So off you go to give blood or off to the doctor for a bladder infection, or bronchitis or a pain that won’t resolve and while you’re there the nurse takes your blood pressure. Perhaps they test your sugar while you’re there. They might even suggest a slew of other tests. It seems they are very thorough in searching for the root of what ails you.
But how valuable are once-off tests and what do they really show?
*Testing your sugar in the middle of the day, unless it’s 2 hours after a meal, has no value at all. Blood sugar is a mechanism, designed to fluctuate – within reason – during the course of 24 hours. Even if you test ‘off the chart’, unless further investigating is done, 1 reading in isolation does not make you diabetic. In fact we had a customer here who was prescribed insulin after an isolated blood sugar reading, without any further testing of pancreatic health, insulin resistance or underlying disease.
*Testing blood pressure in the doctor’s room or in a clinic is of no value unless it is ongoing testing over a period of time. Blood pressure, like blood sugar, is a fluctuating mechanism and 1 isolated test does not provide you with the whole picture. According to modern western medicine, every human regardless of age, weight, sex, ethnicity and state of health should have a blood pressure of 120/80. It doesn’t take much logic to realise that’s impossible (!) With regular testing over time, we should get to know our own unique blood pressure so that we are aware of how changes make us feel and what they mean. Any medication, chronic, acute or supplementary, can affect blood pressure, as can dietary changes, air pressure changes, allergies and illness. We also always take White Coat Syndrome in to account – some people get so anxious before seeing the doc their bp always spikes.
*Testing cholesterol is a blog on its own, that has already been covered.
*Testing thyroid and other hormones seems to be a minefield of misinformation as doctors omit to test the spectrum of related hormones and their ratios.
*homocystiene, C-reactive protein, inflammatory compounds, vitamin D and minerals are such important tests and yet are seldom recommended by modern western medical professionals
So the question remains – To test or not To Test? Each individual situation should be assessed and at all times let common sense prevail and May the Force be With You…