Taking My Health Into My Own Hands: Tests, Records, and What Actually Worked
6/3/20261 hr 5 min
#281: Chris shares the full playbook he used to take control of his health after digging into his family historical and lab results. He breaks down which tests are actually worth your money and when each one matters. Plus, how he built a personal health AI from his own medical records to surface what doctors missed. Link to Full Show Notes: https://chrishutchins.com/personal-health-ai-diagnostics/. Partner Deals DeleteMe: 20% off removing your personal info from the web Fora: Become a Fora Advisor today Copilot Money: Free 2 months access to my favorite personal finance app with code HACKS2 Gelt: Skip the waitlist on personalized tax guidance to maximize your wealth Bilt Rewards: Earn the most valuable points when you pay rent For all the deals, discounts and promo codes from our partners, go to: chrishutchins.com/deals Resources Mentioned Doctors & Medical Practices PrimaryMD One Medical Blueberry Zocdoc Biomarker & Blood Testing Function Health SuperPower InsideTracker InstaLab Ulta Lab Tests Quest Diagnostics Labcorp Specialized Diagnostics Nucleus 23andMe Levels Prenuvo Health Data Aggregators & AI Tools Apple Health Google Health Epic Claude ChatGPT Gemini PubMed Tech & Wearables Oura Ring Whoop ATH Podcast #097: Optimizing Your Health: Diagnostic Tests, Choosing a Doctor, Sleep, Longevity, Inflammation and More with Dr. Jordan Shlain Newsletter Leave a review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Email for questions, hacks, deals, and feedback: podcast@chrishutchins.com Full Show Notes (00:00) Introduction (00:46) Chris' Lifelong Battle with High Cholesterol (07:20) Switching to a More Proactive Doctor (09:39) Family Medical History: The Cheapest Diagnostic Tool (10:59) Why ApoB and Lp(a) Belong on Every Lipid Panel (17:04) Detecting Soft Plaque with a CT Angiogram (20:02) Moving Beyond Statins for Better Cholesterol Control (21:46) How Chris Got a $500/Month Drug Covered by Insurance (25:11) Branching Out to Other Health Diagnostics (26:15) Comparing the Major Biomarker Blood Work Services (32:31) What Whole Genome Sequencing Actually Tells You (34:36) The Real Value of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (36:08) Getting a Full-Body Skin Scan from a Dermatologist (36:32) Using a DEXA Scan to Baseline Body Composition (37:17) Benchmarking Fitness with a VO2 Max Test (37:51) The Case For (and Against) a Prenuvo Whole-Body MRI (39:51) Why You Still Need a Human Doctor in the Loop (44:02) Finding the Right Primary Care Setup for Your Budget (46:21) The Health Basics Worth More Than Any Fancy Test (48:40) Building a Personal Health AI From Your Medical Records (56:56) Smarter Ways to Track Your Diet with AI (01:01:43) Why Chris Records Every Doctor's Appointment (01:02:25) Final Takeaways on Modern Health Diagnostics Connect with Chris Newsletter | Membership | X | Instagram | LinkedIn Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsChris Hutchins· Host0:00
I always figured that if something were actually wrong with my health, my doctor would catch it. Turns out that's not really how the system works, and I learned it the hard way. I've had high cholesterol since I was a kid, and for almost 30 years, no one did a thing about it. So I stopped waiting, and I started taking my health into my own hands, and it turned out to be way more doable than I expected. I'll break down which tests were actually worth doing, which were a waste, the fight to get a drug covered by my insurance, how I used AI to pull in years of my own health data into a report that my doctor and I now use together, and the handful of things that made the biggest difference along the way, some of which are completely free. I'm Chris Hutchins. If you enjoy this episode and you wanna keep upgrading your money, points in life, click follow or subscribe. So I just spent the weekend with my parents, and we both remembered this moment when I was a child, and I went to the doctor's office, and they had to do some blood draw. And for whatever reason in my mind, whether or not this is true, the needle was a lot bigger because they were testing my cholesterol. That's what I remember in my head. What my mom remembers is that they needed to bring in multiple people from the doctor's office to hold me down because I did not want to get my blood drawn. This must have been sometime in elementary school. We couldn't place an exact date as we told this story, but my mom said she just remembers people holding me down. I kind of have some vague memories of it. I more remember what the room looked like than anything else. Well, a few weeks later, I was told, or at least my mother was