The Wealth of Health: a Focus on Prevention

The healthcare system has been overwhelmed with an influx of patients who are rightfully concerned about health, especially considering the informational gaps highlighted by COVID-19 and its effects on individuals. The pandemic has left a significant mark on the world, and a major concern now is what we can do to minimise the risk of health issues for ourselves, our families or our employees. There are many options to consider in healthcare that may offer insight into your health and in this article, we intend to explore some of them.

Genetic testing and where it falls short
Looking after your health and the health of your family starts from various things within your control. Some may default to genetics when seeking information on their health – after all, the information about you is contained within your body.
It offers insight into diseases based on your genetic predisposition and can lessen the uncertainty by informing you of whether you have any mutations or variations in genes which can confer increased risk.

However, genetic tests only offer a view of the risk of developing any disease in the future which doesn’t necessarily mean that this will be the case for you. The increased risk of disease associated with most genetic variation is actually rather small. And therefore, is not adequate as a standalone test to help prevent major health issues.

Biohacking your way to health
Healthy diets, exercise and better sleep routines are minor forms of biohacking. Your whole family can partake in easy and healthy ways of taking control of your health. And of course, there are many documented benefits of this; vitamin boosts, exercise, improvement in sleep.

For example, some studies found that light therapy is beneficial for people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis, seasonal affective disorder, chronic fatigue, antepartum depression, and ADHD in adults.

While light therapy is only one biohacking technique that has been explored, the concept is still in its infancy and while it may conceptually offer a wealth of opportunities, the hard evidence proving it to be beneficial is often still lacking. Importantly, it also does not give you a baseline of your health at a given moment in time.


Statistical risk and the risk of statistics
Many individuals recognise the importance of health and do their best to take care of themselves and their family. But are the available health checks enough? Statistically, not.

General health assessments usually last about 30 minutes and involve answering some questions about your lifestyle, family history, checks on your height, weight, and blood pressure and with some basic blood tests and sometimes an ECG and a stress exercise test.

The results may show the statistical risk of developing various disease, but there is simply not enough specific information about your own health that is created during these types of assessments. Your health is not a statistic, and these tests cannot determine definitively if you have early signs of cancer or other disease.


Pioneers of prevention
Genetic testing, general health assessments and biohacking can be good for certain treatments or small lifestyle changes, but they are simply not definitive.

Most of the current products or services available do not adequately highlight the importance and benefits of preventive health assessments.

It is the tremendous advances in medical imaging technology over the last 50 years which now enables doctors to see inside the body in startling detail to enables the detection of the very earliest signs of disease which offers the most definitive opportunity in preventive health screening.

Scientifically, only by using the right modality of scanner for the right area of concern in your body will you be able to get the complete image of your health. A combination of comprehensive blood tests checking hormone levels, cancer markers, vitamin levels (and more), combined with the best imaging technology through MRI, CT and ultrasound scanners and years of experience from specialists in their fields will guarantee a fully comprehensive picture of your health, and potentially avoid serious illnesses down the line.

It is critical to understand the huge advantage that preventive health screenings can offer towards allowing you to age better. One company that is pioneering comprehensive health assessment programmes is Echelon Health. With their Platinum Assessment they are able to detect up to 92% and 95% of preventable causes of death among men and women, respectively.

For a complimentary private conversation with one of their experts please call 02075807688 / 07375791713, email info@echelon.health or visit www.echelon.health.

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