MVX+ Lab Panel

What it is

The MVX+ (Metabolic Vulnerability Index Plus) is a blood panel developed and run by Labcorp. It uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to measure six markers from a single blood draw. The panel is $49.

I order it through Evexia Diagnostics, a lab ordering platform built for practitioners, with a licensed physician affiliated with Evexia overseeing the orders. The draw is done at a LabCorp location.

You need access to a LabCorp draw site to run this panel. For my clients up here, the nearest one is in the Twin Cities, so it works best to build the draw into a trip you already have planned. Remote clients usually have a LabCorp location close by.

What it measures

GlycA, a marker of inflammation throughout the body
Small HDL particles, the smallest of the "good cholesterol" particles, which play a role in the body's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory defenses
Citrate, a key compound in how your cells produce energy, which your kidneys also help clear from the blood
Valine, leucine and isoleucine, the three branched-chain amino acids. They come from the protein you eat, so they reflect protein intake and digestion, and they also track with how your body handles blood sugar.

Labcorp combines those six markers into three scores: an inflammation score (IVX), a metabolic malnutrition score (MMX), and an overall Metabolic Vulnerability score (MVX). You get a copy of the full report, and it is yours to take to your physician if you want a medical read on it.

Why track it

One panel is a snapshot. These markers can shift with what's been going on lately, like diet, a recent illness or injury, or hard training, so the trend matters more than any single result. At $49, running it every couple of months is realistic.

Before the draw

Fast for 10 to 12 hours beforehand if you can, and skip hard exercise for a day or two before the draw. Both can throw off the numbers, so a morning draw after a quiet day works best. If fasting isn't a good idea for you because of a health condition or a medication, check with your medical provider before skipping meals for the draw. Results usually come back within a few days.

How I use the results

The panel gives me a set of numbers. What I do with them is narrow and specific: they help me sequence nutritional recommendations, and they give a reference point if we ever want to look at the same markers again later.

That is the whole of it. The panel does not tell me what is wrong with you, and I do not present it that way. I do not diagnose from it, and I do not use it to identify or rule out any disease or condition. Your assessment and our conversations do most of the work. This adds one more input.

Who chooses it

Some clients want lab-based numbers alongside the assessment. Some want a baseline they can look back on. Some would rather not do a blood draw at all, and that is a completely reasonable choice that changes nothing about the work we do together.