You might assume that how you’ll age is down to your genes. That your disease risk is out of your hands, sealed by midlife, and something to manage rather than change. But Dr Florence Comite has spent 30 years proving that assumption wrong. And for this conversation, she’s brought the evidence.

Florence is a clinician-scientist, Yale and National Institutes of Health-trained endocrinologist, and some might call her a disruptor. Her life’s work has been built on the radical idea that decline is not inevitable, it is detectable. And because it’s detectable, it’s reversible. Her new book, Invincible: Defy Your Genetic Destiny to Live Better Longer, has the core message that our health trajectory is far from fixed. By tuning into our body’s signals, and understanding our physiology, we can make targeted changes to improve how we feel, function and age.

In this episode, Florence and I explore why the Western medical model – built around treating disease not creating health – leaves people in the dark when it comes to disease risk. We discuss why the type and frequency of blood tests your doctor currently offers is lacking, as well as what you should ask for (or seek privately) if you want to truly understand your health.

Florence talks us through the five blood biomarkers she believes every adult should know about, including one – fasting insulin – that your doctor is highly unlikely to check but that I agree with her is absolutely critical. And she explains why free testosterone is vital for both men and women, how it connects to muscle, memory, bone density, blood sugar and heart health, and why optimising it has transformed some of her patients’ lives.

We also sing the praises of continuous glucose monitors. We discuss what they reveal about your individual response to food, why two people can eat the same meal with different results, and how the order in which you eat your meal can change your health.

This is a conversation about taking control. It’s about owning your data, your trends – and your future. Florence and I share the belief that our healthcare systems need to move from reactive to proactive. In time, I’m hopeful that will happen. But in the meantime her clinic – and my own Do Health app – are paving an exciting way for you to get ahead of the curve.