BIOMETRICS: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Biometric tracking is at the center of personalized medicine and can be used clinically to monitor useful, real time information about your health. Biometry literally means the measure of life, and in a broader sense, it designates the quantitative study of living beings. 

.   .   .

The first steps on your health journey

The Wall Street Journal states that, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls lifestyle-related chronic disease such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease the greatest health challenge of the 21st century. The CDC estimates that half of all adults in the U.S., or 117 million people, had one or more chronic health condition in 2012, accounting for 86% of all health-care spending.” That is a bold statement and a staggering number!

At The Institute for Human Optimization, our traditional, functional and precision medical approach gives us the ability to explore and ascertain the deep-seated biological imbalances that influence disease expression. We analyze all of the factors that contribute to this process and use this information to render personalized protocols.

We illustrate the connection between your genetic blueprint, your microbiome and your current state of health, which is measured by biomarkers. These all interweave and become a measurable, visual representation and expression of your life story at the molecular level.

Once we determine your individualized functional medicine protocols and your personalized wellness plan, the next step towards optimum well-being is supported with the use of biometric monitoring. We guide and facilitate your journey through this process with the added benefit of health coaching, so you will not have to make changes on your own. We find that this empowers individuals when they see the connection between the influences of their health decisions on their physical expression.

What is biometric monitoring?

Personalized medicine requires us to understand unique characteristics. With the use of biometric monitoring, The Institute for Human Optimization can establish biological parameters with data that would otherwise not be provided in a regular checkup. When answering clinical questions, physicians have historically had to rely on responses and not data.

Biometric monitoring tools are the foundation of an effective functional wellness program. The utilization of various health technologies to measure lifestyle factors that affect your health, such as nutrition, activity, mindfulness and sleep, allows us to establish a baseline picture of your state of wellness and provide specific recommendations to optimize your lifestyle.

We utilize wearable smart devices and mobile app technologies to clinically track and better understand the relationships between measurable biological processes and clinical outcomes. In other words, they provide a simplified way of understanding of how your body is responding to various lifestyle factors. With the cutting edge development of wearable technology, physicians and patients can come together with lifestyle interventions rapidly, rigorously, and seamlessly.

Using specialized HIPPA-compliant, cloud-based software, we are able to manage and integrate your personal information from the wearables and apps in real-time, which helps us objectively measure your progress. Our goal is to use this data to drive informed decision making and demonstrate how your behaviors influence your outcomes, like a cause-and-effect relationship. Using our longitudinal tracking tools, we are able to document your progress over time and identify areas where we can further optimize your health and fulfill your vision of well-being.

The importance of biometrics

Google, whose English dictionary is provided by Oxford Languages, defines data as “facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.” This is significant in regards to how biometrics helps to translate your life story.

Our platform makes it easy to synchronize data from popular apps and wearable devices. This includes the popular activity trackers, watches, weight scales and blood pressure cuffs, as well as data interchanges such as Apple Health.

According to Heads Up Health, one of our partners in managing and delivering your biometric results, “Health can only be measured with multiple data points, over a period of time, not just a snapshot…Using Heads Up you can track your daily glucose from Keto-Mojo, your steps from Apple Watch and your sleep from your Oura Ring.  Plotting all this data on a single graph helps you to truly see patterns of optimal health. By combining apps that track your lifestyle with your medical records, you can see how your lifestyle modifications (diet, sleep, exercise, stress etc.) truly affect clinical markers of health and disease as well as what action steps to take to optimize your well being.”

Robb Wolf, the Founder of Heads Up Health, says, “You cannot change what you do not track! In the modern world of ‘quantified self’ there are nearly limitless options for tracking of various biomarkers and lab values. What’s important? How does one make sense of it? Heads Up Health is unique in that it offers tracking capabilities that focus on the things that matter most. They offer a user experience that is intuitive and informative so you can track, understand and change those areas of your life and physiology that matter most.”

The following are only a few of the many app and device integrations are available through Heads Up Health:

·         Oura ring: Measures sleep quality, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, and activity levels

·         Biostrap: Measures similar biometrics to the Oura Ring, with the addition of blood oxygen saturation and respiratory rate

·         KetoMojo: Measures ketones, blood hemoglobin, hematocrit, glucose:ketone Index, blood glucose

By tracking your lifestyle and translating that data, it allows you to live in a proactive state, rather than a reactive state. You are able to make or tweak decisions with a calm, sound mind as you go, and possibly eliminate problems before they even appear; instead of waiting for something to happen and having to make sudden, panicked, sometimes life-threatening choices.

Why would I need a health coach?

It is well known that coaches can help improve quality of life, overall mood, and response to stress. And so it is interesting to point out that studies are also showing that health coaches are not only integral in helping to modify risk factors in healthy people, but also in helping to mitigate many common chronic diseases when working with health professionals.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to changing health habits. People do best with an individualized approach that meets them where they are and guides them to where they need to be. We call that approach person-first. It’s a comprehensive, person-centric, behavior-based primary coach model that integrates lifestyle and condition management, delivering better experience and real results.

The small-step behavior change model found within The Institute for Human Optimization’s Patient Journey is also fully integrated into our live coaching experience. Digital and live health coach support are completely interwoven on a single platform—making our approach unique.

How can The Institute for Human Optimization assist me?

The Institute for Human Optimization streamlines the process of collecting biometric data through a combination of on-site, in-clinic and at-home screening options for more convenience, access and engagement. And we oversee the whole process, so you don’t have to.

Biometrics help the Institute for Human Optimization to follow the precision medicine model of being predictive, preventative, personalized, and participatory. This act of engagement and participation in your health is the first step to achieving your health goals. It empowers you to manage what you can measure, and identify self limiting patterns of behavior that might be preventing you from achieving your fullest potential. It covers a wide range of applications with metric driven results, including weight management, nutritional adherence, exercise, tracking Qqq, and monitoring medication compliance.

We integrate biometric screening data into each patient’s health assessment automatically, saving time, and helping paint a more complete picture of health. The Institute for Human Optimization Access Network makes biometric screening services available to patients and allows for direct patient behavioral monitoring. This can be used to help promote goal-oriented long-term behavioral change towards longevity.

Optimization monitoring and tracking your biometric data is only one component of the advanced translational precision care provided at the Institute for Human Optimization. We provide the most comprehensive, data-driven, personalized approach to wellness. It is:

·         Predictive – We use genomics and advanced biomarker testing to risk stratification and empowerment.

·         Personalized – We use data-driven health information to curate actionable change for disease mitigation and prevention.

·         Preventive – We utilize highly individualized programs tailored to your unique genomic blueprint.

·         Participatory – We empower engagement in personal choices, which allows for improved outcomes and enhanced results.

Let’s put it all together!!