You are the best person to keep track of your health. Most physicians don’t have the time to keep track of your complete health history so when you go in for a check up, going in prepared can be the best use of both your time and the physicians. Naturopathic physicians can perform many of the tests and exams I am going to suggest. Some MD’s may not do them for various reasons, the least of which is the limitations of MSP coverage.

Regular check ups become more important as you get older but until the age of forty, I suggest for so called healthy men and women without any symptoms to have their blood sugar, blood fats, and blood pressure checked every year, to know what your serum ferritin is and to have a urinalysis done. In addition for women I suggest having a yearly breast exam and a PAP test (cervical test for uterine cancer). Of course if you have any symptoms that don’t go away in a reasonable period of time you should also have those checked out. One of the downfalls we all have is the thought "I will just wait and see if this goes away" and before you know it many months have elapsed! The art of prevention is knowing well in advance any health risks you may have and then taking action right away.

For example one of the first signs of prostate enlargement is dribbling after urination, less forceful urinary stream, and getting up during the night to urinate (unless of course you have had fluids to drink before bed). This symptom occurs in many men in their early forties. Some alternative practitioners believe that the enlarged prostate may put some men at risk for prostate cancer and taking saw palmetto not only reduces the size of the prostate but also reduces the risk of prostate cancer. Men at the age of fifty should have a yearly prostate exam and a PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test. All men no matter what age should be taking fresh organic flaxoil one tablespoon and selenium 200mcg per day for prostate cancer prevention.

At the age of fifty I recommend the following yearly tests for both men and women: total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and HDL/LDL ratio; height; blood pressure; fasting blood sugar; tryglcerides; homocysteine; serum ferritin; urinalysis; and stool for occult blood. For women a screening DEXA bone density scan, for men a heel bone density scan; for women a yearly breast exam, PAP, pelvic exam and a screening mammogram in addition to their yearly check up; for men a yearly prostate exam and PSA in addition to their yearly check up.

The biggest killer is heart disease in both men and women. Knowing your blood sugars and triglycerides is important, as diabetes is one of the biggest causes of heart disease. Healthy ranges for blood sugars are 4.5 to 5.0. If your levels are creeping past 5.5 and your triglycerides are over 1.58 you may be on the road to diabetes and there are many things to do to prevent this from happening. So know your actual levels. It is not good enough to be told that everything is fine in the case of preventive medicine. Determine your total cholesterol, HDL and LDL and their ratios (ratio should be less than 3). Another inexpensive test that some MD’s will do is homocysteine. The research continues to mount that an elevated level of this protein in the blood indicates cardiovascular risk better than blood fats. The simple fix for this is adequate dosing of folic acid 5mg and B6 250mg along with a B complex to prevent imbalances in the rest of the B complex family. Recent research indicates that after taking these for two years there were no side effects. Of course I recommend that everyone over the age of fifty also take Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) 800IU, Vitamin C 2000mg, natural carotene complex 25,000IU"s and Selenium 200 mcg as additional antioxidants that prevent heart disease and cancer. This topic will be continued in my next column.