What's under your hood? Optimizing your health series

Visiting my doctor or dentist is generally what I call a results crap-shoot.  It's the typical walk-in, joke around asking, "Is it the black lung, pop?" and walk out with some minor issue to simply look out for. And that's been the routine for as long as I can remember. Sound familiar?

But what happens after years of baseline insurance covered treatments? I'll tell you what happens, conditions slowly pop up, as you get older, minor conditions mostly. Conditions involving: cholesterol, the thyroid, blood pressure and insulin sensitivity tend to veer their ugly heads. Many family doctors will focus on these types of issues, because they are low hanging fruit and are a result of neglect or your genes. Notice how I didn't even mention gut bacteria, cortisol levels, Alzheimer or those hard puffy guts men carry around in their 40's. These conditions typically go undiagnosed until they are well developed. My beliefs are, nearly all of these conditions are avoidable or their symptoms can be made negligible; if you're willing to take a look under your hood and follow a catered action plan, perhaps starting with one formulated by InsideTracker.

This series and article in particular is about getting off the sidelines and getting in the game of optimizing your health. This means not accepting this Western culture of progressive health attrition, starting with a blood panel taken and finally catering an action plan based on the results. 

Lastly, allow me to define what I consider healthy:
Health·y*
/ˈhelTHē/
1) The ability and capacity for your body to handle whatever you ask of it
2) Void of chronic pain
3) Negligible symptoms from any health condition(s) 
*Obviously blood-work doesn't tell the entire story. This is a series after all. 

How I found InsideTracker
I first was introduced to David Sinclair PH.D's work, a Harvard professor specialized in molecular genetics, via an interview on Impact Theory.  Without diving too much into the interview and the great work they do at Impact Theory,  Dr. Sinclair broached the subject of his team's advancements in anti-aging cell behavior. The interview was insightful and fairly technical; touching on cell memory, replication and packaging, but what stuck with me was his recommendation to the viewers to have their blood tested through a company he wholeheartedly disclosed he invested in, InsideTracker.

So my curiosity was sparked and being an advocate of optimizing my own health, I decided to look into what InsideTracker offers and how it works.

Their claim
InsideTracker claims to help you optimize your body, using science and technology to deliver ultra-personalized guidance. This service appears to go beyond what a typical Physician (GP) tests for and more importantly provides an action plan catered toward your goals (Overall wellness, anti-aging, summer bodies.....you name it). 

These were all goals that were speaking my game and naturally being a sucker for even those quizzes insight magazines, this was an easy decision. 

A little about me
First let's start of with what we are working with….this is me and Mosby. #BarkingSprings (Austin)

Ok - well that was me six months ago around my birthday. I'm also not sure how much filtering went into this photo, since my fiancé is the editing queen (full disclosure).

​I feel relatively healthy and touching on the more personal side, I've been diagnosed with an under active thyroid along with some minor sciatica that I only complain about to Steph (fiancé) when I want to sit on the soft booth when being seated at a restaurant. I'm still smiling even though I know it's a low move that hardly works anymore. Back to the software.

Testing options via InsideTracker:
InsideTracker is an online resource and blood panel platform, using real live physicians and software that caters a working protocol based on your test results. As you can see there are a few plans to choose from. Now "me" always DTM (Doing To Much) I chose the Ultimate package, testing 43 bio-markers.  Looking back I believe this type of testing can be requested by your, General Practitioner, if you're under the care of one and if they give a damn.  My humble opinion is, most GPs are pill and cattle pushers, getting as many patients in and out as quickly as possible. 

Cost
The Ultimate Test is listed at $589, which seems pretty pricey. If you sign up and create an account, like I did, you may receive a promo code for 25% off ("Flash25" not guaranteed); if you're not an eager beaver and can wait a couple days for their marketing emails to start flooding in.

From there, there process is pretty simple. You schedule an appointment through you local Quest Diagnostics, listed under the blood screening option.  Then you print out your lab slip (provided via an emailed link).  This printout provides instructions for the lab worker on what work needs to be tested as well that InsideTracker is footing the bill.  It was all pretty seamless. 

​Testing process and results:
Ok - on to the good stuff. Now that you've fasted and had your blood drawn, they took seven half vials of blood from my creatine filled arms. The next steps was to simply wait a few days for the results (four - in my case).

These were my results:

And violá, you officially know more about me than your significant other or how Stonehenge was created. This information is pretty great, despite receiving an over score of 74% (basically an Asian F)! If you're a fan of reading through and sharing your 23&Me results with anyone walking the Earth, which too many of us are, this is going to blow you away.  The results table breaks down your markers into the following categories:

• Metabolism and Weight Control
• Bone and Muscle Health
• Electrolytes & Fluid Balance
• Cognition
• Inflammation
• Strength and Endurance
• Oxygen Transfer & Blood Function
• Liver Function & Toxicity

My Thoughts:
Now as healthy as you may or may not perceive me to be, I have indicators in each category that were optimal, some that "needed work" and Cholesterol markers that were "at risk". The only caveat is, you may be disappointed with some of the results depending on your expectations. I certainly was, even after discussing my expectations with my training partner, Jason.  It took some time to realize, optimal results meant there was no room for improvement and this was the best I'd ever feel. So now, I'm elated with where I am and what I can do to improve my health capacity. 

Additionally, I've taken the 23&Me health and wellness exam, which seemed more of a novelty exam than a process to become healthier.  23&Me did however confirm some sort of deficiency in my body's ability to metabolize sugar or insulin. So there was some value in comparing both company's test results. 

Conclusion:
The main takeaway from this Adulting series is to strive for health improvement and optimization.  The InsideTracker results was simply a snapshot of me at one point in time, like a monthly bank statement.  The idea in performing this test is to take the recommended feedback from InsideTracker and make improvements where my levels need work and retest routinely. For me the plan is to supplement vitamins, eat more quality carb sources (vegetables), consume fewer grams of sugar, retest in six months and again at one year.

I encourage you to do the same.  Have your physician take a blood panel test of at least these forty-three (43) metrics.  The optimal ranges may be different if you're in a different demographic, so please be sure to work with a physician that's competent and cares. Alternatively you could simply use InsideTracker.com to form a reliable baseline. 

NOW MOST IMPORTANTLY, TAKE ACTION! Some of these remedies can be as simple as taking more Vitamin D or B12 or meditating to chill your D!@%...... I mean cortisol. The way I see it, health is wealth and taking this first step is real Adulting move. It paves the way to becoming a better badass version of yourself. Tell them Donny sent you and feel free to email me with any questions ([email protected])! Live well - all!

Disclaimer: Adulting1101 and Telos Education have no affiliation with InsideTracker.......just yet!
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