Hypodermic Needle (Flickr)

It may seem silly to go all the way to America from the UK to get blood tests done, but is it so silly?

Once you have decided to have blood tests done, you start to look at the cost. And once you look at the cost, it’s a no-brainer.

Let’s say you are going to get several panels of tests done. (A panel is just a ‘related bunch’ of tests.) Maybe you will get a basic male or female panel: then a few others, depending on what you want to measure or check. I might get c-reactive protein, haemoglobin A1c, homocysteine, a thyroid panel and cholesterol VAP test – the type which gives you much more detail about different kinds of cholesterol.

In America, these can be done for, perhaps, £300 ($400) (if you go when Life Extension Foundation has its annual ‘sale’)

In the UK you are getting towards several times that cost. So it makes sense to visit the States – and make a holiday out of it. It works for me!

Related Articles For Blood Tests

• How is a cholesterol test performed? (zocdoc.com)
• Can tests for your health condition help? (latestmedifastcouponcodes.wordpress.com)
• What does a annual physical consist of? (zocdoc.com)

Getting Blood Tests Done In America is a post from: Living To 150

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1. More Blood Tests For Health

Blood tests in USA (Wikipedia)

In America, many people have annual blood tests. It’s commonplace. In the UK it happens hardly at all. Well, it is so expensive over here.

In the USA I can get 80 or so blood tests done for around £300-400. ($450-600) That is very cheap.

In the UK, one blood test can cost over £100.

It is my aim to demonstrate to you how you can monitor your health by having regular blood tests done. To this end, I have had a series of three blood tests now. The last set was nearly 2 years ago in Denver. This time I had some done in Palm Springs, and then some done in San Francisco.

I did not intend to split them! But after the initial tests in Palm Springs, I got an email from the lab, saying they hadn’t taken enough blood! So I had to go back a second time to have more blood drawn. Fortunately, I was checking emails while in the States.

Being the third time I have had tests done, I’m beginning to get the hang of interpreting them.

The first time I had them done I really didn’t have much of a clue. I have been in alternative medicine for 30 years, but analysing blood tests has never been part of what I have done.

Now, I can see that each time I have them done, I’m beginning to understand more and more about them.

I have an adviser, fortunately, who is an expert in interpreting blood tests and can help me. Handy. But I have to learn more myself as I go along.

One particular concern this time is my borderline-high cholesterol. My partner also has this. I am researching it carefully to find out what I should be doing to deal with it. Or, in fact, if I should be doing anything.

I’m reading a book called “The Great Cholesterol Con”. This explores the hypothesis that cholesterol does not lead to heart disease. Interesting, but it might be left field. I’m  not sure though – the author has a ton of evidence.

I now need to do loads of research on the blood tests – both for myself and for my partner. I will let you know a summary of my findings, and what I intend to do about them.

More Blood Tests For Health is a post from: Living To 150

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Harley Street, London (Wikipedia)

I visited my new Harley Street dentist the other day. My experiment with Harley Street has turned out to be extremely successful.

My idea was to visit a Harley Street dentist to see if they were really worth it. Was my own dentist giving me the advice and help I really needed? Or was I being misled?

Were Harley Street prices really worth paying, or were they a rip-off?

Well, it is true that I ended up paying more in Harley Street than I would have done in Brighton. (I suppose that’s pretty obvious…)

In addition to that, my Brighton dentist just had not kept me up to date with the state of my teeth.

I had teeth which were actively decaying. ACTIVELY. But no word from him!

You could easily see the decay from the photographs taken in Harley Street. My Brighton dentist was telling me that in time – some point in the future – I would need crowns.

What I was not being told was:

1. My teeth were actually decaying NOW
2. It was a conservative treatment have crowns. In other words, my teeth would last longer if they were crowned, rather than having the huge fillings which were a legacy from my childhood.

Now, I’m sure that many people have dentists who are extremely careful, highly skilled and give great results. I am not saying you have to go to Harley Street for that. Not necessarily.

But in my experiment, I went to a Harley Street dentist I was recommended to by someone who I respect; someone who hardly recommends anybody, ever! And this dentist is warm  and caring, and everything she does she illustrates through x-rays and films. I can see everything going on in a way I never have before at any other dentist. She explains everything really well, and I never feel at all hurried.

And I feel very confident that I am getting the best treatment.

It’s a bit like taking your car to a mechanic. It’s hard to know what they are doing under that bonnet! Well, with this dentist I feel very confident. You won’t necessarily get that with every Harley Street dentist, I am sure: but this one worked for me!

I am getting some pictures of my treatment and will put them up on the blog. One interesting one is to see an x-ray of a broken root: then of the titanium rod: then of the final tooth implant.

My Teeth – A Dentistry Update is a post from: Living To 150

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There are ‘natural’ dentists around if you look for them. For those of us outside USA the choice is poor though: they are mainly ‘over there’!

Oh well, an excuse for a holiday maybe.

Here are a few resources I picked out which look worthy of investigation.

Ray Behm, Florida, USA

The Institute for Nutritional Dentistry
New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London

New Concept

Dr Marvin, San Diego

Mercury free dentistry – all over the USA

Dr Alan Green, Boulder, Colorado

Finally – one of the best is last: Tom Cornwell is a great source of knowledge on tooth matters. Check him out here.

Hope these resources provide you with a good starting point for improving your tooth health.

Some Natural Dentists is a post from: Living To 150

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A crown, or, cap, is used when a tooth has worn down or to prolong its life if it has a large filling.

I certainly did not realise that a crown could make a tooth last longer. I also wrongly believed that having a crown made you needed a root canal filling. This is not the case.

A tooth with a large filling in the middle will have two cusps, front and back, which are liable to crack off. This is because of the pressure down on the filling from the tooth above, which tends to spread the filling, pushing the cusps outwards. I had a number of teeth with large filling – a remnant from childhood when dentists seems to drill big holes in all your teeth.

When you have a large filling in a tooth, by having a crown which completely covers the tooth the pressure from the tooth above is absorbed by the crown, protecting the underlying tooth. This makes the tooth last longer.

As it is my aim to live to be at least 150 I need to have my teeth lasting as long as possible.

The Benefit Of Dental Crowns is a post from: Living To 150

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My second trip to the dentist a couple of weeks later was to have the crowns fitted. I knew what to expect now so was not as apprehensive as the previous time.

The crowns had been made and they were sitting there fitted to a copy of my jaw.

Removing the temporary crowns from my teeth seem to require a huge amount of pressure to me. But it was not painful, and I suppose the glue used has to be quite strong so they don’t fall out before the patient returns.

Fitting each new one in place was a long job, longer than the job of fitting the temporary crown.

The fit is incredibly precise, and I was glad I was in the hands of a specialist in this area. I suppose the crowns are made slightly oversized, and then the trims them very slightly so that there is a perfect fit. She chopped off bits here and there, drilling off tiny pieces to make my bite absolutely perfect. She then checked it four or five times each side for each of the two crowns.

Eventually, she was happy, and I was happy. The necessary filling was done to a back tooth, and then it was just the extraction of the broken tooth to be done.

For the extraction, I was ready for quite a fight to pull out this broken tooth, only a small piece of which protruded above the gum line. In the event, I felt absolutely nothing.

I was stunned. The dentist fiddled about for about five minutes sticking something down into the gum, then out came the broken root. I felt nothing! I could have sworn that removing it would involve more discomfort than that. She assured me it should not.

Now I had to wait a few months for the bone to heal whether rooted come out. I would then have a visit to a surgeon who would assess how best to apply the titanium pin into the jawbone which would hold the implanted tooth to fit in the space. The ideal time to leave this was between three and six months, to heal up.

I emerged from dentist feeling a little bit number than the previous time, but still not too bad.

I still felt that I was in excellent hands, and did not regret my decision to proceed with this expensive treatment.

Follow Up – Crowns Fitted is a post from: Living To 150

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I approached my first proper treatment with a little apprehension. I knew it was going to be two or three hours long, and that there was work to be done on both sides of my jaw. I could see me walking out with no feeling at all in my mouth.

You will remember I was to have two crowns fitted, a filling, and the removal of a broken root.

One thing you get in Harley Street (at least in this surgery) is a flat-screen TV fitted to the roof above your dental chair, and the remote control in your hand. This was a first for me!

During this first treatment temporary crowns were to be fitted. This dentist is a specialist in this area.

The injections were fairly painless. The dentist worked on the teeth to be capped shaping them to receive the crowns. She would fit temporary crowns to the teeth once they had been shaped so that they were ready to receive the proper crowns once they had been made.

After 2 1/2 hours I emerged with all the shaping work done, and temporary crowns made in the surgery, and fitted. It was noticeable the great amount of care that went into creating the temporary crowns and ensuring that they did not interfere with my bite.

The anaesthetic was not quite as strong as I had feared, indeed it was nothing like as bad.

I headed for the train and the hour-long trip home.

Serious Dentist Treatment is a post from: Living To 150

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After a week I received a detailed plan of recommended treatment from my dentist. I had explained that I would not be doing everything at once, and so she prioritises the treatment to do the most important first.

One tooth had broken off a cusp and so obviously needed doing quickly. Another tooth had dropped out having had a broken for a few months. My previous dentist said wait till it falls out. Unfortunately, the tooth had become infected in the meantime and was oozing pus. Yuck! Probably a bad call to leave it so long.

So, removal of the root was also a high priority.

The two is next to the broken root had a large filling which was disintegrating. This was also prioritised for early treatment. Finally, back to is have a chunk which have fallen off, and so this was going to be repaired.

This was the initial treatment. The total cost was lower than it might have been because of who recommended me. The first chunk of treatment worked out at a total of £2750.

Follow Up Dentist Visit is a post from: Living To 150

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Having arrived at the dentist in Harley Street I went through the then a thorough examination. The dentist was very pleasant and friendly and made me feel completely at home.

After the consultation she took me through her findings. These were made much more comprehensible by the use of photographs. It was incredible to see excellent photographs of my teeth as she explained what was going on.

I have mentioned before that the photographs showed decay all-rounder large filling which no previous dentist had mentioned to me. This had obviously been going on for quite a while, and needed sorting out.

This alone was enough to convince me that I have come to the right place. Added to the strong recommendation of someone I trust, my decision was made I would certainly trust this person and go through their recommended treatment.

It is quite expensive, though, so I would spread it out over the course of a year.

Trip to Harley Street Dentist is a post from: Living To 150

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This week I took a trip to a new dentist.

I have been going to what I considered was a good dentist for a couple of years for my dental treatment. A month ago, he said that one of my teeth was heading towards needing a crown. A cusp had cracked off and he said just to leave it.

I was concerned about that, because through ignorance, I thought that having a crown meant having a root canal filling. I know that the way that is generally done is to have mercury introduced into the root canal. I am very wary of this because, from previous studies, I know that this can lead to long-term infection, infecting the rest of the body. I believe, based on works I have read, that this can lead to serious illness.

I was therefore very keen to avoid a root canal filling.

I talked to a good friend about this issue, and he recommended strongly a second opinion from a dentist his family used in London. Not just London – Harley Street. This sounded expensive.

I want my teeth to last as possible, so I felt a second opinion from someone so strongly recommended was worth it. And I thought it would make good material to report on in this blog as the treatment progressed.  http://livingto150.com.

I booked up and went for a consultation.

The dentist took pictures – pictures not x-rays – of all my teeth. She put them up on a screen there and then, and discussed them with me at length. She pointed out the shortcomings of the various teeth and their fillings. She indicated decay around an existing filling which was very clear to see but which had not been mentioned to me before. I was shocked to see it – but could not argue with the evidence in front of my eyes.

As for the broken cusp, she said to sort that tooth out and crown it as soon as possible, before the other cusp broke off too. Neither could I argue with that sensible suggestion. On the left, you can see the tooth in question with one cusp misisng. That ‘stick’ is a post previously inserted to help hold in the huge filling.

I learned that crowns can be preventive: can slow down deterioration and increase longevity of the tooth. I did not realize that.

The result is, I have an expensive course of treatment. I will do the important stuff first, spread over two treatments, then finish off next year. This will, I feel sure, make my teeth last much longer.

It was a very interesting visit.

Tooth Extraction

On the first treatment, I had a broken root extracted. My dentist has said wait until the broken tooth above fell out, which it has recently done. However, following this advice had allowed a pretty extensive infection to attack the root. So that was hardly good advice either. Grrrrh!

She send me home with the warning that my cheek might swell up as the infection had been ‘liberated’. She gave me a penicillin prescription to hand on to in case I needed it.

Of course I went home and immediately reached the herbs!

First of all, Red Sage and Echinacea Gargle:

http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/Red_Sage_and_Echinacea_Gargle.html

This is fantastic. Starting immediately, I put 20 to 25 drops into a little warm water and swished it around the extraction area for 30 seconds then spat out. I repeated three or four times with the rest of the mixture.

Now, for the daily capsules. I would take three Echinacea Compound Capsules twice a day;

http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/Echinacea.html

(Echinacea, wild indigo, low-odour garlic, myrrh – a great combination)

One Power Garlic Capsule twice a day

http://www.shs100.com/acatalog/Power_Garlic_Capsules2.html

(Low odour – and one capsule is equivalent to one clove of garlic)

…and continue with the Red Sage and Echinacea Gargle three times a day.

There was no swollen cheek next day, but on the day after I could feel with my tongue that the gum at one corner of the vacant hole was distinctly swollen. I kept up with the herbs. The next day it was just the same period day after, it gone down slightly. The day after that, it was back to normal.

So that’s that deal with then!

Look Away If Squeamish

Sorry it’s horrid! This is where the broken root has been left to develop an infection – should have been removed long ago.

That white stuff is the pus oozing out of the hole.

What will now happen, is that the wound will be left for a few month to heal up, and a titanium post inserted by a surgeon. The dentist can then implant a tooth onto that.

Should last ages!

Phase Two of the Treatment

Now to phase two of my treatment in two weeks.

I will be having two inlays, rather than crowns: these are for when part of the tooth is left. Gold is the best solution for inlays and crowns, all things being equal. My partner hates the idea of me flaunting gold in the mouth. (And I am not even a rapper   )

So I have compromised: if it’s the back 3 teeth – gold: otherwise some more cosmetic answer.

A Great Dentist

I really feel I have a fantastic dentist here. My friend’s strong recommendation was justified. She’s caring, shows and explains everything, and I expect, as he said, that she is a superb technician. I feel I have a dentist who is very concerned with making my teeth last as long as possible.

My Dental Treatment in Harley Street is a post from: Living To 150

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After a bit of research, it seems that lowering cholesterol by a moderate amount should not be that hard.

OK – doctors just slap you on statins. But that should not be option 1.

If you read around the subject it seems that you can reduce total cholesterol by one third through diet and take plant sterols. For example see the Portfolio Diet for ideas.

I don’t agree 100% with this diet: but it is a good start and much better than statin. MUCH better than statins.

Statin Dangers

A documentary on statins recently highlighted two cases of men who had been given statins and who had muscle wasting and energy diseases which they had not hint of previously. Very, very sad. One of the guys was crying at the functionality he had lost.  This should be a crime.  He had retired with a healthy retirement ahead of him, and he now could not walk to the end of the road – because of the muscle pain he had. This started just after he started statins.

So I would suggest trying the ‘Portfolio Diet‘ type of approach first.

It’s only a start – but a good one.

I will analyse it in more detail in a future post.

Cholesterol Lowering Regime is a post from: Living To 150

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I have now had my treatment plan from the Harley Street dentist.

At the bottom left I have three teeth all with large fillings which are the ones she is most concerned about. She thinks these are ‘doomed’ to break down sooner rather than later without intervention. So this means three crowns.

Upper left I have a tooth which has crack at the root and fallen out. I knew this would need treatment. She plans to remove the remaining root, let it heal for three months, then have a titanium screw inserted. She has shown me on an xray that there is plenty of bone at this point to put the screw.

This part is no different from the treatment planned by my usual dentist.

Upper right, the back half of the back tooth has previously been mainly filling and a big chunk of this has fallen off. Another crown there.

Lower right a cusp has cracked off a tooth with a big filling. A crown for this – again, as proposed by by usual dentist.

The differences are – this dentist proposed taking much more action immediately as this is, as she calls it, ‘conservative’. I supposed you could say ‘conservational’. In other words, my teeth will last longer. And that is what I want.

I will go ahead with the plan.

Dental Treatment Plan is a post from: Living To 150

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Following on from my previous post on reviewing my dental arrangements, I was shocked by my Harley Street checkup.

The dentist I saw showed my pictures of all of my teeth on a TV screen as I lay in the chair. Still photos were taken which showed me great detail of my teeth. The image which sticks in my mind is of a large white filling which has brown patches all around the edges.

This, the dentist tells me, is decay. What! How can I have decay all around this filling and this has never been mentioned to me? Perhaps my current dentist has  not mentioned it to save me money. If this is so, I don’t appreciate it: I want to be involved in the decisions about my own health.

Another factor is the number of large fillings I have. I think this is because of the dental practices when I was a child, which was to ‘drill and fill’ at every opportunity. I find out from my Harley Street dentist that large fillings weaken the remaining ‘cusps’ of the tooth. The pressure of eating then forces them outwards, eventually cracking them off. This is more likely to happen with the white fillings I now prefer as they ‘glue’ the tooth together less effectively than mercury fillings.

Because of these large fillings, I have a number of teeth which will last longer if they are crowned. I did not realise that crowning teeth could be preventive in this way – the teeth will last longer.

The good news for me is: I thought crowning teeth invariably meant root canal work. I am pleased to learn that is not the case. That’s only necessasry with more severely damaged teeth.

I now wait for the proposed treatment plan.

Bad Teeth is a post from: Living To 150

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Do you take good care of your teeth?

I go to a local dentist who answers my questions and I think does a reasonable job. But how good is it? I will check – by visiting Harley Street.

Visiting a dentist is a bit like having your car mended – how do you judge it has been done well?

Well, I thought it might be interesting for my readers, to have a thorough review of my own tooth health so I could see if everything was as fine as I thought.

This is an anti-aging issue – because present or future infections in the tooth or worse, in the root canal, can spew out toxins into the body, seriously affecting it.

The Plan

I have been researching a very good dentist, and have found one who I think is extremely good as well as being a warm person. I will first go for a consultation to see what she says about my teeth in general. If I am happy, I will then proceed as a guinea pig, carrying out her recommendations, and keeping you informed about the progress and the results.

As I go along, I will tell you what I learn, so you can apply that to your own situation.

It is likely to cost quite a bit of money – but I think it is worth it. And I will find out whether my confidence in my current dental arrangements is well placed.

Teeth Review is a post from: Living To 150

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The worst result coming back from my health tests at Frontier Clinic in Denver are that my LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol is very high.

Just about everything else is ok; this is bad.

Exactly what to do about it I don’t know yet as I have not had my ‘post consultation’ chat with Terry Grossman yet.

However, and this is a bit of a shock, I might end up taking a statin drug.

Two years ago I culd not have seen myself taking a statin. But with my LDL as high as it is – and it’s not due to my diet – I might just have to consider it.

I will do all I can to avoid that eventuality – mainly taking niacin and red rice yeast – but with the level of LDL I have, that may not be enough.

I will learn more when I talk to Terry Grossman, and will report further.

My Health – Cholesterol is a post from: Living To 150

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I have now received a comprehensive written report from visiting Dr Terry Grossman’s clinic in Denver. There are few surprises.

Blood sugar is a little higher than I would like. Homcysteine is higher than it was last year; that means increased heart disease risk so I will increase B vitamins and folic acid to deal with this.

My LDL cholesterl is even higher than last year. However, this time a VAP test (more in depth that the usual cholesterol test) reveals that many of these LDL particles are the worse, smaller kinds, which are more of a heart risk.

I will need to address this. How, I will know after talking to Terry Grossman for my follow-up consultation.

Apart from this news is good. Inherited factors are not bad; my ‘H-scan’ result places me at 38 years old biologically -  19 years younger than my physical age; and one or two environmental toxns need sorting out with a course of chelaton therapy.

After my telephone consultaton I will carry out Terry’s recommendations.Then he wants some repeat blood tests to monitor the hoped-for improvements.

So I will probably pop over to New York to have the retests. This seems crazy but is necessary for three reasons: 1. It’s good if the same lab does the tests – for comparison purposes; 2. Blood tests cost a fortune in the UK: 3. Sending blood to the States is very expensive – and if it’s delayed, it’s ‘dead’.

Anyway, it’s an excuse for a few days’ break in New York. I can go and see the stunning gospel choir in the Bronx I saw last time.

I also plan to try and get my parents to go over to have some basic blood tests at that time.

Question: Would you travel 3000 miles to get blood tests if you knew it would help you look after your health – and possible avoid cancer and heart disease? Leave a comment.

Health Report Has Arrived is a post from: Living To 150

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I am waiting for my health results which will come from my £4k spend in Frontier Clinic, Denver. Yes – pricey. But I think worth it.

I am expecting my pack of results any day, and this will be followed by an hour consultation with Dr Terry Grossman – who I really like and trust, in fact.

What will it reveal? The blood tests hold no fear – as they are repeats of those done a year ago. So I know I am basically fine, but will get extra info on my high cholesterol level. This must be genetic – do I need to worry – and if so what can I do about it?

The other major factor is that I have genetic tests coming back. In other words, I will know some of the genetic diseases which I am more liable to get.

Anyway, I think I am in good hands.

Living to 150 is the (interim) aim – and I feel sure Terry Grossman can help.

I will report back when the results arrive.

Question: Would you spend £4,000 ($6,000) on a health assessment? Post a comment.

Feedback On My Health is a post from: Living To 150

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I can now do eight pressups. That’s fantastic – two weeks ago I could only do 3! Very encouraging.  And two sets of eight at that.

Yesterday I did the 6 minutes abs workout on the couch for the third time. I am doing it on alternate days. For my alternate day, today, I needed to rest my abs, so I did push ups for my arms, and standing on a chair and getting down again for the legs. I used the interval training method of ‘whack it hard, then rest’.

Anyway, pleased with the results on the press ups. I hurt my rotator cuffs (a shoulder muscle group) at the gym last November and it’s taken ages to heal. I thought that might stop me doing press ups at all. But gentle persistence has paid off quickly, it seems.

Exercise Gives Quick Results is a post from: Living To 150

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Hi there. I have not been blogging during July; but I have not been lazy!

As I mentioned previously, I went to Denver, Colorado to visit Dr Terry Grossman at his anti-aging Frontier Clinic.

Since my return on July 20th I got over jet lag, and have been planning lots of article writing.

As well as planning many articles for Living To 150, I have also been working on my HerbalMalc blog, which is bit more “mainstream alternative medicine” and a bit less “longevity” and is aimed at customers of my UK herbal company.

Now I Am Back

Now I’m back on the case of Living To 150 , and raring to go.

I learned a ton of information from Terry Grossman and his colleagues, and had many questions answered. I picked up some really great ideas which I look forward to sharing – on nutrition, health tests, exercise and more.

If you are interested in the two week holiday trip which I took when in Denver seeing Terry G, check out my Colorado website. The trip was probably the best I have ever had! Fantastic scenery, stunning National Parks, exciting activities – white water rafter, zip wiring – and wonderful road-trips.

I have a thousand pictures, and will be adding more of them to the site when I have a few moments.

So, back to anti-aging; please look out for my next post soon.

Question: Do you think you would ever go all the way to Denver if you knew you would get information to make you healthier?

Back – After A Break In Denver, Colorado is a post from: Living To 150

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Continuing a review of the lifestyle changes I made after last year’s blood tests in Fort Lauderdale (April 2008), I will summarize the changes I made.

They were:

1. Avoiding glycation

2. Reducing the amount of sugar in my diet

3. Increasing exercise

In this entry I look briefly at:

3. Increasing exercise

My exercise regime a year ago was not great. I used to play racquetball once a week, and that had stopped. I would walk for half an hour or an hour sporadically. I was doing no weight training. I had started yoga and did this for 10-15 minutes most days.

I decided to get more organized!

1. I started to walk quickly for  20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week.

2. I joined the gym, just for the strength building exercise. I carried out a programme for 45 minutes 2-3 times a week.

3. I joined a tennis club and loved it, such that I played 3 times most weeks.

These were the changes I made after my blood tests in early 2008, which I managed to keep up pretty well to date.

I was now ready to review my lifestyle changes in the light of the recommendations of Dr Terry Grossman and his colleagues.

My Lifestyle Changes – Exercise is a post from: Living To 150

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