Managing longevity from the inside out is challenging because it’s not that easy to look inside your body and find out exactly what’s going on.  To find out what’s going on inside we need to perform tests.  All tests have upsides and downsides.  Blood tests can tell us what is going on but not necessarily why.  CT scans expose you to radiation which causes DNA damage but give a better view of what is going on inside, then there are MRI and Ultrasound tests can give us a really granular look at what your organs look like but might show totally benign cysts that might cause unnecessary worry and unnecessary worry along with the stress it can bring can affect longevity.

However, we are looking to prevent the following:

· cardiovascular disease,

· cerebral vascular disease,

· cancer,

· neurodegenerative disease,

· dementing diseases, and,

· metabolic diseases.

And the medical tests above have the ability give us a view inside your body and tell us if anything is wrong.  In the words of the longevity world, not getting these tests is like driving your car with your eyes shut.

Depending on which programme you are enrolled in, Vivid Life will make recommendations on tests that you can have done and we will do our best at all times to be pragmatic and give the potential benefits and risks.

Blood Tests

We can learn a lot from blood tests.  There are some free ones that are helpful but to get the most helpful ones you will need to pay a surcharge to get them.  All in though you are looking at $200-$300.

Below are the blood tests we recommend and why.

Full Lipid panel – this is your classic cholesterol test.  It will tell you your HDL (typically called ‘good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides which is used to judge how well the lipids (fats) are moving around your blood stream.  It is a useful but not perfect snapshot of your cholesterol.  It is important to fast for 12 hours before getting this test and not have had any alcohol for 8 hours.  This test is free in NZ.

Apo-B – This tests your Apolipoprotein-B and this is a far more helpful test. In short, it tells us how well your body is dealing with your LDL cholesterol and is a far better determinant of heart disease risk.  This is NOT a free test in NZ.

Full blood count – Full blood count is going to give us a snapshot of your blood.  It provides indicators of whether your body and immune system are fighting something or are not.  It is not going to tell us anything earth shattering unless something is really wrong.  This is a free test in NZ.

Liver Function – We talk in other parts of this site about the silent killers and any form of liver disease (or early signs of liver disease) are bad and need addressing.  Testing liver enzymes is a good ‘watchdog’ on whether you liver is healthy or not. This is a free test in NZ.

Prostaglandin (in men) – Prostate cancer is no fun and incidentally, most men will die with prostate cancer. We just don’t want you to die OF prostate cancer.  Measuring prostaglandin is an early indicator of prostate issues and these, if discovered early, can often be easily treated with pharmaceutical medication.  This is a free test in NZ

Homocysteine – testing Homocysteine is super important. Why? If your level is above 9 then you have a significantly increased risk of accelerated brain shrinkage. It is easily treated with Vitamin B12.  All joking aside, this is a ‘no brainer’. Get it done and if its above 9, take Vitamin B12.  It is available from our store on this website.  This is NOT a free test in NZ.

EPA/DHA saturation – Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for your neurological health.  You can take not enough and you can take too much.  This is measured by Omega 3 saturation of blood cell membrane. We are looking for 10-12% saturation.  This can be tested in a blood test but beyond belief, you cannot have this tested in NZ.  We have to go offshore.  To that end, Vivid Life offer a home test kit in our online shop that allows you to take a sample at home and send it away for testing.

HBA1C – measures the amount of sugar that has been in your blood over the past 2-3 months.  It is an important indicator for your metabolic health.

More detailed tests

Neurodegenerative disease and brain cancer

In the context of your brain, there is only one option here and that is a brain MRI.  With a brain MRI we get a full view of your brain. We are looking for lesions and cysts and here is the caution, a brain MRI may well show imperfections. This can cause anxiety and concern and more often than not, this is unwarranted. Anxiety and worry are very bad for you. They are completely unhelpful in your longevity journey and so before considering a brain scan we need to consult with you as to what you want to know after the scan.  From a Vivid Life perspective, the scan is little more than a benchmarking exercise and it is the subsequent scans that hold more value.  Each brain scan will cost between $2000 and $2500

Liver and Pancreatic cancer

This is similar to the brain scan. A torso MRI is the only way to get a real view on your pancreas and liver. Like the brain scan, this can throw what are called ‘false positives’. That means that cysts might be identified that do not require any further investigation but that will cause subsequent stress and anxiety which is detrimental to your longevity journey. While we recommend these scans, we do need to discuss these with you before you head down this path.

Melanoma

This is more of a public health statement than a service we offer. Melanoma is a silent killer in NZ. Get all your moles and skin anomalies checked on an annual basis. This is a ‘no brainer’, just get it done.

Cardiovascular and Neurovascular disease

If there is any irregularity in any of your blood work at all then we recommend an Arterial Calcification Score.  This is a short duration CT scan that looks at the walls of your arteries and gives you a score based on the amount of plaque/calcification detected.  This is a really helpful test in defining, what, if any, pharmaceutical interventions might be required for your cardiovascular health.  An arterial calcification score will cost approx. $900.

From there we can step up to an angiogram with contrast.

Liver Health

A number of other factors can affect liver health and identifying any issues early makes treatment a lot easier.  Fatty liver disease is linked to excess alcohol consumption but we now have a condition called NAFL-D or Non-alcohol related fatty liver disease. As yet it is unclear what the cause of NAFL-D is but it appears that it is most often related to some form of metabolic dysfunction or disease.  A useful test in establishing liver health is a called a fibroscan.  A fibroscan will cost up to $500.

CGM

If you haven’t already picked up on it, here at Vivid Life we believe that the first step in your Longevity journey is to get your metabolic house in order.  To that end, Vivid Life has partered with Australian company Vively for real-time Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM). Through the Vively portal, Vivid Life get to see in real-time what is happening with you metabolically speaking.  This tells us how your body is reacting during your normal day and most importantly, to the food you eat and how you are dealing with, and metabolizing, food. Then, by extension and if you are working with us for your nutrition and exercise, we will be making recommendations based on your CGM bio-feedback that are the very best, tailor made, recommendations just for you.