If you have been thinking about taking more control over your health, congratulations! The best time to take the steps toward more personal responsibility and knowledge about your well-being is now. Where should you begin?
Several things come to mind. Establishing a healthy diet and a regular exercise routine, ensuring sufficient sleep, integrating stress reduction into your lifestyle, and avoiding environmental hazards such as smoking, pesticides, food additives, and other contaminants should be considered. But first, you may want to gather some more basic information about your current state of health and any health risks?
How about at-home testing?
At-home testing is an option that an increasing number of individuals are using to identify where they stand with everything from their risk for diabetes to nutrient deficiencies, presence of sexual disease, heart health, thyroid function, and more.
Sure, you can have your healthcare provider order the tests for you to get this information, but it can take months to get an appointment; you may need to take off from work to go to it, and there is the time wasted traveling and sitting in the waiting room. Then you may wait weeks for test results. That's where the convenience of at-home testing comes in.
Which at-home tests do you need?
Everyone has unique healthcare needs, so the at-home test you choose should fit your lifestyle, health status, and goals. There are dozens of such tests from which to choose, so we are not going to cover all of them. Instead, we have chosen five that provide essential basic information for health concerns that affect a broad number of people. All five of these tests require a simple finger prick to collect a blood sample.
Female hormone testing: This test identifies levels of four hormones that have an impact on dozens of areas of women’s health throughout the life cycle.
- Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), regulates the menstrual cycle, develops female sex characteristics, and maintains pregnancy.
- Luteinizing hormone controls the production of estrogen and testosterone as well as ovulation.
- Estradiol is a type of estrogen that matures and maintains a woman’s reproductive system.
- Prolactin participates in hundreds of functions throughout a woman’s body, but its primary function is milk production and the development of the mammary glands.
You can order your own LetsGetChecked female hormone test here and get 30% off today with code NSAVVY.
Read about heart disease: bad news, good news
Hemoglobin A1C: Measurement of your hemoglobin A1C, along with triglycerides and four cholesterol biomarkers, provide useful information on the risk or presence of prediabetes and diabetes as well as insight into your cardiovascular health. The relationship between diabetes and cardiovascular health is an intimate one; people with diabetes are twice as likely to experience a stroke or heart disease than people without diabetes.
Order the LetsGetChecked Haemoglobin test here and get 30% off today with code NSAVVY.
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein: An analysis of your CRP level can detect systemic inflammation and thus help predict your risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Research notes that elevated C-reactive protein levels are associated with a threefold increased risk of a heart attack.
Order the LetsGetChecked H-S CRP test and get 30% off today with code NSAVVY.
Micronutrients: Although dozens of vitamins and minerals are important for overall health, a few tend to rank a little higher on the list because of their depth of involvement and activity. These include vitamins B12, D, and E and the minerals copper, magnesium, selenium, and zinc.
- Vitamin D is essential for absorbing calcium and other minerals for bone and tooth health and muscle viability.
- Vitamin B12 is essential for nerve and blood health and for producing DNA.
- Vitamin E is an antioxidant important for brain, skin, and blood health and for vision.
- Copper works with iron to form red blood cells and maintain nerves, blood vessels, and bones. It also helps with iron absorption.
- Magnesium is involved in more than 300 biochemical activities in the body. Works with calcium to support and promote bone health.
- Selenium is part of numerous proteins and enzymes involved in making DNA, reproduction, and thyroid hormone metabolism.
- Zinc works with nearly 100 enzymes to perform essential reactions.
Order the LetsGetChecked Micronutrient test and get 30% off today with code NSAVVY.
Read about thyroid diseases and your health
Thyroid tests: Levels of five important thyroid biomarkers are identified in this test, all of which can help identify thyroid damage or dysfunction. More than 12 percent of people in the United States, one in eight women, and 10 percent of people in Canada will have a thyroid condition during their lifetime.
- Free thyroxine (T4): The main hormone made by the thyroid gland. Its level fluctuates when the gland is over or underactive.
- Free triiodothyronine (T3): Another thyroid hormone that fluctuates when individuals have an over or under-active thyroid gland.
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone: High levels can indicate Graves' disease’s autoimmune disorder. It’s the most sensitive marker for identifying thyroid conditions.
- Thyroglobulin antibodies: When levels are high, it may be a sign of serious autoimmune conditions such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Graves’ disease.
- Thyroid peroxidase antibodies. Information on these levels can help identify thyroid damage or dysfunction.
Order the LetsGetChecked Thyroid test and get 30% off today with code NSAVVY.
Bottom line
Taking charge of your health and that of your family involves many elements, and at-home testing can be an important part of that goal. If you are looking for helpful health information that is accurate, convenient, and safe, you might consider using at-home test kits. Always talk with your healthcare provider before using such kits.
[Editor's Note: We do make a small commission on tests sold, but we also believe it is so important to be able to advocate for yourself and have knowledge about your own health so you can make healthier choices for yourself. We vet programs like Let's Get Checked to make sure they are a program we trust.]
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