One size does not fit all when it comes to nutrition and health. While the general advice remains pretty consistent across the board (don’t eat too much sugar, get enough exercise, watch your calories, etc.), what works for one person might not work for the other.
With a new diet trending every other week, how do you know what’s actually going to work for you?
We’re in a strange paradox where so many of us are experiencing nutrition deficiencies but struggling with our weight, lacking energy even though coffee and caffeine solutions have never been more prevalent, and feeling bad no matter what “healthy lifestyle” we choose to follow. These issues have spurred the meteoric rise of the health and wellness industry.
Everywhere you look, someone is giving out health advice to feel better, gain energy, and get to your goal weight. And sure, maybe some of the advice coming from this industry might be applicable to your health goals, but how do you know?
The best answer: having access to your body’s data. They tell you to check in with a medical professional for a reason – there’s a lot more going on than just the number on the scale or the number of calories you eat. And traditionally, you wouldn’t know this without visiting a doctor and getting a blood test.
All of this is changing with the rise of digital solutions like at-home hormone testing.
So much of what we know is on our phones. The weather, the news, the nutrition facts of our foods, how many steps we’ve taken … shouldn’t we be able to know what’s going on inside of us as well?
Having access to your nutrient and hormone levels gives you a real handle on your own health and wellbeing, not a shot in the dark because some influencer in the diet industry says so.
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The problem: just because it’s trending doesn’t mean it’s the answer for you.
Take, for example, the keto diet.
Proponents tout the various benefits of keto, from the most obvious (weight loss) to the most unexpected (clearing up your brain fog). And yet, some people end up feeling worse off when they start keto than ever before because the lack of carbs might also be leading to rising fat content and higher cholesterol levels.
This diet might be the answer to your problems, but you should really know what’s actually going on inside of your body first.
Here’s the traditional route for finding out what’s really going on beneath the surface of your health: You schedule an appointment with a doctor or medical professional. They take a blood sample and pinpoint problems in your hormones and nutrient levels. You get vague advice that you then take home and Google, or you spend more money to talk to a nutritionist for a personalized plan.
This can take weeks, it’s expensive, and you may still be left largely to your own devices.
Smartphone fitness and nutrition apps help, but they’re not foolproof.
With the whole world at our fingertips, the rise of health apps offers a partial solution. We can now measure our calorie burn from a smartwatch and getting an entire breakdown of our daily diet from snapping pictures and inputting some information.
So we’re on the right track, but nutrition apps and fitness trackers come with their own set of limitations. With our unlimited access to stimuli and short attention spans, if things don’t change right away, it’s way too easy to just put down the tracker and never open it up again. In other words, if you don’t see an instantaneous drop in the scale, you can lose interest and just move on to the next thing.
And still, the advice from these apps is pretty general – just because the nutrients sound right on your meal planner tracker doesn’t mean that they’re addressing what’s going on with your health.
The key is to actually know what’s going on with your own personal biomarkers to solve your health problems, from weight management to cholesterol, from the inside out.
The answer: At-home hormone testing.
Again, knowing what works best for your body comes from knowing what’s actually happening beneath the surface. Having a good grasp of which, if any, nutrients, you’re lacking, where your lipid levels are, whether or not your hormones are at the right levels, are all key parts of understanding your own health, and you wouldn’t necessarily know any of this without getting tested.
Before now, you would have to go to the doctor to find these things out.
At-home hormone testing is a more convenient, cost-effective way to access this information without having to wait in line, pay copays and hidden fees, and know exactly what you can improve on to finally reach your health goals.
Base was founded because Lola was tired of waiting and searching for answers. Having your own body data (all from the comfort of your own phone!) empowers you to make the changes that are right for you, not the general advice from wellness influencers.
Even better: you get solutions tailored to you – not general advice that could apply to everyone or no one, and you can track your improvement.
Check out Base to see just how far your smartphone can really get you.
