Happy Thursday Zapien 👋

More than 65% of all medical decisions rely on blood tests. They are the best way to monitor your body’s status quo. Yet, any analysis is only ever as good as the data we put in.

So, let’s start with the foundation: How to get high quality biomarker data that align with your needs.

Forever,
Lisa, Karol & Simon

LONGEVITY BEAT

One of the rituals of your annual check-up (you do go annually, don't you? 😱) is having your blood tested. More and more companies now offer blood tests to keep track of your blood biomarkers. The promise? Higher convenience and greater insights than the yearly test at your General practitioner.

So, how do you pick the right one? Here’s your New Zapiens checklist for choosing a blood test provider:

Still unsure?

Choose a hybrid service, if you live close to a blood collection site and want the full range of markers tested:

Have your venous blood drawn at a designated facility; receive results digitally.

The high blood volume lets you test many markers at once, but each venous blood draw carries a small risk of complications.

Examples: Aware (DE), InsideTracker (US)

If you lack easy access to blood collection sites or have problems with blood draws, collect your own sample:

You’ll receive a kit to self-collect blood from your fingertip or upper arm. Mail your sample to the lab and receive results digitally.

The number of markers tested is smaller due to the smaller blood volume: To get a complete picture, you may need to purchase several packages.

Examples: Cerascreen (EU), HOMED-IQ (EU), Lifeforce (US), SiPhox (US)

Want to observe quickly-changing individual biomarkers? Rapid tests might be for you:

You’ll get the test and analysis device/software. Collect your own sample and analyze it at home.

Results are available in minutes, but the option is limited to monitoring individual markers like CRP or Vitamin D. Keep your ears open for news of companies such as SiPhox working on biosensor platforms that have the potential to overcome this.

Examples: bloom (EU), cue health (US), COR Health (US)

What should you test?

Just starting out on your longevity journey? Get a comprehensive panel of tests done. You'll thank yourself later for this baseline. After all, you’ll never again be as young as you are today.

Include one-off tests that check for your predisposition to certain illnesses, such as Lipoprotein a, or, if they're available in your country, genetic tests.

Once you got your baseline, put together a smaller routine panel based on essential tests, your known personal risk factors (any diseases running in the family?) and budget. Our Blood Testing Guide can help you.

Examples are meant to help you with your own research. We haven't tested all of them.

SHORT HACK, LONG LIFE

Each time you work out, you probably spend 2 x 20-30 minutes gathering equipment, travelling & changing! One of the biggest reasons people skip workouts or don't even start.

If you don’t have time (or can’t save time like him) do daily micro-exercises. Researchers call them “VILPAs”. Only 3 bouts of 1-2 mins a day make it up to 40% less likely that you die.

RECOMMENDED VS. FISHY

Recommended: InsideTracker & Aware

Time invest: approx. 30-60 min for travel & blood draw

Annual subscriptions: 
$149+ (InsideTracker > Global), €179+ (Aware > DE & NL soon)

We recommend two reasonably priced “digital biomarker dashboards”. Both work with a hybrid service (venous on-site blood draw and digital results) - only InsideTracker allows you to upload your own lab PDFs.

What you get: 
A digital, graphical representation of your lab results. If you continue to use the service, you can track your results over time.

Who’s better? 
Aware just launched, so let’s see how they develop. Right now, InsideTracker is clearly in the lead. If we look at “LDL cholesterol”, Aware will simply tell you if the marker is inside the reference range. Yeah, nice, but not really enough.

Much better, InsideTracker has detailed zones: your biomarkers will be either “borderline high/low”, just “normal” or “optimized” (read here how they define this from a prevention & longevity POV).

Plus, you can see how your markers compare to those of your peer population (You’re part of the 20% of females aged 36-38 who have LDL Cholesterol between 89-107 mg/dL).

What we are missing: 
No easy conversion of units (e.g. mmol/l → mg/dl).

You get lifestyle recommendations. But there is no protocol, no customized program, no real personalized coaching. We'll cover that another time. (No patience? Check out: Fount, LifeForce, Turi)

Fishy: Food IgG Tests

Not all biomarkers are relevant: Many blood test providers claim that measuring IgG antibodies in response to certain foods can give answers to food sensitivities that can't be found with other methods.

Hold onto your money: There's no convincing scientific evidence that those antibodies cause food sensitivity or can be used as a surrogate marker.

Conflict of interest: None! We get no money for product links. We promote what we find useful. Please do your own research.

HEALTH & LONGEVITY NEWS

ZAPIEN OF THE WEEK

What are you currently optimizing?

HbA1c having crept up over the last 12 months from 5.0% to 5.4%, body fat percentage now 14-15%, and gut microbiome. Next goal is to reduce my DunedinPACE of aging from the 0.87 measured in October.

What’s your favourite tool?

With the basics in place, 8h sleep average, whole foods, resistance training and cardio there’s been an increase in probiotics and particular strains, red light therapy and sauna to help with recovery and an assortment of supplements from Creatine to Glycine.

BECAUSE WE LOVE NUMBERS

⚡️ 13 Billion ⚡️

13 Billion laboratory tests per year are performed in the US alone - and 2/3 of all medical decisions are based on the results.

ABOUT US

Lisa has a PhD in Medical Biology. She was a researcher at Harvard Medical before developing D2C laboratory diagnostics.

Karol is a serial founder who helped thousands of people build healthy eating habits with Upfit.

Simon is a healthcare entrepreneur who brought the doctor online-booking service Doctolib to Germany.

WHEN YOU ARE READY, THIS IS HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

Health Disclaimer

New Zapien’s products and services are not intended to substitute for professional medical guidance. Our content and media offerings do not aim to diagnose, cure, or address any medical issues.