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It's often said that nowadays, "Health Care" should be renamed "Sick Care". People say this because it seems like the modern medical system only cares about treating (and charging) sick people, rather than keeping people healthy in the first place.
While there may or may not be truth to that, most of the doctors I know are great people and very keen on keeping people out of the healthcare system! Much of this problem also lies in our own hands. As long as we outsource the management of our own health to other people, there will always be this problem. We definitely have ourselves to blame on this one as well.
Keeping an eye on a few key metrics of health is important to stop disease processes early on, rather than waiting until there is a massive problem which we now desperately need treatment for. Many diseases are entirely treatable, and reversible when caught early. Caught late, and the outcome might not be as optimistic. We should have a handle on these numbers and take responsibility for our own health!
Things like your BMI and waist circumference can be checked at home and already give you some good info, and we've already discussed these in an earlier blog, but some medical checks are recommended as well.
1. Blood Pressure.
It is universally accepted that high blood pressure = bad. There is zero controversy over this, and even the most contrarian people in the health space can agree on this.
High blood pressure puts more strain on your artery walls and can cause some arteries to thicken and harden. It can also cause other, smaller blood vessels to bulge or even burst causing strokes. While these are very serious, high blood pressure can also cause problems in various other organs and processes throughout the body. It's not good.
2. Blood Lipid Profile.
When you get a blood lipid profile, you'll basically get 3 values back. Triglycerides. HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.
Roughly, the accepted consensus is that:
- Triglycerides you want LOW
- HDL you want HIGH
- LDL lower is better.
Now that 3rd one there will be having many people I know freaking out as there is a large group of people who insist that LDL being high is not a problem. I am not a doctor or a cardiologist so I'd rather not make any statements on this. Their theory is that elevated LDL in the absence of High-Blood pressure, high insulin or blood glucose and general "Inflammation" isn't a problem.
Honestly, I don't know. There is clear evidence that elevated LDL is one of the causes (although not the only one) of Cardiovascular disease. It might be not a bad idea to keep it under the recommended level anyway.
3. Fasting glucose level.
This can go hand in hand with a "HbA1c" test. Fasting glucose test tells you what your blood sugar level is on the day. HbA1c test gives a sort of average glucose level over the last 8-12weeks.
These numbers can give you an idea of whether you are diabetic or approaching diabetes. Once again, it's pretty universally accepted that high (fasting) blood glucose is bad. Elevated levels of glucose in the blood can cause damage. Our bodies immediate response to elevated BG is to secrete insulin. Insulin basically allows the cells in your body to receive the glucose out of the blood stream, for use as energy or for storage. If your BG is elevated this means that your insulin response is not working as it should. Eventually you can have chronically elevated BG because of large scale insulin resistance....and this is not good.
Ok Stu, what else?
Nah, that's pretty much it. We are talking about what we should prioritise here and these few things are the real biggies. A case could be made for depression screening, but I think that's a topic on it's own. I'm not a fan of ticking every single test on the Lancet blood test sheet and then trying to micromanage each of your mineral levels to the microgram. While there may be SOME value to other tests, it is probably limited compared to these.
Over-testing can also lead to over-diagnosis, and ironically, the same people that tend to recommend a million tests are the same ones who claim medical doctors are only interested in making money and selling drugs....But they are ready to tell you your copper levels are 2mcg too low and diagnose you with some mysterious deficiency.
What to do about these things?
Well #1, talk to your doctor. They will, A, have the knowledge about what the levels of those tests should be (although they are easily Googleable and generally agreed upon) and B, be able to tell you how your tests stack up and what to do about them. Developing an open dialogue with your doctor is a great idea. As a Health Coach I would never disregard what a trained health professional is telling you, but I would encourage you to find ideas and modalities that work in your specific life and situation to improve any problem areas you may have. Doctors often don't have the time to discuss these finer details.
#2, I'm always a fan of trying lifestyle adjustments before jumping to medications. It is undoubtable that for many people the 3 biomarkers listed above can be improved massively with lifestyle changes...that is, Diet, exercise and stress management! This stuff is FREE and available to nearly anybody all the time. Rather pick up a twice weekly running habit, than a daily medication course, and cost!
