The latest trend in health and wellness, highly popular among celebrities, caught our attention. As health journalists, we decided it was time to experience it firsthand.

The personalized medicine sector is rapidly expanding, with innovative companies offering services that analyze your blood and conduct comprehensive body scans. These services aim to detect any anomalies, focusing on preventing cancer and chronic diseases.

Famous personalities like Kate Hudson and Kim Kardashian have taken to Instagram to share their experiences with full-body scans. Kim even disclosed that her Prenuvo scan identified a brain aneurysm.

In a similar vein, former President Donald Trump recently underwent an MRI, boasting that his results were unparalleled.

Intrigued by this trend, Daily Mail journalists Alexa Lardieri, Health Editor, and Senior Reporter Elina Shirazi decided to test the offerings from Function Health and Prenuvo, respectively.

As a 32–year–old, fairly active person who eats a plant–based diet, Alexa is healthy by many standards.

Still, diabetes, colon cancer and breast cancer run in her family, so undergoing wide–ranging blood tests and a scan were appealing.

Similarly, Elina has experienced a string of unexplained symptoms – aches, heart palpitations and exhaustion. So, she was hoping a full–body scan could give her answers and point her on a path to remedies. 

While both went in with hopes of getting answers, this isn’t to say they weren’t scared of what the tests would find – or of being overwhelmed by the results. 

The problem of patients receiving too much information and not knowing what to do with it, or experiencing anxiety from it, is a concern medical experts note of these types of services. 

Skeptics, especially of the full–body scans, say the imaging could lead to incidental findings that amount to nothing and spark anxiety or lead to unnecessary further testing. 

Prenuvo Founder and CEO Andrew Lacy acknowledges the medical community’s caution, but said he aims to provide people with empowering information.

He told Daily Mail: ‘I understand the concern. No one wants to over–medicalize healthy people or create unnecessary anxiety.’

‘However, the reality is that we’ve accepted a reactive model for too long. Proactive medicine isn’t about testing for the sake of it; it’s about using advanced, non–invasive tools responsibly to give people information they can act on.’

Alexa: ‘I can finally stop worrying’

Function Health was founded by former Cleveland Clinic physician Dr Mark Hyman, and for $365 a year, you can get more than 160 blood tests twice a year and additional specialized tests on–demand.

Dr Hyman told Daily Mail: ‘Our healthcare is massively broken, and people are struggling to try to figure out how to get healthy and people are increasingly sick from all sorts of things; the burden of chronic illness is huge, and we have a sick care system, not a healthcare system.’

The company also provides access to doctors and researchers who review and discuss your results with you, track labs overtime and make a personalized health plan, including recommended foods to eat and avoid.

Function Health partners with Ezra, which provides clients with a full–body MRI, which costs an additional $500.

While the price tag may look steep, together these services could cost you more than $15,000 if you were to go the standard route, but Function Health has partnered with medical providers to negotiate a reduced fee. 

My Function Health journey began with two blood tests one week apart. 

A phlebotomist took about a dozen tubes of blood for each test that looked at markers to measure the health of my liver, heart, thyroid, pancreas and other major organs, as well as nutrients and minerals. 

The results were encouraging. I am (almost) in perfect health. The labs revealed I am deficient in vitamin D (as is about 25 percent of the US), a vitamin responsible for strong bones, immune health and brain and muscle function. 

Dr Hyman suggested an easy fix: a vitamin D supplement.  

Additionally, I had slightly below–normal levels of HDL large particles (6419 nmol/L compared to normal, which is anything above 6729 nmol/L).

These particles in the blood remove excess cholesterol from the arteries and prevent plaque build up, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. 

My other cholesterol markers were in range so Dr Hyman said this should be monitored, but it’s nothing to worry about now. 

I also had low levels of omega–3 fatty acids, EPA, DHA, and DPA – 5.1 compared to the in–range level of 5.4 or above. 

According to Function Health, these are ‘building blocks for cells and help regulate inflammation, support cardiovascular and brain function, and maintain overall metabolic health.’

Dr Hyman said this can also easily be remedied with Omega–3 supplements. 

After the two blood tests, it was time for the full–body MRI scan. I slipped into the Ezra–provided pajamas and laid in an MRI machine for 30 minutes. The technician said to expect results in a couple of days.

Thankfully, the MRI was ‘unremarkable,’ meaning nothing immediately stood out to the doctor.

I have a very small nodule on my thyroid but it is not big enough to be concerned about; and because my thyroid blood markers were normal, Dr Hyman said to follow up with an endocrinologist for an ultrasound, but it doesn’t require imminent medical attention.

Based on the results, I can finally stop worrying that every headache or my seemingly unending exhaustion is a catastrophic medical emergency. I should probably just get more sleep. 

Overall, I think, that at this price, Function is doing a great job at making it easier for people to get more information about their health, but it is still out of reach for many.

However, if finances allow, I recommend the services and have already implemented the changes, including taking supplements and following the recommended diet Function Health doctors provided me. 

Elina Shirazi: ‘More information than I knew what to do with’

In a similar fashion, I also underwent a full–body scan with Prenuvo. The company offers scans and similar accompanying blood tests, but at a much higher price tag.

I underwent a scan, which costs $2,499.

Prenuvo markets itself as a ‘whole–body MRI’ service that scans from head to toe in about an hour, with no radiation or contrast dye. 

A board–certified radiologist reads the results from the scan, which covers 33 organs and screens for more than 500 conditions.

But at its high price, it’s far from accessible for the average person, and insurance rarely covers elective imaging of this kind, classifying it as wellness rather than necessity. 

But Lacy said he has still seen an increase in demand.

He told Daily Mail: ‘Our healthcare system is built to treat disease after it’s already taken hold. That model misses the opportunity to intervene early, when outcomes are better and costs are lower. 

‘We’re seeing a rise in preventative scans because people are realizing that waiting until something feels wrong isn’t enough and is often too late.’

As someone who experiences a string of unexplained symptoms, aches, heart palpitations and exhaustion, I was eager to get scanned and find the root of my ailments. 

I reported to a Maryland Prenuvo location and, after changing into scrubs, laid inside an MRI machine where a headpiece was positioned above my face and I watched Netflix for an hour.

A week later, a nurse practitioner called to review the results. 

Among them: spondyloarthropathy in my upper cervical spine, a degenerative arthritis that could explain my neck pain, and a congenital pancreatic anomaly known as pancreatic divisum, which I am fortunate to be symptom–free from.

Some, but not all, answers to my confusing symptoms.  

The doctor arranged follow–ups for a deeper spine and neck scan as well as physical therapy, providing a concrete plan for managing symptoms that they discovered could be nerve pain. 

Relief and information came in equal measure, but there was more data than I knew what to do with. I felt overwhelmed at first, but also relieved from the information that I had, because it let me also know what things I could safely cross off my list. 

One of the most persistent criticisms of preventive imaging is accessibility. With a price tag rivaling a month’s rent, whole–body MRIs risk becoming a luxury wellness trend rather than a public–health tool.

Lacy agrees that the question of access is central, and that he has a forward–looking plan.

He told Daily Mail: ‘Our goal is for this to become accessible to the everyday person. Historically, advanced imaging has been expensive and hard to access, and yes, the people who can afford it tend to be healthier to begin with. But the point of innovation is to make something new, prove it works, and then make it accessible.

‘People walk out of our clinics either knowing they’re healthy or having the information they need to do something about what’s not. Both outcomes are powerful.’

Bottom line, the full–body scan gave me peace of mind, some data and a medical plan. If I could tackle what I knew to be true, I could start feeling better. What this experience made clear is that knowledge truly is power –– hard to put a price tag on.

And while the technology is still out of reach for many, its potential is undeniable; it could be one of the most meaningful investments you can make in yourself.