After All That Hard Work, Will You Live To Enjoy It?

Optimising your metabolic health habits is the most immediate form of life assurance you can invest in – where the premiums are daily good choices, and the payout is a healthier, longer, more fulfilling life.

There's one form of life assurance and risk management that often goes overlooked—investing in your metabolic health to reduce disease risk. Unlike traditional life insurance policies with hefty premiums and uncertain payouts, optimising your metabolic health involves daily choices that serve as premiums, with the payout being a healthier, longer, and more fulfilling life.

Metabolism is your body's self-regulating engine to produce fuel that powers, builds, and protects it against the diseases of modern life. Metabolic health is often assessed through markers such as blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure. Poor metabolic health is associated with a range of chronic conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. In essence, your metabolic health is a key indicator of your body's ability to function optimally.

Optimising your metabolic health doesn't require a radical overhaul of your life; rather, it involves making daily choices that accumulate over time to build your health reserves. These choices serve as the “premiums” for your “life insurance policy,” and the best part is that you have control over them. Let's delve into the daily premiums you can “invest” in for a healthier life:

• Diet: Consuming a diet balanced for you and practicing portion control supports overall health and helps manage weight, reducing the risk of obesity-related diseases
• Relationships: Strong social connections and positive relationships contribute to better mental health, lower stress levels, and overall well-being, acting as a buffer against the negative effects of stress and chronic diseases
• Environment: Reducing exposure to environmental pollutants like air and water contaminants lowers the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, while creating safe and supportive spaces promotes mental health and reduces stress
• Activity: Regular zone 2, high-intensity, and strength exercise offer numerous health benefits, including weight management, improved cardiovascular health, and enhanced mental well-being, reducing the risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers
• Mind State: Managing stress through techniques like mindfulness and cultivating a positive outlook is crucial for mental and physical health, as chronic stress can contribute to various health issues, and positive emotions can influence health behaviours and immune function
• Sleep: Prioritising good sleep hygiene, including adequate sleep and managing sleep disorders like sleep apnea, is essential for overall health, reducing the risk of chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases

The daily premiums (or D.R.E.A.M.S as we call them at Autonomy) you invest in your metabolic health accumulate over time, leading to a significant payout by:

• Reducing your disease risk – by optimising your health habits, you fine-tune your metabolism and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia
• Boosting your longevity functions - Build reserves in stability, strength, cognition, emotion, and cardiovascular fitness to counter age-related frailty and promote longevity.
• Slowing your pace of biological ageing - slow down the rate of age-related decline in system integrity and reduce vulnerability to the early development of chronic diseases.
• Putting you in charge of your health span - Build the confidence and capability to master your own daily health habits and make informed choices that put you in charge of your lifelong health.

Investing in your metabolic health isn't just about adding years to your life but ensuring those years are vibrant and full of vitality. By investing in your health habits or D.R.E.A.M.S, you are reducing your risk of chronic disease and lifting and extending your health span. You are becoming your own health actuary. 

Until now making these daily investments, which in essence requires us to change our daily habits has been hard. We have become unconscious victims of a modern environment in conflict with our evolved biology. The disease creep led by more processed food, less sleep, less exercise, and more stress has shaped our daily habit loop of triggers, routines, and rewards. But that is no longer the case.

Medicine 3.0 is taking a higher-level view of our health as a system and technologies such as fitness trackers, continuous glucose monitors, and our understanding of behavioural science mean habit change can be raised into your consciousness using feedback loops and with the help of an experienced precision health coach and doctor, you can change your health habits bit by bit, day by day until good choices become your new unconscious health habit. In essence, this is Autonomy.

In the grand scheme of life, your health is your most valuable asset. And its value increases over time. In fact, when you retire, your new job is your health. But earlier in life, the daily choices you make, the habit premiums you pay, determine the quality and longevity of your life. Choosing to invest in your metabolic health is a decision that transcends fad diets and short-term fitness trends. It's a commitment to a lifestyle that pays dividends in the form of a healthier, longer, and more fulfilling life.

As you navigate the complexities of life, remember that you hold the pen to your health story. Each nutritious meal, every workout, and the commitment to self-care are the strokes that shape your narrative. So, consider this form of life assurance not just as a financial investment but as an investment in the most precious asset you have—your well-being. The dividends are worth it, and the payout is a life that you've consciously and actively chosen to make extraordinary.