6 reasons to have a health check

Health and wellbeing can often be taken for granted, especially within our modern, fast-paced lives. But looking after your mental and physical health should be a priority to help you live a healthy life.  

For this, think of yourself as a car:

1. You check that it’s got enough fuel, air, oil, and coolant.
2. Once a year, you get a professional to do an MOT to identify anything that needs changing to make it safe now or prevent it from being a problem.
3. You may also take it in for a service to make sure it’s operating at its best.
4. If something goes wrong, you take it into a garage.

Blood tests can be viewed similarly:

• Some tests investigate when something doesn’t feel right.
• Other tests are a general annual MOT.
• Some blood tests help improve performance.

With our range of home health tests, you can conveniently check your current health status and gain insights into your inner health.

Six reasons to have a health check 

1. Establish your baseline

Knowing your current state of health can make it easier for you to pick up on any changes or abnormalities in the future.

Establishing a health baseline is also useful to help you make informed lifestyle changes to manage your risk of developing preventable health conditions in the future.

A health check can highlight the early stages of illnesses, such as diabetes and high cholesterol, so you can act before they progress.

With your online dashboard (available to you after purchasing a Medichecks test), it's easy to monitor your biomarker results over time so you can pick up on any changes - putting you in control of your health.

Baseline health checks include:

• Heart Disease Risk Blood Test
• Advanced Diabetes Blood Test
• Nutrition Blood Test
• Male and Female Hormone Home Blood Test
• Blood pressure

2. Investigate a health concern

If you are concerned about your health, it can be a worrisome and stressful time. You may even feel like everything is out of your control.

There are a few reasons that you may be worried about your health. These can include:

• A family history of a health condition
• Experiencing unwanted symptoms
• A gut feeling that you are unwell

Investigating your health from your own home has never been easier. With our quick, convenient service, you can have your health check results delivered online within just a few days. Our doctors give you feedback and insights on your results, to help relieve any anxiety and to help you along on your health journey.

Tests to help investigate health concerns include:

• Advanced Well Woman and Advanced Well Man Blood Test
• Advanced Thyroid Function Blood Test
• Nutrition Blood Test

3. Optimise your sports or fitness performance

You don’t have to be a professional athlete to see the benefits of a health check. By measuring key markers in your blood, and tracking them over time, you can fine-tune your nutrition, training, and recovery to reach your fitness goals.

Medichecks’ range of sports performance tests looks at the key biomarkers that can affect your performance.

Biomarkers that can affect your performance include:

• Hormones
• Thyroid function
• Inflammation
• Iron status
• Vitamins and minerals

Tests to help optimise your sports or fitness performance include:

• Ultimate Performance Blood Test
• Sports Hormone Blood Test
• Advanced Sports At Home Blood Test

Read more on improving sports performance.

4. Monitor new milestones

People are living longer than ever [1], which is a great thing. However, it is important that we think about our health as we get older - particularly as risks of certain diseases increase as we age.

Once you reach your 40s and 50s, it is a good idea to check for diabetes, cholesterol, liver health, and other markers, which can often be improved through lifestyle changes if caught early.

 

Rediscover your drive

Tiredness is one of the main reasons people visit their GP [2], and while it can be as simple as getting more sleep, often there is an underlying cause of our lethargy.

Underlying causes of lethargy can include:

• Low vitamin and mineral levels
• Diabetes
• Thyroid disorders
• Hormone imbalances

A great place to start would be a health check if you feel more tired than usual.

Exploring key blood markers can help you to determine the cause of the problem and adjust any imbalances.

Key tests to help investigate fatigue include:

• Iron Blood Test
• Advanced Thyroid Function Blood Test
• Menopause Blood Test
• Male Hormone Blood Test

6. Gain peace of mind

Taking control of your health can be empowering as well as reassuring.

Your results can give you the confidence to maintain what’s going well and give you the motivation to make any lifestyle changes to benefit your health.

If you need help choosing the right test to gain peace of mind then try our test finder, or see our health and wellness buying guide.

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References

1. int. 2021. Ageing and health. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health#:~:text=People%20worldwide%20are%20living%20longer,aged%2060%20years%20or%20over.> [Accessed 31 December 2021].
2. uk. 2021. Sleep and tiredness. [online] Available at: <https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/> [Accessed 21 December 2021].