By Pradeep Rai
People these days are becoming increasingly health conscious. From customized services offered by doctors to nutrition tracking apps, your good health is now in your own hands. However, blood tests are a totally different ball game altogether.
Blood tests have often been associated with a reactive approach. It is only when you notice symptoms is when you go for a test. However, have you ever realized that by taking routine blood tests there are so many diseases or infections you can fix at the onset or even avoid?
Here are some of the reasons why you should consider regular blood tests, even if you are healthy.
- Why wait for the symptoms to show up?
Is it not better to know as early as possible if a disease is brewing in your system? Most chronic risks can be detected through blood tests, so why wait for things to go horribly wrong? Think of all the pain and discomfort you can avoid by being proactive about it. Most blood test types will tell you how your regular lifestyle such as eating habits, exercise, diet etc. is impacting your well-being. By knowing what is wrong, you will be able to take corrective measures while you still can.
- Don't assess your health by how you feel
When the question is about health, the answer should be absolute. Never trust how you look and feel when it comes to evaluating your fitness or general well-being. You need to know exactly how your body is on the inside. Believe it or not, as many as 40% people who are non-obese are suffering from cardiovascular diseases or diabetes.
- Eliminate the guesswork
If you have noticed an unreasonable amount of weight gain, don't just blame it on eating recklessly. Something more sinister may be at play inside your body. You may be experiencing high levels of cortisol that is associated with weight gain and cortisol levels are a sign of stress. You may be addressing a whole different problem by not knowing exactly what is wrong. Without a blood test, you will be fixing the wrong errors, leaving yourself exposed to the risk irrespective of your efforts.
Routine blood tests allow you to detect not just infections and diseases but also deficiencies. If your body has lack of vitamins and minerals, it can affect the healthy functioning of your body. When certain mineral and vitamin quantities are lower than required, they can cause issues like a headache, muscle cramps, insomnia, fatigue, constipation etc. A lot of these problems can be avoided completely by knowing what is amiss. Which micronutrients are deficient in your body will help you change your diet accordingly.
- One size does not fit all
We are all made up of different biochemistry. You and your sibling cannot follow the same nutrition guideline. Since our bodies are different, our approach to our health should also be specific to our body needs. A blood test determines how you should tweak your lifestyle to best meet the needs of your body.