Hi ,

How are you doing today? What are you looking forward to in the next year?

Over the past few years, more people have signed up for longevity or advanced wellness programs that promise in-depth testing and detailed reports. Perhaps you have done something similar and ended up with what feels like gazillions of test results.

What I see in practice is that more information does not automatically lead to better health. Often it has the opposite effect.

People arrive with:

• Pages of lab results, genetic tests, microbiome reports and whole genome sequencing
• A long summary with scores and traffic lights.
• One or two short consultations (some programs do include longer-term health coaching, but not all)

After that, additional support is often only available through another paid subscription. Many people quite reasonably choose not to sign up. The end result is that all those reports stay in a folder. Nothing much changes in their health or in their habits.

The core problem is not a lack of information. It is the lack of a practical implementation plan that accounts for human behaviour.

A better starting point

Instead of asking, “What else should I test?”, I suggest a different question:

What is one area of my health that I want to change in the next three to six months?

Let us say that you want to improve your blood pressure. Start by making a list of 6-7 things you could do to bring it down. If you need ideas, you can download an ebook here:

From that list, choose 2 to 3 actions that feel realistic for you right now. Then create habits that match those actions.

Continuing with the blood pressure example: taking prescribed blood pressure medication regularly and checking blood pressure accurately at home will have a much greater impact than deciding to have blueberries for dessert. Blueberries, instead of ice cream, may be a better food choice, but on their own, they are unlikely to bring blood pressure from a high range down to the target.

Both matter, but they do not have the same impact. It is important to know the difference.

So if taking your medication is a challenge, a better question is: What can I do to build a reliable medication habit?

One more important point. I usually do not recommend starting with a very difficult “stopping habit”, such as “I want to stop smoking.” Stopping habits is important, but it is often harder to begin with. It is usually more effective to first establish a few new habits that support the outcome you want.

Join me in January 2026

If you recognize yourself in any of this, I would like to invite you to my next program, starting in January 2026:

Tiny Habits for Better Brain and Blood Pressure

In this live online program, I will help you create and build sustainable health habits that improve both brain health and blood pressure, using the Tiny Habits Method.

Tiny Habits for Better Brain and Blood Pressure (Starting Jan 2026)

Reserve your spot!

Best regards,

Shabnam

Dr. Shabnam Das Kar, MD

Functional Medicine Doctor

Tiny Habits Coach

Email: info@drkarmd.com