There are many stages of life which pose new challenges and it’s easy to overlook our health even if we don’t have any symptoms. However, there may be times in our lives when we could benefit from a having a health check, whether to provide us with key insights into our health, to give us peace of mind or just to ensure we feel at our best.
Here are 7 reasons why it is important to have a health check.
You suffer from a chronic condition
Suffering from a chronic condition can put a strain on your body, but this will be even more pronounced if there are existing problems or deficiencies that can cause you to feel unwell or fatigued. Long term medications can also cause their own issues, like liver inflammation or digestive absorption problems which might leave you deficient in some important vitamins for energy e.g. vitamin B12 or vitamin D.
A thorough health check can cover all these areas, checking for anaemia, liver and kidney health as well nutritional status.
Establish your baseline
Many people associate health screens with the older generations, but there are good reasons to have a health check when you are in your 20’s and 30’s. Knowing what is ‘normal for you’ means that you can monitor your health over time and know when something changes, which can be the trigger to take action.
Optimising your performance
You don’t have to be a professional athlete to benefit from an all-round health check. By checking key biomarkers in your blood you can fine-tune your nutrition, training and recovery to get you to your new personal bests. Getting your results online with our personalised dashboard makes it easy to track and monitor your progress.
Reaching new milestones
The biggest risk factor for most diseases that affect us as we age is age itself. Once you reach your 40’s and 50’s it is important to check your status for diabetes, cholesterol, liver health and other markers that can be improved through lifestyle changes before they become irreversible.
Lost your ‘get up and go’
We all go through phases when we just don’t feel ourselves. Sometimes that can simply be because we are doing too much or not getting enough sleep. But sometimes the answer can be found in a simple health check. Low levels of certain vitamins and minerals and conditions such as diabetes and thyroid disorders are all associated with tiredness and fatigue so if you feel more lethargic than usual it may be time for a health check.
Investigate a family history
Although many conditions can be caused by unhealthy lifestyles or our environment, our family history can also play a part. Knowing where you stand on issues that could affect you later in life is an important step in managing your health, and will give you the knowledge you need to make important changes early.
Peace of Mind
You don’t have to be ill to benefit from a comprehensive health check. Nothing puts a spring in your step more than a clean bill of health. And if something is amiss? Rest assured that most of the conditions we test for can be reversed through lifestyle changes or medication if caught early enough.
Further Information
Your first port of call should be to your GP or usual healthcare practitioner to ensure that your wider mental and physical health is looked after, and that medication and other factors can be ruled out.
If your problem is minor, you may wish to try an online testing kit. There are a variety of test kits available online such as urine microscopy and culture tests, which can detect UTI’s that could possibly otherwise be missed. It is also possible to test for bowel cancer, IBD and coeliac disease as well as test your nutritional status by checking the balance of crucial vitamins and minerals needed in the body.
