HE AL T HY
YO U
Health Checklist 101
STORY MI C HE L L E J O HN S
living
a hea l thier l if e beg in s w ith ha v in g a n n ua l phy sic a l ex a ms tha t in c l ude l a b tests w hic h prov ide y ou in f orma tion a bout y our hea l th. T hese ex a ms a n d tests a re pa rt of hea l thy a g in g . I dea l l y , a n n ua l phy sic a l ex a ms beg in a t birth a n d c on tin ue throug hout the spec trum of l if e, prov idin g y ou w ith a c on tin uum of k n ow l edg e a bout y our hea l th. As a n a dul t, it bec omes more importa n t to k n ow y our hea l th ma rk ers a n d how those n umbers perta in to hea l th a s y ou a g e. I f y ou didn ’ t beg in tra c k in g y our hea l th in ea rl y a dul thood, y ou c oul d a sk y our doc tor f or a c opy of y our medic a l rec ords f or the pa st 10 y ea rs, or a s ma n y a s y ou c a n g a ther, to g et a n idea of how y our n umbers ha v e ev ol v ed a s y ou’ v e a g ed. I f y ou ha v e n ot been seein g the sa me doc tor a n d ha v e n ot tra n sf erred y our hea l th rec ords w hen y ou c ha n g ed doc tors, y ou w il l l ik el y ha v e to sta rt w ith c ompa rin g y oursel f to the n orm. O n c e y ou beg in tra c k in g y our hea l th, y ou w il l ha v e a history of y our person a l n orm. U n f ortun a tel y , most peopl e don ’ t tra c k their history ; they a re un in f ormed of the most importa n t bio in dic a tors of their hea l th. T hese ma rk ers a re a s un iq ue a s a f in g erprin t. U n l ess y ou ha v e been tra c k in g y our hea l th in dic a tors it is ha rd f or y ou to k n ow w ha t is n orma l f or y ou, l ea v in g y ou to be a ssessed ba sed on w here y our hea l th in dic a tors tra c k w ithin the “ n orma l ” popul a tion . I t is eq ua l l y a s importa n t tha t y our hea l th is a ssessed by the proper in dic a tors. D oc tors usua l l y ha v e a “ n orma l ” c hec k l ist tha t of ten does n ot in c l ude some of the most importa n t bits of in f orma tion . Ac c ordin g to L if e E x ten sion hea l th sc ien c es, the f ol l ow in g l a b tests prov ide the best ov era l l pic ture of hea l th. * T houg h most of the tests f or men a n d w omen a re the sa me, the hea l thy a n d optima l ra n g es a re dif f eren t.
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