In today’s fast-paced world, staying on top of your health can often take a backseat to other priorities. However, understanding your medical numbers, such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, calcium, vitamin D, and triglycerides, is crucial for maintaining optimal health and preventing chronic illnesses.
These values serve as key indicators of your body’s overall condition and can provide early warnings about potential health issues. Unfortunately, many adults are unfamiliar with their personal numbers, and the only time some think of these numbers is when they are at the healthcare provider’s office. Here’s why knowing these numbers is essential.
Early Detection of Health Problems
Your medical numbers can reveal underlying health problems before symptoms become noticeable. For instance:
- Blood pressure: High blood pressure (hypertension) is often called the “silent killer” because it usually has no symptoms but significantly increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Cholesterol: Elevated cholesterol levels can lead to plaque buildup in arteries, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Calcium and Vitamin D: Imbalances in these nutrients can signal osteoporosis or kidney issues.
Regular monitoring allows for early detection, enabling you and your healthcare provider to take timely action.
Prevention of Chronic Diseases
Understanding and managing your medical numbers can help prevent the onset of chronic conditions. For example:
- Triglycerides: High triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood, are linked to an increased risk of heart disease and pancreatitis.
- Blood sugar levels: Monitoring these levels can help identify prediabetes or diabetes, allowing for lifestyle adjustments to prevent progression.
Keeping your numbers within healthy ranges can significantly reduce your risk of long-term health problems.
Personalized Health Management
Everyone’s body is unique, and knowing your medical numbers allows you to tailor your health plan accordingly. For instance:
- If you have low vitamin D levels, you might need to increase sun exposure, adjust your diet, or take supplements.
- High cholesterol may require dietary changes, increased physical activity, or medication.
Understanding your specific needs empowers you to make informed decisions about your health.
Monitoring the Effects of Lifestyle Changes
Whether adopting a new diet, exercise program, or medication, tracking your medical numbers provides measurable feedback on your progress. Seeing improvements in blood pressure or cholesterol levels can help motivate you to maintain healthy habits.
If you haven’t received a copy of your blood work results yet, request one the next time you visit your healthcare provider. It is your right to obtain and review the results. Don’t be overwhelmed; focus on your numbers.
Ever since I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, I have tracked my key numbers, including information pertaining to thyroid function, such as TSH, T4, and T3. This enables me to quickly see how my numbers are changing and whether I need to adjust my lifestyle.
For example, my cholesterol tends to be high despite living a healthy lifestyle, which includes a well-balanced diet and exercise. High cholesterol is not uncommon for individuals who have had thyroid cancer. That doesn’t mean it is acceptable; it’s just a fact requiring my ongoing attention. Taking statins is not the answer for me, so I tend to follow a stricter diet, knowing that it’s up to me to get my cholesterol under control.
Empowering Preventive Care
Preventive healthcare focuses on reducing the risk of diseases rather than treating them after they occur. Regularly checking your medical numbers aligns with this approach, helping you:
- Schedule timely medical checkups
- Identify risk factors based on family history or lifestyle
- Discuss preventive measures with your healthcare provider
The Role of Each Medical Number
- Blood Pressure: High or low blood pressure can affect kidney function beyond cardiovascular health. Lifestyle factors like sodium intake and stress play a significant role in its regulation.
- Cholesterol: Understanding the HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio provides a view of cardiovascular health. A higher HDL (good cholesterol) level helps remove LDL (bad cholesterol) from your arteries.
- Calcium Levels: Besides bone health, calcium impacts muscle function, nerve signaling, and blood clotting. Abnormal levels may indicate issues with the parathyroid gland or other metabolic disorders.
- Vitamin D: This nutrient is essential for bones and immune function, mood regulation, and possibly even cancer prevention. Many people, especially those living in areas with limited sunlight, may be deficient.
- Triglycerides: High levels are often tied to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and excessive alcohol consumption. They provide insight into how your body processes sugar and fat.
Tips for Maintaining Healthy Numbers
- Diet: Focus on a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
- Exercise: Regular physical activity helps regulate blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.
- Stress Management: Chronic stress can negatively impact many medical numbers. Mindfulness, meditation, or hobbies can be great stress relievers.
- Hydration: Staying adequately hydrated supports kidney health and helps maintain proper calcium and blood pressure levels.
Key Medical Numbers to Monitor
Here are some critical numbers to keep an eye on and their general healthy ranges:
- Blood Pressure: Below 120/80 mmHg
- Total Cholesterol: Less than 200 mg/dL
- HDL (Good Cholesterol): 40 mg/dL or higher
- LDL (Bad Cholesterol): Less than 100 mg/dL
- Triglycerides: Less than 150 mg/dL
- Vitamin D: 20-50 ng/mL
- Calcium: 8.5-10.2 mg/dL
Taking Action
Tracking these values can be as simple as creating a spreadsheet containing the critical numbers, your last lab report date, and your current values. It’s that simple. Each time I visit my healthcare provider and receive a new report, I update the schedule and can easily see which direction my health is moving.
Scheduling your appointment to visit your healthcare provider should also be timely. If you haven’t noticed, getting an appointment these days is not easy. Sometimes, you have to wait weeks, even months. Here is my personal tip: at the beginning of the year, I schedule every appointment, including annual physical, mammogram, gynecologist, eye examination, and dentist. If the appointment is for after June, I still mark the appointment on my calendar but also put a note on my calendar at least three months in advance as a reminder to schedule that appointment. In so doing, you are less likely to forget to make your appointment, and you will be able to get in to see your healthcare provider when you actually want to.
Your medical numbers are more than just figures; they are vital health indicators. Regular checkups, a balanced diet, exercise, stress management, and following your healthcare provider’s recommendations can help keep these values in check. Knowing your numbers is the first step, but taking action is equally important. If you don’t know your numbers yet, schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider to get baseline measurements and develop a plan for regular monitoring.
It’s all about being proactive, not reactive. I cannot stress this enough. You and only you are solely responsible for your health and well-being. You cannot outsource this to your healthcare provider. It’s your life; take control of your health.
0 Comments