Dear reader, we present to you our beauty columnist Inessa Tsarkova!
Inessa is an active nutritionist, gastroenterologist, therapist, naturopath and aromatherapist, health coach, integrative medicine doctor with a holistic approach. And now he will share with us his knowledge in the field of both physical and mental health, nutrition and much more.
Recently there has been more and more talk about the importance of regular medical examinations (or check-ups). Such exams are slowly becoming the norm for us. How often should it be done and with what tests can you monitor your health?

Inessa Tsarkova
Why is a medical examination needed?
In our country, clinical examination appeared in the 20s of the 20th century. At first, methods of recording and monitoring the condition of patients were introduced only for certain serious and socially dangerous diseases: tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, psychoneurological diseases and alcohol addiction. Later, inspections began to be carried out in businesses to detect occupational diseases. In the early 40s, clinical examination was included in the work of clinics for the first time in our country and in world practice. Since 1947 every Soviet citizen has undergone an annual full medical examination. Moreover, the health examination was so mandatory that those who could not pass it could go on vacation or be deprived of bonuses.
The aim of such activities was and still is to detect the earliest possible signs of diseases that often lead to a significant decrease in the quality of life. First of all, these are pathologies of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, markers of the development of diabetes and oncology. But unfortunately, a series of examinations during medical examinations helps to detect an already developed disease when deviations in health have reached a significant pathological stage and does not allow detecting the earliest symptoms.
Where do diseases come from?
“It is easier to prevent a disease than to cure it” – these words are most often used to confirm the benefits of a medical examination. So what did Hippocrates mean when he said this?
The first thing to pay attention to was lifestyle and daily habits. According to the founder of medicine, it is they who most influence the state of a person’s life-supporting “internal environments” – “mucus and bile”.
The second, no less important, according to Hippocrates, is the mental state in which a person is and which most directly affects all internal life processes. In his works, he described states of melancholy, fear, anger, grief or, conversely, joy and love, which could trigger or, conversely, stop the development of pathological states.

He wrote: “Some of the diseases come from the lifestyle, and some from the atmosphere we give ourselves and live in.” Moreover, the weather was not just literal, because in those days the Hellenes breathed crystal clear air. This also meant a certain energy that a person allows himself to take into himself and keep inside (“we live through it”), which primarily affects the emotional state and perception of reality. In the teachings of Hippocrates, it was the air that played the role of force, providing the inextricable connection of the human body with the outside world, bringing the information and instructions necessary for absolute health from outside and allowing the human brain. to perform mental functions.
Today, scientists and doctors agree that our thoughts, emotions, and intentions affect our health more than any other factor. More and more experts point out that the basis of many diseases is psychosomatic nature (especially with the development of arterial hypertension, bronchial asthma and skin diseases such as neurodermatitis, eczema, dermatitis). If you think about it, both unhealthy nutrition and bad habits are also caused by the person’s mental state. People resort to unhealthy “sweets”, cigarettes or alcohol to calm themselves, get rid of stress, disperse sadness and melancholy, contribute to the production of “joy hormones” and add pleasure to life that is lacking.
Does clinical examination make it possible to determine the causes of diseases before they occur? Is attention paid to the person’s mental state and habits? Even if such questions are included in the questionnaires filled out in medical examinations, their answers are not always given due attention.
Significant deviations in tests or major organic changes detected during clinical examinations indicate diseases that are already in full swing, but make it possible to identify them in the initial stages. Therefore, the identification of oncology markers indicates advanced contamination of the body, chronic acidification of internal environments with depletion of buffer systems and malfunction of the immune system.
The mechanism that triggers these changes is the mutual influence of the state of the nervous system on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and the microbiota living there and vice versa. Systemic inflammation, which ultimately causes damage to blood vessels and organs, is caused by inflammation and disruption of the integrity of the intestinal wall due to human eating habits. And the presence of a large number of parasitic representatives in the microbial kingdom, especially fungi, is associated with both the human food preferences and the state of the nervous system, which disrupts the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and detoxification organs.
Despite all this, clinical examination still plays an important role in the health of modern people.
How often should medical examinations be performed?
The tests recommended to be carried out during a clinical examination cannot always cover the whole picture of the state of the body, so it is better to take a more extensive list of tests once a year to identify diseases at an earlier stage. If you have chronic diseases, your doctor may recommend that you be tested more frequently (every six months or every 3 months).
Self-control tests

Test No. 1: For gastrointestinal peristalsis activity
You can determine the quality of gastrointestinal motility using a simple sesame test. For this, you need to eat two tablespoons of raw white sesame seeds during the meal and measure the time it takes to pass through the intestines. Normally, the rate of action of the food bolus should be at least 12 hours and at most 20-24 hours.
When food passes through the gastrointestinal tract too quickly, there is no time for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients, and when food moves too slowly, rusting and fermentation processes are initiated in the intestines, the composition of the microbiome is disrupted, harmful substances begin to form. It is intensively absorbed and enters the bloodstream, and systemic inflammation develops.
Test No. 2: for the presence of insulin resistance
Insulin resistance testing can be performed to timely assess the presence of not only diabetes, which is becoming much younger in the 21st century, but also the development of systemic inflammation, metabolic disorders and vascular pathology (when glucose levels have not yet risen steadily and the sensitivity of insulin receptors has already begun to decrease).
To do this, it is important to regularly:
– measure the waist size: for women it should not be more than 80 cm (and for men the waist size is critical above 90 cm);
— Calculate and track the NOMA index.
To determine this, you need not only the glucose level (determined during a medical examination), but also an indicator of the insulin level. Normally, insulin should remain within the range of 2.7-7 µU/ml or 18-65 pmol/l.
The HOMA index is the product of glucose and insulin values and divided by a factor of 22.5.
HOMA-IR = glucose (mmol/l) x insulin (μU/ml) / 22.5
Its ratio should not exceed 2.86. If the index exceeds this indicator, this indicates existing insulin resistance (the first stage of the development of diabetes mellitus).
Test No. 3: on the functional state of red blood cells and their ability to carry oxygen
The state and mobility of red blood cells can be assessed by a breath test, which indicates the presence of acidification factors in the body and increased consumption of buffer systems (alkali metal reserves). This slows the speed of red blood cells (changing the polarity of their walls), making the blood thicker and the walls of blood vessels more fragile.
To perform this test, you need to hold your breath while inhaling (Stange Test) and exhaling (Genchi Test) and determine what time to hold your breath is comfortable. If the red blood cells are in good condition, a comfortable breath hold time on exhalation should be 40 seconds (at least 30) and 50 seconds on inhalation.
Performing tests
To perform the Stange and Genci tests, you will need a watch or stopwatch with a second hand.
Stange test: Take 2-3 calm breaths, hold your breath after a normal breath and note the time. Pay attention to the second at which the first desire to breathe appears. It’s not a matter of willpower, just keep track of how long you feel comfortable holding your breath.
40-50 seconds is the norm.
>50 seconds is a very good indicator.
genchi test: Take 2-3 calm breaths, hold your breath after a normal exhale, and note the time until the first urge to breathe.
30-40 seconds is the norm.
> 40 seconds is a very good indicator.
In our next article, we will describe in detail the list of advanced examinations and what a woman should do to maintain her health and prevent the development of diseases.
Source: People Talk

I’m Roger Gritton, and I’ve been writing for the The Fashion Vibes for over 5 years now. My specialty is beauty news; I’m passionate about covering the latest trends, products, and innovations in the industry. In my time there, I’ve become known as an authority on all things beauty-related.
I love discovering new experts to interview, researching up-and-coming ingredients and techniques that are making their way onto our beauty shelves and highlighting people who are making a difference in the world of cosmetics. My work has appeared not only on The Fashion Vibes, but also several other publications including the New York Times Magazine, Allure Magazine and Refinery29.