DocHQ’s Health Checks are perfect for those who want to transform their wellbeing, whether it’s checking your vitamin or thyroid levels, or menopause, cholesterol or diabetes checks
Hey, gym-lovers! As a middle-aged man, my health is on my mind a lot. Although I watch what I eat and drink, like most people I know I should do more exercise and be more active. So as it’s a new year, new start, it’s the perfect time to get a more detailed breakdown of my body’s health statistics via DocHQ’s at-home Health Checks.
First impressions
DocHQ provides six tests to choose from, and you can pick and choose depending on your own health requirements: Essential Vitamins, Thyroid, Cholesterol, Diabetes, and two menopuase checks: MenoBalance and Menopuase.
All of them are affordable and easy to use, making them attractive, as you don’t have to take time off work to visit a clinic or lab to get tested. They also look like they’re high-quality, and the results are posted online, with GP-verified advice on next steps, which few other health checks offer.
I chose to try all the tests apart from the menopause ones (for obvious reasons!) They arrive neatly boxed, with all the information, instructions and kit you require inside.
Types of test
The four tests cover a wide range of health data, providing me with a detailed overview of my general health.
Essential Vitamins records your vitamin D, vitamin B12 and folic acid levels, Thyroid measures your thyroid stimulating hormone and serum free thyroxine blood test, Cholesterol gives five results: LDL, HDL, triglycerides, total cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, and Diabetes tests your glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c).
If all that seems a little complicated, everything is clearly explained online, and when you receive the results they’re broken down in simple language so you’re not left confused as to whether they are ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Testing
Activating each kit is easy – simply scan the QR code that comes in the kit and you’re away, with a handy step-by-step video that shows you how to take the blood sample.
The fingerprick test doesn’t hurt – you take it from the end of your finger, where you drip blood into the small tube. Once you have enough in the sample tube, you label it and send it to the lab for testing.
Results
The results are ready just two days later. They are detailed and easy to read, with the readings put on a colour-coded scale, showing where ‘normal’ is compared to ‘borderline’, ‘high’ or ‘low’, depending on the test.
For each result, you can read more information on where your result puts you compared to desired levels, and what the health risks are if that reading is too high or low. It’s clearly presented with no confusing terminology or unnecessary information.
In terms of my own results, the one that shocked me was my Essential Vitamins, specifically how low my vitamin D was. My result of 27.4 nmol/L put me in the ‘low’ range, below insufficient, and well below the recommended level of 50-100 nmol/L. Luckily, this is easily remedied by taking a vitamin D supplement, something I didn’t do prior to the test.
Benefits
By taking a vitamin D supplement, I began to notice that my muscle recovery after exercise was much quicker. I was also less fatigued and slept better. That was just one small change the health checks made to my life.
Whatever your results, they will either leave you assured you’re living a healthy lifestyle, or empowered to make changes to bring your results into the ‘normal’ levels by doing things such as more exercise or cutting out certain foods.
Final thoughts
Having my health data plotted on a scale is a great way to see where I stand health-wise on a wide range of health issues. The results put me in charge of making changes – if your LDL cholesterol is high, for example, you can change your diet, reducing your intake of certain foods, and increase your exercise to bring it down.
Annually monitoring your health metrics via these health checks is a great way to see how the changes you make to your diet and lifestyle can have a positive affect on your health 12 months later.
