How Healthy Are You? Ask Dr. Joseph Mercola!

There are no shortcuts to good health. There is also no single health program designed that will work for everyone because we all have a unique biochemistry, genetics and physical appearance.

But for Dr. Joseph Mercola, achieving optimal health doesn’t need to be complicated. You just need to understand your body in order for you to take control of your own health.

Get started by assessing your health by looking at these four vital factors:

1. Insulin
2. Weight
3. Blood pressure
4. Cholesterol

The "Four Factor"

1. Insulin is crucial in metabolism and causes the cells in the body to take up glucose and stop the use of fat as an energy source. Most adults have only one teaspoon of sugar in their blood, and if your sugar level were to rise to one tablespoon, you would lapse into a hyperglycemic coma and die. Your body produces insulin to prevent this from happening but too much of it in your system can lead to degenerative illness as you get older.

2. Weight management, on the other hand, is perhaps the most visible among the four factors because you can tell by just looking at a person if he/she is at his/her ideal weight, overweight or underweight. Aside from physical health issues, extra body weight and obesity can also have major negative psychological effects that can hinder you from achieving optimal health.

3. Your ideal blood pressure should be 120/80 without any medication. High insulin levels, stress, tension or anxiety contribute to elevated blood pressure. If you are following a certain diet or program to normalize your blood pressure and do not see an improvement after several weeks, you need to seek help from a health professional.

4. Blood cholesterol is the trickiest part because most Americans are confused about their cholesterol levels due to the fact that too much emphasis is given to the importance of total cholesterol. For Dr. Mercola, the ratio of good cholesterol to total cholesterol is far more important when it comes to predicting cardiovascular risk.

Assessing and Taking Control of Your Health

A simple way to find out if you’re struggling with your weight is by measuring your waist circumference with a tape measure. Sizes above 40 for men and above 37 for women usually indicate obesity. Body Mass Index (BMI) is also a good tool to find out what your ideal weight should be. The National Institutes of Health has a simple online BMI calculator that you can use to know your ideal weight.

It is also easy and inexpensive to test for your insulin, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. So do yourself a favor and look at the state of your health as soon as possible.

After assessing the state of your health, the next logical step will be to adopt a plan that will help you address problems and improve your overall wellbeing.
Dr. Mercola has designed a special Nutrition Plan coming from decades of extensive research, collaboration with other health professionals and most importantly, successful treatment of thousands of patients. Mercola’s passion is to help you start the journey to optimal health, one step at a time.

Take control of your health with Dr. Mercola’s Optimized Nutrition Plan! Log on to Mercola.com now!