In this article, you will learn the basics about Cholesterol (Total, HDL, LDL and Triglycerides), along with the healthy ranges by blood lipid marker, age and gender.

In this article, you will learn the basics about Cholesterol (Total, HDL, LDL and Triglycerides), the healthy ranges and most importantly, what you can do to maintain your cholesterol within a healthy range.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that occurs naturally in your body. At normal levels, it is essential for the body to function properly. This includes making hormones, vitamin D, and substances that help you digest foods.Your body generally makes all the cholesterol it needs, thus eating too much saturated and trans fats leads to an excess of cholesterol in your blood. This, in turn, can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Individuals who are sedentary, overweight or obese, consume a diet high in saturated fat, have a family history of high cholesterol and/or are middle-aged or older are at particularly high risk of hypercholesterolemia and subsequent cardiovascular complications. The good news is that cholesterol levels can be improved with a little TLC; that is, therapeutic lifestyle changes.

In the realm of fitness, blood biomarker testing is a window inside your body. It allows you to better understand your wellness, nutrition and fitness levels by providing you information on indicators such as injury risk, hydration status, muscle status and more. These indicators are essential to ensuring optimal performance and health. Additionally, blood tests are easy and fast, whilst also providing a wealth of information.

UFC fighter Jimmie Rivera (#8 Bantamweight Division • 22-3-0) has been using Fitnescity's DEXA assessments during training to prepare for his weight cut with Couterstrike Combat Sports. Combat fighters have an edge when they turn to the latest data-driven tech to help them compete at an elite level.

Follow Jimmie’s journey with the UFC here.

Optimizing body composition requires fighters to change weight by losing body fat, while maintaining as much muscle as possible. As we can see from Conor McGregor’s case, achieving both goals at the same time requires masterful training and nutrition management. The DEXA scan is great tool for hitting the target weight for a fight, while maintaining a good body composition.

We previously discussed What It Takes To Pass The F.B.I Fitness Test and The Candidate Physical Abilities Test For Firefighters, but on the topic of required fitness tests for different occupations, let’s not forget the police officers we see almost every day in our lives. The duties of a police officer also require continuous physical readiness as with the previously mentioned careers, and are definitely just as rigorous.

Fitness testing —in the context of a Firefighter’s duties— embodies elements of strength, endurance and agility. The Physical Abilities Test for Firefighters consists of eight steps that simulate actual events that can happen while on service. The entire assessment must be completed in 10 minutes and 20 seconds or else the candidate fails.

There are a lot of tests you can do, such as a resting metabolic rate test, that will provide you with information about your health and how to improve it. One test I really like, and think everyone should experience, is the DEXA scan.

This is a description of my experience with 23andme’s wellness report, which covers nutrition, exercise and sleep. As some of you may know, I often share my test results and findings (even though I take the right for privacy very seriously!) with the goal of starting the discussion on self-collected data and learning about other people's experiences. The links and screenshots of the results are available below.

F.B.I (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents are involved in crime investigations and responsible for enforcing federal laws; this often puts them at risk of dangerous work. It’s no wonder they have rigorous eligibility criteria. For individuals to qualify for the 21-week intensive program at the F.B.I academy, they must pass The Physical Fitness Test (PFT), which consists of four events:

• 1 min of Sit-Ups, as many reps as possible

• 300-meter Sprints, timed

• Push-Ups, as many as possible untimed

• 1.5-mile run

We all have our own unique genetic blueprint, so doesn’t it make sense that we all have a unique nutrition blueprint as well? We know that diet and health are interrelated, but did you know that your genes can affect how your foods are being processed, which has a big impact on your health and possibly weight loss journey? The concept of nutritional genomics have been around for a while, but recently started to gain more attention from several companies offering personalized nutrition testing based on an individual’s DNA. The idea is that these tests could help you optimize your health so that you can have a “DNA-diet” specifically catered to you.

Food intolerance or sensitivity tests are becoming more available to the general population through recommendations from bloggers and naturopaths claiming that these tests can help with a wide variety of unresolved health issues. These IgG tests look at how much of this antibody is bound to each food and the respective removal of foods with high levels of IgG is said to improve symptoms. They are marketed by health and wellness influencers, as well as celebrities, who have sworn that their lives have been changed because of these tests. However, scientists and allergists say otherwise.

We sat down with Ashley Gomes, sports nutrition consultant who has worked with NBA, Pro Boxing, MLB, NFL, PGA and DOD athletes. We asked Ashley about the nutritional needs of professional athletes and what non-athletes can learn from that. We were also really curious about how high-level athletes track their food (and how we can further refine the process for Fitnescity customers), and how athletes use fitness testing data to optimize their nutrition. Here’s the full interview.

If you’re looking to fuel creativity, invest in employee happiness and strengthen your brand as an employer, your start-up needs to look beyond outdated wellness benefits that a lot of companies have traditionally relied on. If you were considering weekly (awkward) office yoga, this article is for you.

If you’re a start-up CEO, decision maker or just someone looking to improve the well-being of your colleagues, you’ve probably realized that a company with a high concentration of millennials will not engage talent with the same benefits that larger companies rely on.

Your employee population does not really need a traditional (and somewhat outdated) blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, audio and vision screening.

I just came back from an event by ABANA. While I spend on average 2-3 hours every day talking about what we do at Fitnescity, I rarely get the opportunity to speak about the vision behind our work, and why we're so passionate about this vision. Here’s the quick summary.

96% of Millennials say great health and wellness benefits would be the most important factor when choosing between two companies with similar pay and responsibilities.

The problem with benefits today is that employees don’t really use them. A tech-enabled fitness challenge is a great way to quantify the experience, while adding a gamification aspect.

Here’s our recipe:

It’s wage-gap month at Fitnescity. Did you know? We’re female-founded and women-led (mostly). Ironically, close to 70% of our clients happen to be men. In honor of women’s month, we’re giving back 20% to every new female client.

Order your own blood tests. A simple blood drop can provide valuable insights into your body and help you understand how well you are managing your weight and overall wellness. Fitnescity is now offering blood testing for prevention and weight loss; the tests measure your key wellness indicators, and at the same time offer personalized guidance on how to use the results. This includes individualized meal plans, lifestyle and exercise guidance.