Skip to main content

Smart-alecky Health Quiz Answers

There's a silly newsletter full of conventional wisdom that arrives at my office. Since I'm not here to bust anyone's chops, I'll call it Personal Dreck Healthlines. The latest issue has a quiz called "How's Your Health?"
"Following is a list of some of the most important self-care measures for improving your health and well-being. Check the statements that apply to you--7 or 8 is good and 9 or 10 is excellent. [There are actually 14 statements to check off. Was 11-14 too much to hope for, or was the editor sleepy from missing her afternoon bagel?] Use the results to identify new health habits you hope to achieve in the coming months."
  • I stay within 10 to 15 pounds of my healthiest weight. Do I get extra credit for staying within one or two pounds?
  • I follow a schedule for preventive screening with my health care provider. Sorry, I just go when I actually need medical care, my health care provider's condo payments notwithstanding.
  • I accumulate 30 to 60 minutes of exercise most days of the week. I was on that plan a few years ago. It made me fit, but not healthy.
  • I do 8 to 10 strength-building exercises 2 to 3 times a week. See above; I do one a week. I'm just as fit and I have more of a life now, too.
  • I eat a wide variety of fruits (at least 2 cups) and vegetables (at least 2-1/2 cups) daily. Gotta get those 300 grams of carbohydrate in every day--make some of those grams sugar in the form of fruit. Kidding aside, I do like vegetables, but 2-1/2 cups would, like fruit, would give me GI problems.
  • I limit red meat and other foods high in saturated fat to 2 servings a week. Yes, I usually have two servings of red meat per day. Er, wait--it says "per week." Haven't they seen cave paintings of aurochs or the stone tools our ancestors used to butcher meat? What do they think we lived on for two million years, skim milk and year-round fruit? Four ounces of the toughest, driest part of the animal we could whack off (but only on special occasions)?
  • I have at least one dental check per year. Yes.
  • I avoid alcohol or limit intake to 2 drinks a day (men) or 1 a day (women). Yes.
  • I (a) don't smoke or (b) have asked my provider for help quitting. Yes.
  • I manage work stress in healthy ways, such as regular exercise. Exercise is the answer for just about everything, isn't it. The best exercise for avoiding work stress is to put aside all the distractions you can and fly into your work. Piddling around only seems less stressful.
  • I have a generally positive attitude about life. Yes.
  • I relax and find solitude nearly every day. Yes.
  • I have a network of friends for mutual support and fun. Yes.
  • I get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a day. Mostly.
That's nine out of fourteen for me, which is supposedly excellent, but they probably meant 13 or 14 is excellent and 11 or 12 is good. Nine is only 64%. It looks like I'm too lazy to run around a track, get up and go to the salad bar (or the regular bar) or lift a dumbbell very often. (Must be all that red meat.) But I'm not very stressed out about it and it hasn't caused any weight gain.
How different would a quiz look from an evolutionary or ancestral health point of view?
  1. I don't smoke.
  2. I avoid wheat.
  3. My diet is mostly meat/eggs and vegetables.
  4. I take vitamin D3 and other supplements as needed.
  5. I avoid overconsuming foods (e.g., dairy, sugar, starch, alcohol, etc.) that cause problems for me, even if the problems aren't immediate or acute.
  6. I get enough sleep to feel rested.
  7. My teeth and gums are healthy and feel good, and I clean them every day.
  8. I do strength training once or twice a week.
  9. I do my best to live in harmony with people around me.
  10. I have hobbies and friends I enjoy.
  11. I see a doctor for a persistent illness or serious injury.
  12. I get some sunshine, but avoid getting sunburned.
  13. I live a life in accordance with my personality and abilities.
  14. I use prescription drugs only if diet and lifestyle changes don't restore my health.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dana Carpender's Podcast; Dr. Davis on YouTube; Labor Day Sales

Dana Carpender, who's written several recipe books and other works on low-carb, has a podcast and is still writing articles at carbsmart.com. She's a terrific writer and amateur researcher (otherwise known as reading , as Jimmy Dore jokes ). I use her book 500 Low-Carb Recipes all the time and I'm looking forward to hearing more from her. I've embedded her podcast on my blog (click on the three lines at the top right if you don't see it, or go to Spotify or other podcast source if you're getting this by email). Carbsmart.com doesn't seem to have a blog feed, so if you want to see the latest posts there, you can sign up for notifications at their site. Dr. Davis has been putting a lot more videos on YouTube, so I've added his channel to the lineup. Click on the three lines on my blog if you don't see it, or go to his channel here .  * * * * * Primal Kitchen is having a Labor Day sale-- 20% off everything. They sell high quality collagen powder, con...

Fasting blood sugar & insulin have crept up!

It's pretty bad when even conventional medicine thinks your blood sugar is high. I had lab tests done last week, as I do every year, and saw things were going in the wrong direction. Photo from Pixabay . Uh-oh.  Ideal blood sugar is about 70-90. Your blood sugar can be high because you're stressed or ill, but I felt OK. I can't blame it on cortisol, which was smack in the middle of the normal range. And my A1c, which reflects blood sugar over the past few months, shows that whatever is going on has been happening for a while. My insulin is more than double what it should be. Oddly, my triglycerides, which typically indicate carb consumption, were good.  I don't have an explanation for the triglycerides. I should have suspected something was wrong, though. I've felt very tired and a little sad for the past few months. Unlike many people with higher than ideal blood sugar and insulin, I had only gained about three pounds.  Regardless of my good weight and triglyceride...

Interview: The Microbiome's Effect on Almost Everything

Mark L. Cannon, DDS, MS joins Bret Weinstein of the Darkhorse Podcast for a discussion about the oral microbiome and its downstream effects on everything from acne to Alzheimer’s. Dr. Cannon is a pediatric dentist and professor of otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat medicine). It's an hour and 44 minutes, but well worth your time. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkOgCXiMeE

YouTube invites creators back; says Biden pushed censorship on COVID and politics

Google, which owns YouTube, is inviting back creators it kicked off the platform for content about politics, elections, and COVID. Google says the Biden administration pressured them to censor this content, and now Europe is trying to force them to censor lawful content. Jim Jordan, Representative from Ohio, explains on X. Thread here .  Created with AI on ImageFX.  YouTube creators banned or suspended for COVID content (source: Grok). Click to enlarge. Rep. Jim Jordan @Jim_Jordan 2h • 15 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X 🚨BREAKING: Due to our oversight efforts, GOOGLE commits to offer ALL creators previously kicked off YouTube due to political speech violations to return to the platform. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL. Thread: YouTube also: -Admits the Biden Admin censorship pressure was “unacceptable and wrong” -Confirms that the Biden Admin wanted Americans censored for speech that did not violate YouTube’s policies -Details when YouTube began rolling back its censorship policies on p...

Infrared Light: How much is too much?

It's the sort of thing that sounds like quackery: a pad with tiny red LED lights and a few buttons that's supposed to help you heal, just $30 on ebay. I never would have bought it, but Dr. Davis gave a presentation on infrared light late in 2024. Since I was still suffering from achilles tendonitis after being floxxed , I decided to try it.  I wrapped it around my ankle and turned it on the lowest setting for five minutes. Nothing seemed to happen, but the next day, I wrote,  My tendonitis is GONE after one 5-minute treatment! I didn’t feel it doing anything, I didn’t think it was going to do anything (at least not that quickly), but for the first time in several months, I’ve gotten out of bed and started walking normally and didn’t have any pain reaching with my left arm. I'd been shuffling around like an 80-year-old woman after getting out of bed in the morning. The tendonitis returned, but it was improved. I eventually had physical therapy for it, and now, apart from a l...