A blood test and the status of our healthcare system

I had my check-up done recently for men over 35 (and I am already 38). This also included a blood test, which checked the following markers:

• Gesamtcholesterin → Total cholesterol
• HDL-Cholesterin → HDL cholesterol (High-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol)
• LDL-Cholesterin (häufig aus Gesamt- und HDL-Cholesterin berechnet) → LDL cholesterol (Low-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, often calculated from total and HDL cholesterol)
• Triglyzeride → Triglycerides
• Nüchternblutzucker (Glukose) → Fasting blood glucose (Fasting plasma glucose)

These are standard markers, which don’t really tell the whole story of your current health situation. So, in preparation for the blood work, and inspired by Bryan Johnson, I prepared a list of markers I wanted to check. Fortunately, my doctor was fully on board and explained all markers in great detail. Long story short, I am kinda healthy; however, I need to supplement vitamin B12, zinc, folic acid, and omega-3 fatty acids, as I already have a reasonable deficiency in these.

That being said, it made me think about the status of our healthcare system. We still have a system that is focused on acute care, not preventative care — and this is weird, to put it mildly.

Ideally, preventive medicine would kill three birds with one stone:

• Early detection of deficiencies and diseases before they become expensive and difficult to treat.
• Improving overall health by ensuring that people are not only “disease-free” but also receive optimal care.
• Promoting nutritional and lifestyle awareness, because people often actively change their diet after a deficiency is detected.

A preventive, nutrient-focused approach would save billions in the long term, keep people healthier, and raise awareness of nutrition.

The catch is:

• Politically and economically, people often don't think in terms of 20-year perspectives.
• Prevention is quiet, while treatment delivers “visible” success stories.
• The initial costs for comprehensive prevention programs are high.

If we as a society are unable to think bigger than one legislative period, we won’t be able to ultimately cut down costs in our healthcare system and help people live healthier lives. I mean, what a thought — to invest in what actually makes us healthy, now and in the future…