The Foundation of a Holistic Wellness Plan

Amidst all the concerns caused by coronavirus, please remember to take care of the rest of your body.  This is a sponsored post I wrote for Invitae about heart health before Covid-19 became a pandemic, however it applies now more than ever. This time is teaching us to look at any underlining medical conditions and address them. And it goes without saying, our immune systems need to be on their A-game. All tests discussed below can be taken in the comfort of your home while most of us are in “shelter in place” mode. 

Last month, I got to attend a health conference called #BlogHer20 Health hosted by SHE Media. I was with a ton of like-minded women coming together to discuss all things health and wellness. I got a good amount of DMs requesting I share the info, so I’m looking forward to sharing some of the highlights with y’all. One of the events around the conference was a spin class a block away from the Pacific ocean hosted by Invitae, a medical genetics company.

While moving as fast as I could in my stationary bike, sweating in the dark with a room full of people from all walks of life, I asked myself what I really wanted out of this day. I was there to learn about heart health - and hopefully share what I learned with you all. Ideally, I’m hoping all these wellness chats and posts lead us to create our own personal Holistic Wellness Plan. The plan will look different for each of us, but the foundation will be the same: arming ourselves with knowledge to understand our own bodies and needs. We can come together to hold ourselves accountable.

Invitae was discussing heart health that day. Heart disease is still the number one killer of women in America and is by no means rare, yet it is under diagnosed. That’s what is so scary to me: we could be doing all the right things, but still be genetically prone to certain diseases or high cholesterol levels.

Back when we could workout in gyms, yoga studios, spin class:)

In the post I recently wrote about heart health, I asked us all to open up the conversation with our doctors (and make that appointment). My own research started a dialogue with professionals and my family. I was assured my parents and grandmother are seeing cardiologists and getting their checkups. Since heart issues run in my family, prevention and knowledge are paramount. For me to create my own holistic wellness plan, I wanted to take it a step further and get screened to know if I’m genetically prone to any disease.

A cardio health screen determines your cardio health risks, which can serve as the basis to any holistic wellness plan by giving you the information you need to prevent or treat diseases.

I became very interested in learning about genetic cancer and cardio screenings available to me. What Invitae is doing is unprecedented. Invitae’s screening tests are now available to consumers to initiate directly through their website at affordable costs (with the ability to use HSA or FSA).

I initiated the genetic cardio screening. I received a package with straightforward directions. A doctor had to look over my questionnaire to approve and order the test. My screening used DNA from saliva. I was emailed as soon as the test was received and approved by a doctor for further testing. The Invitae Cardio Screen looks at 77 genes to help determine your risk of developing an inherited form of cardiovascular disease. Then, I received an email with an alert the results were ready and ability to consult a genetic counselor to help answer any questions and understand my results.

I took a genetic screening test when I was pregnant with Hayden, but this is the only one I took to invest in the rest of my life. I’m very curious - have you taken one? I hope you will consider it.

It was fascinating to study my test results. I am negative for any serious risk which is a relief because some of my family members deal with heart conditions. Of course, there are many other factors that determine your heart health, but for now, I’m gathering info for the foundation of my holistic wellness plan. Oh and by the way, I’d love to find out any questions you have and get them answered for you… so comment away! Looking forward to discussing ideas for the ultimate HOLISTIC WELLNESS PLAN (like the Mediterranean diet). What does that look like for you? What would you want your goals to be? So, chime in and then stay tuned!! Now, excuse me while I go have my hot water with lemon and get ready for my daily walk with Hayden and Oscar!

xoxo

AAJ