meditation, designed to calm your nervous system and allow for healing. (Cause you can't heal when you don't stop moving!) Click here to learn more.​

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