I keep mentioning health, but what do I actually mean by it? Unfortunately, terms like health, fitness, wellness, etc. have been hijacked by consumerism and they now have so many definitions the terms actually mean nothing. In the interest of total transparency, I will provide my definition of health, explain my thought process and how my approach can help.
What is health?
Before I define what health means to me, I will lead with the caveat that I am not a medical provider. I don’t diagnose or treat diseases. It is also important to point out that there are various aspects of health and disease that fall entirely outside of our own control, and my following comments are not applicable in these specific situations.
With that said, my take on achieving health is simple. Health means having all modifiable risk factors for preventable diseases under control while simultaneously optimizing for performance in activities that are deemed important to the individual. Health is also a moving target that requires planning. Being healthy today is only half the battle. We want to maintain health for many years to come.
It is emphasized in Stoic philosophy, but also in many other philosophical and ideological teachings, that we must only concern ourselves with the things that we can control, not the things we cannot. Recognizing this difference is paramount for our health, but more important than all is to take action on the things we can control before they become a problem.
What Can We Control in Health?
Modifiable Risk Factors vs Non-Modifiable Risk Factors: This is the medical profession's way of defining things we can control vs things we cannot. A non-modifiable risk factor, by definition, can neither be changed nor controlled. This would be things like age, gender or genetic predisposition. A modifiable risk factor is something that we have the ability to impact, through either lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, sleep, etc.), pharmacology/supplementation (medications, supplements, etc.) or technology (medical devices). Below is an example of the primary modifiable risk factors for heart disease.
Heart Disease Modifiable Risk Factors
Apo-B Concentration
Blood Pressure
Cigarette Smoking
Metabolic Function (diabetes, insulin resistance)
Modulating any of the above risk factors in the beneficial direction is going to reduce the risk of an individual developing heart disease. If we know so many of the risk factors, why is heart disease still the leading killer?
The metrics we look at to assess risk must be meaningful, and the methods used to modify these metrics must be powerful.
This statement extends into all facets of health, particularly the three I feel are most critical. Physical Health, Metabolic Health and Cardiovascular Health.
Health is Not (Purely) Subjective
How do you feel? This is an important question to ask, but the answer does not provide any depth of information required to assess an individual’s overall well being. The response, of course, is a subjective assessment of the individual’s own health. Feeling well does not mean there is no imminent risk for preventable disease. Likewise, feeling unwell does not mean the writing is on the wall for future calamity. Of course, feeling unwell (pain, discomfort, etc.) provides us more information to find an underlying issue that needs to be fixed. However, many of our modifiable risk factors throughout all aspects of health are silent or invisible. The good news is that they are all quantifiable by objective measurements. There is no guessing. There is no confounding feeling unwell with a bad night's sleep, for example.
The question is, do you know your numbers? And if you do, do you know what they mean? And if you know all of that, do you know how to improve or preserve them? This is where you really have to Compete to Live.
The Approach
Take a look at this quick assessment I have created so you can get a quick sense of the types of metrics you should know about yourself to assess your current state of health. Do you have results for many of these tests? Has your provider recommended them, and if they have not, would they be open to a discussion about their value? This objective assessment of health is a requirement for anyone in the business of wanting to live better and healthier. A prerequisite, however, is an overall assessment of goals and objectives. What is important to you? What do you enjoy doing and what do you want to be able to continue to do for years to come?
Mortality is the Key
We will all get old. We will all suffer decline. We will all experience disease and we will all most certainly die. This framing seems morbid but it is simply realistic. Looking at life this way will undoubtedly provide the motivation needed to take control of your life and of your health. Having this perspective will help you set some priorities and allow you to dip your metaphorical foot in the water filled with all of these metrics and assessments. It seems like a lot of work up front, and make no mistake it is effort. But I will always argue it beats the alternative of acting later. It beats “taking control” of your health with a reactive approach. To start a drug regimen you could have avoided. To have a procedure that would not have been necessary. To struggle through post-operative complications or simply a difficult recovery that again, could have been avoided. If you agree and want to get out in front of your health trajectory, reach out to us and we will help you Compete to Live!
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