Are you Normal or Optimal?

 Are you Normal?

Growing up, I was a major superhero fan. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman. The list goes on. Yet what is one common theme amongst all superheroes?

Yes. That’s right. They are not ‘Normal’ people.

In fact, I would consider them as ‘Optimal’ beings. Some may argue that Superman and Wonder Woman are optimal because they have super powers. But Batman certainly did not have super powers yet he is still in optimal form and function. I’m referring to the comic version of Batman, of course. Definitely not the Ben Affleck version. 

What is normal? Normal is average. Normal is boring. In today’s times, normal means you are overweight, bordering diabetic, sleep deprived, over stressed and under achieved. 

How does the medical world rank people as normal or not?

First of all. There needs to be a mechanism to measure our metrics and gather the data. I suck at math but I do remember the standard deviation. Which is a graph that looks like this which basically says that if you fall somewhere in the middle range, you are normal. 

And as a general rule, that’s 2 standard deviations. Meaning, 95% of the people, doesn’t matter whether they are sick, young, old, overweight, underweight, malnourished or whatever. 95% of the population would be consider as normal. 

Now what do our doctors look at? Mostly, during our annual check-ups, they would look at our weight, height, and blood pressure. If they do send you out for blood tests, then you’d probably get your blood glucose levels and cholesterol levels. 

Now if most people are overweight, has high blood glucose levels, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, then this graph shifts so that 95% of the people would still be considered normal or average.

But does that mean that we are healthy? Normal doesn’t mean that we are healthy. It definitely does not mean that we have optimal health.

Because, as you may already know, there are more sick people nowadays then before. And if most people are sick, then being ‘sick’ becomes the new normal.

For example. We live in California which is the sunny state!

But even for the people who are living here, most of them are deficient in Vitamin D?

So what’s considered the normal level of vitamin D? Well, according to the medical world, a number greater than 20 is considered normal. Which means that most people’s vitamin D level is about 20. That’s average. Now for most people, hearing that they have an average level of vitamin D makes them happy.

But what does that really mean to your health? Research confirmed that the optimal level of vitamin D, is actually 50. Not 20. And doctors know that 50 is optimal. But it is not average. 95% of the people are around 20, so that becomes the normal range.

And here’s something that most of you may not know. Many of us believe that staying out in the sun would convert the UV rays into vitamin D in our bodies. 

There are 2 main flaws in this notion.

First. Many of us were told to make sure we slap on plenty of sunscreen when you go out into the sun because of potential skin damage and maybe even skin cancer.

But, in the US, sunscreens are heavily regulated. The sunscreens that are available in the US market mainly block only UV-B rays. Rarely do they also block UV-A rays. 

UV-A rays is actually the spectrum that can cause premature aging, freckles and skin cancer while UV-B rays is what your body needs to make Vitamin D. 

Second. So if your sunscreen is blocking UV-B, then it is preventing your body from making vitamin D while also letting the more harmful UV-A rays into your body. The way to get around this is to use sunscreens that ware made from European countries or Asian countries, and make sure that they block UV-A rays also.

What about your blood sugar? 

 Your doctor would tell you that a blood sugar level below 100 is considered normal. And you don’t have to worry about it. But according to research, the optimal range is actually between 70 and 80. Anything over 80 means you have an increased risk of Diabetes. 

Today, the majority of the population has a reading between 101 and 124, which is actually pre-diabetes.

But most doctors would tell you that you don’t have to worry about it until it passes 125. Because what happens when your blood sugar hits 125? Now your doctor can prescribe you some medication. And that’s what they are trained to do!

Minna and I never wanted any children, but we have a few friends and clients that are planning on having children in the near future. The latest change in what is considered “normal testosterone levels”.

Previously a Known company called Labcorp considered testosterone levels of 348 to 1197 as the normal range and this was based on lean adult males. 

In 2017 they lowered the range to 264 to 916, and that is because more adult males are overweight and we know that belly fat and obesity is known to lower testosterone levels. So the average testosterone level for male has officially gone down. 

Is being normal healthy? The average person are sick, depressed, and they suffer from more chronic pains and diseases. Being normal means you are part of the population that is getting sick. Is that the normal that you want?

What about your heart rate, blood pressure, height, weight or even your body temperature? If you want to know what is considered Optimal for these numbers, let us know. I know the Doctors never explain to you what those measurements mean even when they say they are normal.

Just remember that if you are medically normal, then chances are, you are not in optimal health. While the medical profession relies on numbers and lab results to determine whether you are in the normal range or not, we, as functional health professionals, takes a different approach. We strive on obtaining optimal health, the best health that you can be. And we strive to look younger, be stronger, to live longer free of diseases and pain.

Bottom line? We may not be Superman or Wonderwoman, but certainly we try to become your own superhero when it comes to your health. 

Till Next time, love what you live and live what you love

We believe that healthy relationships start with health and we help couples achieve total success in health and in relationships through nutrition, exercise, mindset and lifestyle. If you know someone who can benefit from this blog, share with them. Let them know that you care about them. And of course, leave us any comments below. We love to hear from you.

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