I'm 27 and paid $156 for a buzzy health test, fearing I was unknowingly sick despite eating well and exercising. It was reassuring but I felt scammed.

Advertisement The idea that testing and tracking your health will help you live longer is buzzy right now. I feared I had problems like high cholesterol or blood sugar and paid $156 for a direct-to-consumer health test. I learned there isn't good evidence that these general tests improve our health.

It was a Friday afternoon in London's financial district and I was standing barefoot on a scale, blood freshly extracted from my arm. I'd just spent $78 to have my heart health, diabetes status, blood, inflammation level, and body composition tested at a private clinic. I'm only 27, but being plugged into health trends meant that I'd become increasingly paranoid about the poor health indicators you can't see, such as high cholesterol or visceral fat , which surrounds the organs and increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and type two diabetes.

Advertisement Growing up, I remember hearing the phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," sending the message that if you eat well, you'll be just fine. A few years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of volunteering to have a needle injected into my flesh. Back then, the idea it's possible, and advisable, to slow aging and prevent disease by optimizing your health wasn't so prevalent.

Amid the rise of wellness culture, preventive medicine, longevity treatments , and misinformation on social media, knowing how to care for our health can feel confusing. Even though I seem healthy on the outside, am I really? It's the perfect storm for cre.