— 2024 highights

• hba1c 5.9%, possibly due to 3M food intake… Luckily I’m not addicted to sugar, and I’m used to starch reduction
• VitD .. pills needed daily
• enlarged .. see bpost on prostate
• A smaller package would be $770 including GST, but no prostate scan
• BMI … stable; slight improvement over 12M
• cholesterol .. Lipitor vindicated
• AFP .. stable
• white blood cell .. stable

— 2023 with Dr He

• heartbeat .. 44 is not too low.
• hearing .. tested normal

Cholesterol — need to declare to insurers, but tell them “borderline with no medication required”. Stick with Hypocol for now. Medication is optional, but will definitely reduce LDL.

“Treating the number vs treating the person.” .. Reducing LDL number doesn’t really reduce my cardio risk, given my race, family history, blood pressure etc.

Despite news articles, dietary cholesterol intake does increase LDL (blood test) reading in some individuals. For them, the blood LDL  reading is a real concern. Therefore, I guess I can reduce (not completely avoid) egg yolks.

— 2022 highlights

• Q: shorter sleep as I age? Some old people only get 5H? 5H for those in 70s
  • white blood cell .. ok. Immunity is weakening, perhaps due to loss of sleep
• Q: long term weight target 64kg? I said 64k is very challenging. “OK but you don’t need to lose weight to hit 64kg.” I think Dr Lau thinks muscle maintenance is more important.
• climbing stairs is considered cardio; squat, lunges are considered muscle + cardio because they bear weight. As we age, muscle maintenance is a growing priority, so I think any muscle+cardio workout would be worthwhile.
• testosterone reading .. requires urologist consultation. Prefer nearby doctor. Cashless is LG2.
• libido .. Doctor said an urologist could prescribe medication but I don’t feel a need for it.
• wine to help sleep. Red wine in moderation has health benefits (will try it more). All wines are better (more natural) than sleeping pills but it’s not ideal to depend on substances for sleep. Occassional use of wine for sleep is OK.
• yellowish .. Doctor noticed improvement over 11 months. Face is less affected than palm and sole. Doctor has done all the test needed to assess health risks associated with yellowish skin.

Top highlights

1. cholesterol medication .. consistency required for 3M. IFF still high, then increase dosage.
   • LDL worsening .. perhaps due to diet. Wine? doesn’t affect LDL.
   • HDL worsening… perhaps due to cardio workout reduction
2. bone density good.. First scan in many years.

— 2021 highlights

• white blood cell .. ok
• VitD .. still needed but not worsening
• LDL: Red rice yeast one/day: be more consistent
• raw oats to boost HDL.
• Zumba, CC classes for variety
• wife: beside cardio + yoga, maintain muscles as we age,

— intimacy frequency .. is it correlated with overall wellness? Dr Lau pointed out perhaps family harmony is more important (than the frq) to my wellness. I told Dr Lau that I have to accept lower frequency for two reasons
* wife’s (lack of) support .. leads to conflicts.
* as I age, I depend on daily workouts to maintain the /libido/. If my workout drops, then I have to live with lower frequency.
— known risk: heavy snacking, including lots of nuts — not Unhealthy, based on the data
A mix of nuts is possibly better than peanuts alone. Salmon, avocado, nuts are considered healthy fats if taken in moderation. I think any food taken beyond moderation is a risk.

In Jul 2021, I told Dr Lau I want to control/contain/combat this tendency.

— New risk: Vitamin D below sufficient level. Bone mass could suffer. Should test in 2022.
— known risk: ear wax .. hearing loss. consider ear wax oil
— known risk: white blood cell
Not too worrisome. Some healthy people may have a different baseline than the population mean.
— non-risk: BMI
Please maintain muscle. It is more important than reducing BMI. I told her I might lose muscle as I strive for lower BMI. She cautioned against it. As we age, we tend to lose muscle. “Lose fat if you want, not muscle.”

Shift more focus from jogging to muscle maintenance as we age. I think x-training is best.

I suggested 63 kg as a long-term target. Dr Lau agreed

In Sep 2019 Dr Steffy cautioned me — perhaps not so advisable to go below BMI 19. Might be for the same reason.
— non-risk: late or irregular sleep
IFF you get enough sleep (Your body will tell you), then late sleep is not necessarily harmful. Look at shift workers.

Many times, my family members show me some research suggesting health hazards if your midnight hour like 12 to 2 is not spent sleeping. I feel such a research is one of the thousands of studies I don’t completely believe. None of the published studies claim that shifting the sleep period has a definite health effect.

Actually my late sleep routine will end when I need to be in office 9am. Late sleep for a few months … is not so dangerous.
— non-risk: Yellowish skin is “definitely” due to food. (Genetics? not a reason.) She was confident. My carotene intake is probably much higher than the minimum, probably higher than “normal”.

I told her I intend to increase intake to the extreme. She suggested widening the range of fruits and veg. More colorful diet. Consider steamed broccoli.
— cancer markers: Very few other cancer markers available. Next time can screen for lung cancer.
— heart risk (cholesterol) is rated low, even though I stressed my family history.
cholesterol medication: Actually no doctor ever said “It’s OK to forget frequently.”

Cholesterol: Need better consistency like 1 Hypercol/day. Need to be more serious