Every Health Metric You Need To Track (Full Guide)

Key wellness strategies & self-tracking framework (5 levels)

Level 1 — Free “signal checks” (what to observe at home)

Core performance (cardio & strength)

• 1-mile time trial (sets training paces)
  • Zone 2 pace ≈ mile pace + 3–4 min
  • Threshold pace ≈ mile pace + 60–90 sec
  • 800m pace ≈ close to mile pace
  • Marathon pace ≈ mile pace × 1.3
• Strength test: find your 6-rep max (6RM)
  • 6RM ≈ 85% of true 1RM
  • Muscle gain: 65–80% 1RM, 8–12 reps
  • Strength: 75–95% 1RM, 1–5 reps

Gut / elimination

• Use the Bristol Stool Chart (aim for type 3–4, medium brown)
  • Types 1–2 (constipation):
    • Water: men ≥3 L/day, women ≥2 L/day
    • Magnesium glycinate 400 mg before bed
    • Fiber: ~30 g/day (cooked veggies, seeds, fruit)
  • Types 5–7 (diarrhea/overfast transit):
    • Add soluble fiber (banana, white rice, cooked carrots)
    • Trial: cut dairy + gluten for a period and reassess
• Stool color
  • Pale/clay: liver/fat digestion issue → consider lemon juice or apple cider vinegar before meals
  • Dark: possible iron excess → reduce red meat and reassess
  • Green: too-fast transit → increase soluble fiber

Hydration / urine

• Clear urine: over-hydrated → sip smaller amounts; add electrolytes/sea salt
• Pale yellow: good hydration
• Dark amber: under-hydrated or sodium-heavy → adjust water/sodium
• Foamy urine: possible protein spilling / kidney concern → spread protein across 2–4 meals
• Sweet/fruity smell: possible blood sugar issue
  • cut refined carbs/sugar for a week
  • protein before carbs each meal
  • 10-min walk after meals
  • stop liquids 2 hours before bed; drink most fluids in first 10 hours of the day

Skin, nails, tongue (nutrient/hormone clues)

• Jawline acne: likely hormonal → cut dairy for ~3 weeks
• Dry/flaky skin: may be omega-3s or vitamin D → fish oil + 10–15 min morning sun
• Slow wound healing: possible blood sugar or zinc deficiency
  • zinc-rich foods; address glucose
• Nails
  • Brittle/splitting: low iron or biotin → iron-rich foods (e.g., red meat + spinach + lemon)
  • White spots: zinc deficiency → pumpkin seeds
  • Horizontal ridges: past stress/illness → focus recovery/stress reduction
  • Spoon-shaped nail: potential iron deficiency/anemia → iron + vitamin C; doctor if severe
• Tongue
  • White-coated: bacterial overgrowth → tongue scraping
  • Lighter than lips: possible low iron → iron + vitamin C
  • Bright red: possible low B12/folate → especially relevant for plant-based diets
  • Scalloped edges: dehydration/food sensitivity/thyroid possibility → electrolytes + water; consider gluten/dairy elimination then thyroid panel if persistent
• Body composition (mirror + reference)
  • Men: ~10–15% often corresponds to visible definition/health improvement
  • Women: ~20–25% sweet spot
  • If men >25% or women >30%: higher health risk
  • (Anecdote) DEXA-based improvements correlated with better energy, focus, HRV, and bloodwork.

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Level 2 — Affordable devices for day-to-day numbers (scale + wearable + air monitor)

1) Smart scale

• Weigh first thing in the morning
• Same conditions daily (before water, before bathroom)
• Brand not critical; trend matters more than exact accuracy

2) Wearable (cardio + sleep + stress)

Key cardiovascular markers

• HRV, resting heart rate, respiratory rate
• Targets mentioned:
  • HRV comparison: <50 ms linked to higher risk vs >100 ms in cited example
  • Respiratory rate “healthy range”: 12–14 breaths/min (lower is better)

Main levers emphasized

• Raise HRV capacity: longer/harder single sessions
  • example lever: one long run/week + two full rest days
• Improve recovery: eat earlier, train mornings, 8 hours consistent sleep
• Nasal breathing + breath work during zone 2 workouts to reduce respiratory rate

Sleep strategies

• Keep a consistent bedtime
• Get ≥8.5 hours in bed to reliably get ~8 hours asleep

Stress strategies

• Look for patterns: early training vs skipped/late training changes the stress curve
• Use wearable stress tracking to adjust behavior
• Whoop if stress tracking matters; alternatives: Garmin, Oura/Apple Watch (less data)

3) Indoor air quality monitor

CO₂ as a major cognitive/performance limiter

• Cited study: each +500 ppm CO₂ → cognitive performance drops (up to ~2.4%); high CO₂ can sharply reduce decision-making.
• Practical actions:
  • Crack windows ~10 min before bed and after waking; ventilate during cooking
  • Target: keep CO₂ under ~750 ppm
• Monitors may also track humidity, VOCs, radon (examples: Airthings, IQAir)

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Level 3 — Lab tests to personalize your protocol (genetics + blood + VO₂ max)

Genetic test (one-time)

Used to adjust:

• caffeine metabolism (speaker: “slowest possible metabolizer” → quit caffeine)
• gut/inflammation related histamine enzyme impairments
• omega-3 conversion limits (flax/chia → DHA issues → use fish oil directly)
• training preference via muscle fiber dominance (fast-twitch → responds better to explosive training)

Blood work (standard vs advanced)

• Advanced panels can catch issues earlier than standard panels.
• Suggested markers to check every 3–6 months:

Core targets

• apoB: aim <80, ideally <60
  • fix: fiber ~30 g/day, cut refined carbs, add EPA/DHA (~2 g/day)
• Triglycerides: aim <100, ideally <70
  • fix: cut alcohol/sugar; reduce refined carbs
• Fasting insulin: aim <6, ideally <5
  • fix: strength + cardio 3–5x/week and walk 10 min after largest meal
• hs-CRP (inflammation): aim <0.8, ideally <0.5
  • fix: whole foods, reduce processed foods, improve sleep; if not improving, suspect gut
• Homocysteine: aim <8
  • fix: methylfolate + B12 if indicated (especially with MTHFR variants)
• Omega-3 index (EPA+DHA in RBC): aim 8–12%
• Testosterone (men): target mentioned >700; if low: sleep, heavy lifting, body fat 10–20%
• Lipoprotein(a): target mentioned <30 nmol/L (genetic)
  • focus on apoB, blood pressure, hs-CRP

VO₂ max test (gas exchange mask)

• Goal: accurate training zones (zone 2 vs zone 3 matters)
• Uses:
  • determine zone 2 ceiling, lactate threshold, sprint pace
  • identify weakness type: aerobic engine, anaerobic battery, or lactate processing
• Training implication:
  • avoid one-size-fits-all “80/20”; adjust ratios based on results
• Mindset: don’t chase the VO₂ max number alone—it’s a proxy for the whole system (sleep, body comp, strength, low inflammation, cardio)

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Level 4 — Deeper “silent damage” checks (aging hallmarks + regular clinical targets)

Aging hallmarks tests mentioned

• Genome instability: urine 8-OHdG (target <5 ng/mg)
  • if elevated: more cruciferous veg, improve sleep, reduce toxins; consider heavy metal testing
• Telomere attrition: telomere length (ranges given by speaker)
  • top lever: aerobic exercise; address stress/sleep/smoking/alcohol first
• Epigenetic pace of aging: pace score (~1 = normal, under 1 = improving); speaker reports 0.62
• Mitochondrial dysfunction: NAD test (want >40 μmol)
  • if low: add sprints/strides + heavy lifting
• Deregulated nutrient sensing: food sensitivity testing + (if mild) CGM validation
  • if moderate/high reactivity: remove food 30 days, then reintroduce
  • for mild foods: if CGM shows glucose consistently >140 mg/dL, cut regardless of test results
• Dysbiosis (gut microbiome):
  • Viome-style mapping; if diversity low: eat 30 different plants/week (spices count)
  • if pathogenic strains: cut sugar + alcohol 30 days, add fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi)
• Chronic inflammation: track IL-6 and TNF-α (besides hs-CRP)
  • likely source guide:
    • hs-CRP high but IL-6/TNF normal → gut/food sensitivity/injury
    • IL-6 high but TNF normal → metabolic (visceral fat, sleep, chronic stress)
    • TNF high but IL-6 normal → immune-driven
    • all three elevated → systemic (environment/gut/stress)
  • Anti-inflammatory actions mentioned:
    • cut gluten, dairy, seed oils, alcohol for 30 days
    • add fatty fish, turmeric, ginger, bone broth

Additional Level 4 “regular checkups”

• Dental (irreversible gum/bone issues)
  • plaque index, gingival index (bleeding/inflammation), pocket depth (aim <3 mm), bone levels via X-ray
  • protect pockets: reduce sugar/alcohol; wait ~1 hour after eating before brushing
  • floss daily + water pick
• Eye health
  • eye exams for early diabetes/HTN/CVD signals; retinal imaging for cognitive/Alzheimer markers (research cited)
  • UV protection: 100% UVA/UVB sunglasses
  • screen rule: 20-20-20
• DEXA scan (longevity focus = bone density)
  • use T-score:
    • above -1 normal
    • -1 to -2.5 early loss
    • below -2.5 osteoporosis
  • improvement: sprints + weightlifting may increase bone density (speaker cites ~1–3%/year)
• Coronary artery calcium (CAC)
  • low-dose CT plaque burden
  • score 0 → retest in ~5 years
  • mid/high → “window to turn it around”
• MRI (expensive)
  • potential early detection of tumors/aneurysm/brain issues when symptoms lag

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Level 5 — “Micro optimization” (daily/portable measurements)

1) Grip strength

• Large dataset cited: grip strength predicts cardiovascular death
• Targets mentioned:
  • Men: >40 kg
  • Women: >25 kg
• Training suggestions:
  • dead hangs, farmer’s carries, heavy pulls (rows, deadlifts)

2) Basal body temperature (morning)

• Focus on stable day-to-day temps (speaker suggests 96–98.6°F range)
• If fluctuating: check sleep consistency and stress (cortisol)
• If trending down over weeks: consider thyroid/metabolic evaluation (thyroid panel if needed)

3) Lung health (portable spirometer)

• Aim: >80% predicted for age/height (capacity and speed metrics)
• If dropping year-over-year:
  • quit smoking
  • practice nasal breathing + mouth taping at night (if appropriate)
  • ≥3 hours cardio/week (speaker’s rule)

4) Home blood pressure monitor

• Test weekly at same time/conditions (example: Saturday on waking)
• Targets described:
  • too low: ~90/60 or lower → increase salt, water, smaller more frequent meals
  • good: 90/60 to 120/80
  • elevated: >120 → increase potassium foods; reduce sodium; add cardio 2x/week

5) FoodMarble (breath fermentation test)

• If bloating persists after sensitivity testing, use fermentation score:
  • eat a meal, breathe 15 min later
  • high score → food feeds gas/inflammation-producing fermentation in gut

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“How to use this” (process mindset)

• Measure → interpret → iterate
• Beginner stack: Level 1 + Level 2
• Intermediate: add Level 3 (genetics, bloodwork, VO₂ max every 3–6 months)
• Advanced: add Level 4 + 5 (aging hallmarks, dental/eye/DXA/CAC/MRI, micro daily metrics)

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Presenters or sources

Presenter/author referenced in the video

• Bryan Johnson (referenced as a model measurement stack)

Brands/products mentioned

• Whoop, Garmin, Oura, Apple Watch
• Winning Scale (smart scale used by speaker)
• Renpho (budget smart scale example)
• Airthings, IQAir

Clinical/measurement tools and standards

• Bristol Stool Chart
• DEXA scan
• VO₂ max test (gas exchange mask)
• 8-OHdG (urine marker for DNA damage)
• CAC score via low-dose CT
• T-score (DEXA bone density interpretation)
• 20-20-20 rule

Studies/sources referenced

• Harvard study (CO₂ and cognitive performance)
• Large grip strength study (~140,000 people across 17 countries)