What should you work on now?

Healthcare tends to be reactive.

What is hurting now? What's out of kilter? What ability has been lost or taken away? Go get that fixed.

Getting broken things fixed is how our healthcare system was built, and it's actually pretty good at helping if you have an acute problem like a urinary tract infection or a broken ankle.

• However, many of the problems people suffer from today - heart disease, dementia, overweight, diabetes, fatty liver disease, fragility fractures, etc. - are chronic in nature, have been brewing for years or decades, and require ongoing and sometimes lifelong treatment once they start.
• Our healthcare system struggles to help people with chronic conditions

Just like steering around an iceberg, wouldn't it be nice to avoid these issues if we suspect they might be coming? 

Why This Is Important:
The problems mentioned above are often preventable, or at least their onset can be substantially delayed, when appropriate steps are taken early.

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." - Chinese proverb

Periodically, I'd recommend being proactive with your health. Take a moment and ask yourself a few questions:

• What is going well right now in your health?
• How is your body currently functioning?
• What abilities do you want to protect, maintain, or improve?
• What do you worry about with regard to your future health?
• What is most important to you to avoid?

This health goals worksheet is designed to help you organize some thoughts and perhaps identify a target or two you'd like to work on over the next year.

Combining these thoughts with a good family history, blood markers, selected genetic markers and body composition assessments, and a system to track and monitor progress can help you predict and then avoid icebergs in your future.

Going Deeper:

• Health Goals Worksheet

• Morbidity profiles of centenarians: survivors, delayers, and escapers (study)

Have a nice week and a happy Labor Day,

Dr. Topher Fox

P.S. If you missed any previous emails, the content is posted weekly here

P.P.S. Below are the pictures from my exam room wall which we are exploring for this email series.