Health
The best personalised health tests to optimise your wellbeing
Functional medic Pete Williams shares everything we need to know about personalised health tests and making a made-to-measure wellbeing plan.
The future of wellbeing lies in hyper-personalised care. This means tailoring our supplements, sleep schedule, fitness habits and dietary choices to our unique biology.
Every single day we have the capacity to change our health for the better. We can’t control the genes we’re born with, but the choices we make, the lifestyle we lead and the environment we live in all have the power to alter the way our genes express themselves and determine our health outcomes. But what is right for one might not be right for another. We’re all different, with unique genes, gut microbiota, lifestyles and diets, and so the future of healthcare lies in personalisation – a revolution that’s already begun.
Prevention first
Personalised healthcare differs from mainstream medicine because it focuses on the prevention of disease, rather than its treatment. It looks to understand what makes us different from one another and use this information, not just to avoid illness, but to achieve optimal wellbeing at every stage of life. It offers us the opportunity to understand our unique biology, take steps to prevent disease from taking root and improve our health today.
There’s never been a better time to personalise our health and wellbeing practices. I’ve been working in this area as a functional medicine practitioner for two decades. During that time, healthcare technology has come on leaps and bounds. This means we’re now able to get very precise insight into what’s going on in our bodies, and determine the dietary and lifestyle interventions we really need.
Nail the basics
A word of warning before we dive into the details of personalised care. It’s important to make sure we’re covering the basics first. Ask yourself – am I achieving a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week? Am I eating a varied and healthy diet that includes an abundance of plant foods? Am I getting enough sleep? What about my stress levels?
These guidelines apply to everyone and should not be underestimated. We should take action in all these areas before getting into more advanced health optimisation strategies.
The best personalised health tests – and how often to do them
Wearable tech
From WHOOP to Garmin and Oura, I’m a huge fan of wearable tech. These devices track basic but super-important data that can help us improve our health over time. They are a clinician on your wrist, letting you know how well you’ve slept, how fit you are, your oxygen saturation, stress levels and more. Often, they nudge us with helpful suggestions to improve our health. Don’t sleep on these devices – they’re one of the best health investments we can make.
Not sure what data to pay attention to? Start here:
Sleep
Look out for long-term changes in how well you’re sleeping. This can creep in – particularly during perimenopause and menopause. Look at both the quantity and quality of your sleep, and share this data with your healthcare practitioners.
Cardiovascular fitness
Many devices measure your VO2 score. This is one of the primary predictors of longevity and shows us what needs to be done as far as fitness is concerned.
Heart rate variability/stress
Like sleep, this is something that may change significantly during midlife. These scores tend to measure the delicate balance between our nervous system’s fight/flight and relaxation responses.
Tracking scores over time gives us a better indication of how our body is responding to stress and whether intervention is needed.
How often to test: Daily
Genetic testing
Our genes may not determine our health outcomes but they are important. By testing our genetic code we get a basic template – a little like a business model – for our health, which can identify the areas that might need more or less attention. Some companies offer at-home tests, but I would highly recommend getting tested with the assistance of a experienced professional who can walk you through your results and make
tailored recommendations.
How often to test: Once in a lifetime.
Stool screening
A stool sample may not sound glamorous but it can offer amazing insights into the health of our gut and the bacteria that live there. It can also tell us whether current lifestyle choices – particularly our diet – are optimising our microbial communities or not. One of the biomarkers I look for are levels of short-chain fatty acids (produced by beneficial bacteria). This gives me an indication of whether a patient is eating enough fibrous foods.
How often to test: one to two times a year
Blood tests
Broad-spectrum blood tests – such as the Well Man and Well Woman tests – are great value for what you get and give a good overview of health. They measure liver and kidney function, vitamin D levels, cholesterol, blood sugar regulation and insulin levels, as well as iron, immune and thyroid status. These are all fundamental markers of health, providing you with a starting point for health interventions.
How often to test: one to two times a year
Test your aerobic capacity
A sub-maximal VO2 test (also known as a ‘bleep’ test) measures our aerobic capacity, one of the most definitive markers of longevity. Simply put, the fitter we are, the longer we should live. This test can be cheaply downloaded as an app on any smartphone. You just need 20 metres of level ground to run forwards and back.
How often to test: three times a year
At-home body fat measure
Muscle is key to ageing well and a DEXA scan can accurately measure our levels of both lean tissue and fat. A DEXA scan also measures bone density and visceral fat – the dangerous kind that significantly increases our risk of heart disease and diabetes.
These scans are hugely informative but can be expensive. For a free, at-home measurement, I’d recommend taking a waist-to-height ratio. This is a great tool for finding out whether we’re carrying too much fat around our waist (central adiposity). This type of fat carries several health risks such as heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancers.
Try it yourself
Take a tape measure and, level with your belly button, record the circumference of your waist. Make sure to breathe out naturally and keep the stomach relaxed rather than sucked in. Your waist measurement should be less than half your height. To calculate your weight-to-height ratio, divide your waist measurement (in cm) by your height (in cm). The ratio should be 0.5 or below.
How often to test: one to two times a year
Vitamin D testing
We should all test vitamin D levels, both in the autumn and late winter. Adjusting our levels according to our results is low-hanging fruit that pays us, our immune system and overall health back in buckets. The beauty of this test is that it can be done at home with a simple finger-prick blood sample. There are many companies out there offering direct-to-consumer vitamin D tests – I use Medichecks.
How often to test: one to two times a year
