We have all completed surveys. They are a form of statistical analysis. The U. S. Census is a survey, for example. The results of a survey are used to predict patterns or behaviors.
Do you have an annual physical? Many don’t. If you don’t have an annual quantitative assessment of your health, what do you use? Maybe the number of colds over the course of a year. Is it the amount of weight (or inches) you have gained since last year? Could it be the number of days you go to the gym?
We live in the now. We selectively carve off parts of our past that we hold on to for better or worse – the birth or death of a friend or family member, for example. We don’t typically dwell on our health unless there is a lingering reminder. Yet, our health history is important, up to a point.
Assume your health has been good – no ailments or issues over the past several years. Also, assume you have not been to the doctor also. I think this is common. If nothing is bothering you, there is no reason to seek out expert opinion to agree with you.
However, disease starts at the cellular level. It takes years to develop into something that can be detected. Even at this level of growth, you most likely will feel no symptoms. How many people do you know (or have heard about) who were told that they had a large tumor and they never suspected it?
We are not trained in prevention. By the time we can feel something wrong, it is generally way past the stage of easy correction. Could a simple annual health survey have been of use in predicting your future health? I think so. There are three blood tests that can be run with or without your doctor’s oversight.
The first is the C-Reactive Protein (CRP). It determines the level of inflammation in your body. You want that result to be as close to zero as possible. All my CRP tests over the years have been so low that the result is listed as unmeasurable. Another important test is a homocysteine level test. It is a decent indicator of heart health. All my test results have been normal. The last one I recommend is a vitamin D3 test. The higher your levels of vitamin D3, the healthier you usually are. If your test result is below 50 ng/mL, consult your physician for actions you can take to elevate your levels. 50-80 ng/mL is a good range unless you have a major health issue.
These three tests are relatively inexpensive and can give you a lot of information about your health. If you can’t get to your doctor this year, consider having some easy tests run to survey your current and future health.