What Metrics Am I Measuring When it Comes to My Health [PART 2]?
Jan 24, 2021
I always tell my patients that how they feel isn't always the best indicator of their health. Disease doesn't just happen overnight. It can manifest in our bodies for years before it becomes a problem... and you might not even notice it if you rely on how you feel alone.
That is why I keep an eye on specific metrics as it relates to my health and proactively test. In part 1, I talked about measuring:
- body fat percentage or if you don’t have a way to do that, measuring waist size and your hip-to-waist ratio.
- hemoglobin A1C, which is a standard blood sugar measurement and is an average of your blood sugar over two to three months.
Here are a few other tests I get done and would encourage you to consider as they are appropriate for everyone, regardless of their family history.
VITAMIN D
Vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to respiratory illnesses, dementia, diabetes, certain types of cancer, heart disease and depression. It plays one of the largest roles in our overall health but more than 40% of Canadians are deficient in the winter!
With that said, I strongly believe everyone should know their vitamin D levels in their blood (vs how much you should take).
People metabolize vitamin D differently so it is very difficult to get an accurate number of how much you should actually take per day or per week without a test.
Most family doctors will test this for you once every year or so, but if you have trouble getting this number and have to pay for an independent test, I believe it is worthwhile paying for it.
Grassroots Health is an independent lab that I have used in the past and I usually have the test completed during the winter months.
OMEGA-3
If you’re like me and you really want to understand what’s happening in your body from an inflammatory perspective, I would look into getting an Omega-3 Index test. This measures the concentration of omega-3s in your blood
The ideal number is said to be 8% and when people are at this number, they exhibit less risk for disease, like heart disease.
If you have been taking omega-3s for a long time (like I have), this test will help you identify if you're taking the right amount.
I was actually shocked to find out that my levels were not in the ideal range even though I had been taking fish oil, on and off, for the last 15+ years. This is a test I will take again this year to ensure that I am in the optimal range.
HIGH-SENSITIVITY CRP
The last number I keep my eye on is high-sensitivity CRP. CRP (or C-reactive Protein) is produced by the liver in response to inflammation in our bodies.
A simple blood test can determine if you have markers of inflammatory illnesses such as heart disease, infections and some autoimmune diseases. I have had my hs-CRP tested three or four times in the last 15 years and it has always been very low.
If this number was elevated, it would give me the opportunity to investigate further what was causing the inflammation in my body before more obvious symptoms of an unwanted condition presented themselves. For this reason, I consider this test very valuable and worth the cost of an independent test, if necessary.
OUR HEALTH IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY
Let’s make 2021 the year that we take personal responsibility for our metabolic health as it will positively impact so many other areas.
If you need help managing this or other areas of your lifestyle, I would encourage you to join us for my next Longevity Roadmap Program, which is launching again on February 1st.
We only open registration 3 times per year, so you don’t want to miss out!
This is an 8-week, online program that teaches you how your body works and the specific habits that will have a huge impact on how you age.
- a detailed plan with daily actions to focus on (no more guesswork)
- 200+ minutes of easy-to-digest videos
- handouts and worksheets
- 3 LIVE group Q&As with me
- 27-page Low Carb Program guide
- *NEW* 3-month access to the Longevity Roadmap Membership with more content and Q&As
This program explains how our body is a SYSTEM and addresses many different areas of health, including: nutrition, sleep, stress management, mobility, movement, supplementation, toxins and so much more.
In an effort to help you reach your long-term goals, we are also including 3 months of access to our newly launched membership at no additional cost. This access will help keep you accountable and keep you motivated to make the small, daily changes that you will need to make to ensure your success.
For those that need a little more support or feel that one-on-one coaching would be beneficial, I have arranged my schedule to accept a small number of clients for personal health coaching. If this is something you are interested in, please send an email to [email protected] with “Coaching” as the subject.
My goal is to always provide as much value as possible with the information that I share with you and I truly appreciate the time you took to read through this material knowing there are many places that you could invest your time and attention!