5 Essential Tests For A Healthy Living

"Anita! Its high time you get your glucose levels checked" said Beena in an irritated tone. "I have seen you visit the loo more often than usual and drink gallons of water. It sure is a sign of some abnormality. You better go for a test, before the condition gets out of hand."

"Beena, I feel fit. Apart from the frequent thirst pangs, because of which I drink water and then go to the loo, there is nothing wrong with me. Stop fretting and scaring me!" After continuous insistence from Beena, Anita did go for A HbA1c test to find herself standing at 9.4%, a poor diabetic condition needing immediate action. Unaware of what went wrong when she was always healthy, Anita asked her friend Beena. What went wrong?
We are in the time where a lot of things are easily accessible, let alone digitised money and one touch access to a world of things. What the problem is, the neglect towards our body which is not so digitised! Body is programmed to function on its own laws, and cannot be bent due to one touch technology or digitisation of the country. But there has to be a mid way, to follow and survive. To make sure that health can be taken care, using the knowledge of technology. And that is what brings us to healthcare, to diagnostics and to preventive care!

Beena is not Ms. Perfect Know-it all! She is a responsible individual who is aware of how to take care of the programmed body before its too late. And like a rightful friend she tried to help Anita, with the essentials of healthy living - TESTS!

Tests for healthy living
It is time to change the trend of visiting a doctor and getting a prescription for test levels, to see if everything is fine with our health. Now certain vital decisions can be administered by self, only by noticing our own habits and ailments. This article will put forward some regular tests which can be undergone to understand the lifestyle habits, and there about bring any improvement just by changing habits or managing an already diagnosed condition.

What are diagnostic tests?
Our body does not out of the blue function well, there are certain parameters that assist in functioning of organ systems. Be it blood circulation, hormonal balance, metabolism, digestion and assimilation of nutrients, all the systems work meticulously unless an external harmful stimulus or environmental defect hampers the processes. It is important for these parameters to maintain their levels, and if and when the levels deviate from normalcy, nothing can stop from disorders hitting and impairing our lifestyle.

1. Thyroid
This butterfly shaped endocrine gland rules the body's metabolism. Any abnormality in the levels of T3, T4 (thyroid hormones) and TSH (pituitary hormone) indicates metabolic issues. Drastic weight gain or loss, sleeplessness, fatigue, mood swings, muscle pain are common symptoms indicating Thyroid problems.
People with the symptoms: This crowd should firstly go for T3, T4 and TSH tests. Based on the levels and the deviation from standard values, and acquire consultation from the doctor to make any changes in lifestyle habits.
People with Thyroid disorder: These are people fighting with Thyroid abnormality. Depending on the severity, individuals should undergo tests once a month to once every 3 months (wherein the severity level increases in an ascending order).
Test for Thyroid: Testing for thyroid includes monitoring of hormones: Triiodithyronine (T3), Thyroxine(T4) and Thyroid Stimulating Hormone(TSH); with T3 and T4 secreted from the thyroid and TSH from pituitary gland, these parameters play a significant role in body's metabolism and growth of an individual.
Fluctuations in the levels can lead to Hyper/hypothyroidism, Grave's disease, Hashimotos's thyroiditis and even thyroid cancer.
Abnormal levels - Poses risk for heart disease; indicates type 2 Diabetes, overweight issues and sedentary lifestyle.

2. Diabetes
Most commonly heard and most commonly occurring health condition in this era is Diabetes. With its common types (1: pancreas produces little or no insulin, 2: affects body's processing glucose). Frequent urination, increased thirst, numbness/tingling of toes and fingers, blurred vision are the symptoms to watch out for.
People with the symptoms: Neglecting or delaying will only lead to calamity. Individuals with these symptoms must immediately go for fasting blood sugar and HbA1c tests. Consultation is the next crucial step; do not delay meeting a doctor if the fasting blood sugar level exceeds 126mg/dL, blood pressure exceeds 140/90 mm Hg and HbA1c test shows 7% or above
People with Diabetes: There is no hard and fast rule, but depending on the disorder management, the frequency of undergoing the tests vary. The major obstacle for a diabetic is to follow the rules set to manage it. The better one manages it, the lesser the need to take the tests. Ideally, HbA1c is suggested once every 3 months.
Test for Diabetes Diabetes is a harassment to lifestyle, and has the capability of putting all the other disorders to shame. This Metabolic disorder accompanied by increase in levels of glucose in the body, can be determined by fasting and postprandial tests and also Gold standard test - HbA1c. Other tests for diabetes include
Random plasma glucose test: The blood sample for a random plasma glucose test can be taken at any time. This test doesn't require any previous preparations and therefore aids in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes when needed.
Fasting plasma glucose test: A fasting plasma glucose test is done after a minimum of 8 hours of fasting (usually performed in the morning).
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT): In an oral glucose tolerance test, sample of blood is taken initially and then taking a very sweet drink containing 75g of glucose is provided to the patient. After having the drink the patient is advised to rest until the next blood sample is taken after 2 hours time interval.
Abnormal levels Although a variety of tests are available to detect diabetes, majority of the populace fails to monitor their sugar levels effectively and are victimised to diabetes induced diseases like neuropathy (damage or disease affecting nerves), nephropathy (damage to kidneys), retinopathy (damage to eyes) etc.

3. Cholesterol
Heart disease is another growing threat, we need to tackle. One better effective way is to check for cholesterol (good and bad) levels in the body. Breathless during short distance walks, chest pain, dizziness, fatigue are general symptoms. All these can be avoided by checking the cholesterol levels.
People with the symptoms: It is time to head for tests like LDL, HDL and Total Cholesterol, and not to forget the Triglycerides.
People with high cholesterol levels: It might seem less serious to have very high levels of cholesterol in the blood, but it definitely is a severe issue for the heart. Consulting the doctor, controlling the diet and opting for exercises are major and immediate steps to be taken, if levels are found abnormal!

4. Iron
Lesser known and more ignored element in the blood is Iron. Anemia is a worry affecting quite a huge women populace in the country. With less iron in the blood, the body vitamin D fails to receive oxygenated blood. Symptoms like pale skin, brittle nails, irregular heartbeat cannot be ignored.
People with the symptoms: Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to iron. Serum iron level, Total iron binding capacity and % Transferrin saturation tests need to be focused on. Women need to take extra attention, as they are more prone to less iron levels in the body.
People with iron deficiency: In case of severe anemic conditions, people should go for these tests on a monthly basis. In wellmonitored yet deficient cases, people should at least opt for these tests once in every 3 months. Discuss with your doctor for improving iron levels with iron-rich diet and supplements.

5. Vitamin D
Too often called as sunshine Vitamin D is necessary to keep the health of skeletal system - our bones. With most of the time spent in closed and indoor offices, basking in the sun is now a myth. Easy bone fractures, brittle bones, muscle spasms and weakness are symptoms to watch out for.
People with the symptoms: This will sound like the least of our interest, compared to the daily stress we deal with, but ignore the symptoms and it will become a major problem in life. Vitamin D levels in the blood can be tested and less than 12 ng/ml indicates deficiency, which will indicate the need to further changes (basking in the sun, Vit-D supplements in diet, etc.)
People with vitamin D deficiency: If a proper diet and regular soaking in sun is put into practice, testing once in every 6 months is sufficient for vitamin D levels.

6. Liver
Less spoken, but more functional is Liver. liver functions for protein synthesis, wherein proteins are the building blocks in the body. Various parameters like alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) etc., diagnose liver problems.
Abnormal levels - With addiction to alcohol just about affecting the major population, checking the levels of these parameters becomes a must. A greater ALT/AST ratio suggests alcoholic liver disease. Any kind of fluctuating levels may indicate liver cirrhosis or muscle degeneration.

7. Kidneys
Bean shaped organs are ignored just the same. Parameters like serum creatinine, albumin, blood urea nitrogen and glomerular filtration rate etc., assess kidney health smartly.
Abnormal levels - Wear and tear of muscles, failure in urine filtration, urinary tract infection, Kidney stones and many other kidney anomalies can be detected with these test levels.
Joseph had an eye opening experience with his own discovery. He found out how lifestyle habits were able to affect the body at various levels. How the conditions arising in the young generation are not diseases but disorders! However, he understood how certain practises such as proper exercises, maintaining proper diet, balanced intake of sugar, minerals, fibers, low-fat foods, adequate meat, fish etc. can prevent a deteriorating health.
Prevention is always better than cure. And, Early diagnosis is a way to be sure!