04-11-2026 — Healthy?, Poor, not so wise
Howdy all. More chilly mornings and rain coming tonight/tomorrow again. A solid 35 to start the day. This weather is almost as depressing as the state of the Union.
On a more upbeat note, last night, I got the results back from my blood testing, I had sent in on Monday — that’s a quick return.
As a whole, I’m reasonably okay for a fat old man. One thing I’ll say about choosehealth.io and their results are, they seem to totally ignore my age, but sure do dwell on my weight. The experts expect seniors to have numbers a little higher than people in their peak ages. And choosehealth “chooses” to have categories that don’t even use blood testing results, and flag them as “Highly Elevated” in RED because of what I told them my weight is. Shoot, if I lied and said I was 5’ 10” and 150 pounds, there would be some super green tags instead of the reds.
Without further nonsense, here are the results. Starting with Cholesterol.
For seniors, an optimal HDL ("good") cholesterol level is generally 60 mg/dL or higher to protect against heart disease. While 50–60 mg/dL is a good target, levels above 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women are generally acceptable. Consistently high HDL helps remove harmful LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream.
That means my higher HDL is more than covering up the less than perfect (but still good) LDL and Triglcerides.)
For a 71-year-old male, the ideal A1C level is generally under 7.0%–7.5% if he is healthy with few chronic conditions. However, for seniors with multiple health issues, poor health, or complex medical needs, a higher target of 7.0% to 8.5% is often recommended by organizations like the American Diabetes Association to avoid hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
So, while choosehealth calls it Elevated, the ADA thinks it is “ideal”. Guess which one is not trying to get more money from me.
For a 71-year-old male, a healthy fasting blood sugar level is generally between 70–130 mg/dL. While younger adults often have tighter targets, the American Diabetes Association and other guidelines allow for slightly higher fasting ranges in older adults, often targeting 90–150 mg/dL for those with complex health conditions.
Key Considerations for Age 71:
Normal Range: 70–130 mg/dL is widely accepted as a safe, healthy, and non-diabetic target, often up to 140 mg/dL for older adults.
Here, I am pushing the healthy non-diabetic target. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that mango the evening before. But it was so sweet and tasty.
Insulin resistance in seniors (age 60+) often rises due to age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) and reduced activity. While no single "normal" level exists, a HOMA-IR score below 1.0 is optimal, while over 3.0 indicates significant resistance. Managing weight, exercising regularly, and keeping A1C levels (often 7–8% for seniors) within target ranges helps manage it.
Key Indicators and Levels for Seniors
HOMA-IR Score (Insulin Resistance):
Optimal: <1.0
Moderate: 1.0 - 2.9
Significant/High: >3.0
I qualify as “Moderate” for Insulin resistance, but a decent A1C level “manages” this.
And my bad number — or is it? This blood test measures the C-reactive Protein level. It was 11.7. Levels above 10 may indicate minor inflammation or viral infections. Above 50 would be really bad. In seniors, arthritis, IBS, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, insomnia, depression, Stress, and minor injuries, could push it over the 10 which is acceptable.
In my case, take your pick of one or all of the cause!!!
Adding these results to reasonable blood pressure tests like 130/71 and blood oxygen levels consistently over 95%, I’m not doing to bad health wise. Could the numbers be better? Of course, and I hope they improve. I’ll continue with the herbal supplements I take. If I went to a “practicing” physician, they’d likely dump a bunch of drugs on me to fix these numbers by causing other medical issues. “Don’t worry about side effects, we have a drug for that too”.
Some of my higher numbers would resolve if I was less stressed about the future, and whether I’ll lose Medicare/Social Security, or if the payments for health care and property taxes keep skyrocketing every year, and if from the sky, rockets from other countries are going to fall and destroy the world. Too many worries at a time when I should be able to Enjoy Life