By Paul Hunter
As we head into the remaining two months of 2017, many have long abandoned their New Year's resolution(s) in lieu of comfort, simplicity, and immediate gratification. We HAD goals and a lot of ambition as we embarked on 2017, then busyness found its way into our lives. So where are we now? An age-old adage is, “What we measure improves.” Have you been measuring? If so, what? If not, why not? A common measurement is weight. It’s easy, quick and sometimes painful. Below, I will discuss a few others to measure and some others to consider.
Basic Anthropometric information
Weight
Height
BMI
Circumference Measurements
Body Composition
How about some blood-work? The details of blood-work beyond the basics are often overlooked. Find a doctor who is aware of and knows what to order for you beyond the basics; however, be sure to get at least the basics measured.
There are some basics like Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, Complete Blood Count (CBC), glucose, TSH (for thyroid) that everyone should be getting and if you’ve never had consistent blood work done, get these.
On the other extreme, there are additional areas to assist with your “fine-tuning” of your physical self beneath the skin.
Advanced Cholesterol
These advanced cardiovascular and lipid panels go beyond typical blood tests for total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL to uncover early risk factors for heart disease. Some of the additional tests include: ApoA1, ApoB, both key binding proteins; Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Free Fatty Acids (FFA), Lipid Particle numbers and sizes.
Liver and Kidney Health
Your kidney and liver detoxify your body of harmful pollutants from your everyday environment. Poor liver and kidney health can lead to chronic disease, unwanted weight gain, loss of energy and more. Creatnine, Total Bilirubin, Albumin, Total Protein test are used to determine your health in these areas.
Performance Hormones
Testosterone deficiency has numerous effects on muscle growth, fat storage, mood, and libido. We measure the biomarkers that indicate the cause of such hormone dysfunction.
Metabolic Hormones
This panel measures the body's balance of stress and weight gain/loss, both of muscle and fat via Cortisol, Insulin and IGF-1 (Growth hormone surrogate) levels.
Thyroid & Blood Sugar
Diabetes and metabolic syndrome are among the fastest growing chronic diseases, and thyroid disease is the most common hormone imbalance.
Advanced Thyroid
This panel is an advanced assessment of the biomarkers related to your thyroid function. An imbalance can cause excess storage of energy, leading to weight gain and fatigue, or excess use of energy, leading to unhealthy weight loss and restlessness.
Advanced Inflammation
This panel is an advanced assessment of the biomarkers related to systemic inflammation. These tests are useful to detect and monitor infection, injury, and certain inflammatory diseases.
Complete Blood Count & Advanced Nutrients
All cells and tissues in the body are dependent on the delivery of oxygen by your red blood cells. This panel provides a detailed assessment of your blood and essential nutrient levels.
Women's Reproductive Panel
This panel examines the biomarkers related to fertility and the overall function of female hormone and reproductive health.
There is a lot going on underneath the surface. Our blood hides what we have done to ourselves if we don’t peek under the hood periodically. Some don’t want to know. I suggest you get at least the minimal ordered, measured and recorded when you are healthy so you have a baseline prior to something happening that would throw these haywire. Some people are naturally elevated or suppressed in particular areas. The more we understand how our bodies function when healthy, the more likely we are to catch something prior to our health getting too out of whack.
Make it a Great Day!