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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A method of ridding future generations of some serious inherited disease will soon be used on humans, scientists predict.

This method, called germline therapy, has been used successfully on monkeys. The work, carried out by the Oregan Health and Science University, has been published in the journal Nature. The method can be used for mothers undergoing IVF treatment. It involves a change in the DHA existing in the mitochondria – the energy production units of the cell. Being outside of the chromosomes, this therapy is permitted without the need for new legislation.

The types of diseases germline therapy could avoid include terribly debilitating diseases such as some cancer, nerve diseases, muscle diseases and diabetes.

The method involves ‘splicing’ mitochondrial DNA from two female donors, fertilizing the resulting egg, and implanting it into the womb. The resulting child would no longer have the genetic material which caused the identified disease.

Of course this procedure raises ethical questions; however, the option of avoiding future serious disease for an individual makes it a procedure worthy of serious consideration and study.

Method to Combat Genetic Disease is a post from: Living To 150

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