What Annual Tests Should I Do?

Annual blood tests can catch major health issues at very early stage when they can be managed effectively. Annual blood testing is very important tool to prevent

degenerative disease through early intervention.Screening tests if done annually can assess the status and confirm the normal functioning of various important systems in our body.

1) CBC( complete blood count)

Though this is very basic test it will give a quick overlook of your overall health. This test provides a rough idea about the status of functioning of your cardio vascular system, liver, kidney, immune system and blood cells.

The Complete Blood Count measures the number, variety, percentage, concentration, and quality of platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells, and thus is useful in screening for infections, allergies, anemia’s, and other hematological abnormalities.

Decreased level RBC, hemoglobin, or hematocrit levels may indicate anemia due to deficiencies of iron, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, or folic acid, as well as certain chronic diseases.

White blood cells (WBCs) are an important component of the immune system. Increased levels of all types of WBCs in the blood are usually associated with bacterial, viral, parasitic, or protozoal infections.
The total WBCs states general information and gives clue about certain infections prevailing in our body.

Elevated level of neutrophils, which are the first WBCs to respond to infection, often indicate bacterial infection. Decreased neutrophil levels may indicate chronic infection or depression of bone marrow.

Monocytes are second line of defense mechanism of our body. Monocytes can be increased in conditions like lymphomas or leukamias.

Lymphocytes indicates status of cellular immune responses elevated levels of lymphocytes can be seen in chronic infections and autoimmune diseases

Eosinophils responds to allergens. Elevated level of Eosinophils indicates allergic reaction in the body.

2) Chemistry panel

Lipid profile
It includes total cholesterol levels , HDL (high-density lipoprotein), LDL (low-density lipo-protein), triglycerides, and the total cholesterol/HDL ratio
Lipid profile primarily provides information about status of your cardiovascular system.

Blood sugar level
Annual monitoring of blood sugar level is important to identify the metabolic syndrome,diabetes at very early stage so that prevent further progress in to disease and disease complications.

Chemical panel also includes measurement of minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron levels in our body. Which indicates nutritional status of our body.

3) Hemoglobin A1C or glycosylated Hb

Hemoglobin A1C is one of the important indicator for you to predict the chances to have diabetes. It assess glucose levels in a your blood which measures a person’s blood sugar control over the last two to three months it is an independent predictor of heart disease as well. Maintaining hemoglobin A1C levels within normal range prevent complications in patients with diabetes

4) C-Reactive Protein

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive marker of systemic inflammation which is a powerful indicator for degenerative diseases, various cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The highly sensitive cardiac CRP test measures C-reactive protein in the blood at very early stages of vascular disease.The cardiac CRP test detects much smaller levels of inflammation than the basic CRP test, so is therefore able to identify at-risk patients earlier, even among apparently healthy persons.

5) Thyroid profile

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) Measuring TSH is the best test for assessing thyroid function.
TSH is Secreted by the pituitary gland, TSH controls secretion of thyroid hormones by thyroid gland . When blood levels of TSH is below normal range, it indicates (increased thyroid activity i.e. hyperthyroidism , and when TSH level is above normal range , suggests hypothyroidism which means low thyroid activity.

Many of the times symptoms of thyroid gland dysfunction may be nonspecific or absent or may progress slowly, and routinely screening for thyroid function is not done, people with mild hyper- or hypothyroidism can go undiagnosed for some time. Undiagnosed mild disease later on can progress to clinical disease.

6) Renal profile or kidney function tests

These blood tests indicates the functioning of your kidney
Creatinine is a waste product that comes from the normal wear and tear on muscles of the body. Serum creatinine level higher than normal range may be an early sign that the kidneys are not working properly.

Glomerular filtration rate is a measure of how well the kidneys are removing wastes and excess fluid from the blood. A GFR below than normal range indicates kidneys are not working properly .

Blood urea nitrogen is the ultimate product of protein breakdown, increased level of BUN indicates poor functioning of the kidney

7) Liver profile:

These tests indicates function of the liver and billiary system
SGOT and SGPT

When liver cells are damaged, the enzymes in those cells leak out into the blood, where they can be measured by blood tests. Liver tests check the blood for two main liver enzymes: SGOT and SGPT. If blood levels of these enzymes are elevated, it indicates damage to liver.
Alkaline phosphatase

Increased level of alkaline phosphatase indicates a problem with bile flow. Bile flow problems can be due to a problem in the liver, the gallbladder, or the tubes connecting them.

Since alkaline phosphatase is also found in bone, it can be elevated in certain medical conditions that affect bone, as well.
Serum bilirubin

Bilirubin blood levels may be elevated in people with impaired bile flow. This can occur in severe liver disease, gallbladder disease, or other bile system conditions.

8) Serum calcium levels:

Calcium blood test measures the total amount of calcium in your blood. Irregular calcium blood levels rarely present any unusual signs or symptoms, so a calcium blood test may be the only way to detect a potential problem.
A calcium blood test can be part of a screening for a variety of diseases and conditions, including osteoporosis, cancer, and kidney diseases.

9)Serum Vitamin D level:

Vitamin D is fat soluble vitamin. Major source of vitamin D is exposure to sunlight, and animal sources. Vegan food is rare source of vitamin D and hence deficiency of vitamin D is very common in vegetarians. Deficiency of vitamin D can cause bone damage which leads to bone-softening diseases.

10) Serum Vitamin B12 level

Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin which plays a key role in functioning of brain and nervous system. Deficiency of vitamin B12 may be indicative of pernicious anemia a autoimmune disease. Deficiency of vitamin B12 may cause various neurological symptoms. Major source of vitamin B12 is animal source so deficiency is very common in vegetarians.

11) Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) for men

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein manufactured by the prostate gland in men. Elevated levels of PSA suggests an enlarged prostate, prostate inflammation, or prostate cancer for which further evaluation is needed.

12) Estradiol

It is a form of estrogen mostly measured in non pregnant female. Levels of estradiol varies throughout the menstrual cycle. Increased levels of estradiol in woman indicate risk for breast cancer or endometrial cancer. Low levels of estradiol may increase the risk for bone fractures and heart diseases. Levels of estradiol is constant after menopause.

If you find any abnormality in your annual blood tests and if your disease is at early stage visit to holistic health care at Life Force Homeopathy. The medicines here have been proved effective in preventing the progress of disease when treated at very early stage.

To know more about Dr Rajesh Shah’s homeopathy treatment and how can help it you, do get in touch with us at +91-22-66888888 or write to us at info@lifeforce.in or visit http://www.askdrshah.com/

– Dr Aparna Hingmire, Associate doctor to Dr Rajesh Shah, Life Force Team