It’s not every day you get called “grossly unremarkable” and breathe a sigh of relief.
A week earlier, I’d been lying in an MRI machine, listening to it puff, clank and groan like a middle school band gone horribly wrong as it examined nearly every inch of my body.
As a health reporter, I’ve written about young, healthy people who went in for full-body scans only to uncover ticking time bombs: cancers, aneurysms and other silent threats that ended in emergency treatments and even full-blown organ removals.
So when my Ezra scan results hit my inbox, I braced for the worst. But the report showed no urgent findings, and I exhaled.
That moment of calm, however, was short-lived.
High-tech celebrity-backed wellness trend
Like most twentysomething Americans, I only see my doctor for an annual checkup — or when I have a problem that the pharmacy aisle can’t fix. But with a family history of diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, I was eager to give Ezra a shot.
A subsidiary of blood-testing startup Function Health, the company — which has eight imaging centers in New York City — is among a handful now marketing full-body MRIs directly to consumers.
Celebrity endorsements from Kim Kardashian, Dwyane Wade, Luke Evans and Gillian Anderson have made it the latest wellness craze, with health-conscious Americans shelling out hundreds or even thousands of dollars for scans that insurance won’t cover.
Proponents see it as the next frontier in preventive medicine, spotting potential health issues before symptoms strike and boosting chances of successful treatment.
“You’re a classic example of someone who’s walking around at 25, thinking you’re healthy and invincible — but you have things that … significantly raise your risk going forward.”
Dr. Mark Hyman on the health issues hidden in my MRI results
But not everyone’s buying the hype. Some doctors warn that scanning low-risk people can spark false alarms, unnecessary anxiety and invasive procedures they may not need.
Ezra’s basic AI-powered MRI scans for cancer and over 500 other conditions across 13 organs. It takes just 22 minutes and costs $499.
“The more information and data that you have about yourself, I think, the better,” Dr. Mark Hyman, a physician, longevity expert and co-founder of Function Health, told The Post.
Upon arriving, I was given pajamas and socks to change into before being escorted to the exam room.
With earplugs and a soundtrack of my choice — I went with George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” hoping to absorb the message as mild claustrophobia set in — I was ready to go.
As I lay down, technicians wrapped coils — designed to capture detailed images — around my head and abdomen. They draped me with a light blanket and reminded me to stay perfectly still.
Once the MRI whirred to life, I relaxed quickly, relieved that both ends of the narrow tube were open. The coils felt like a weighted blanket, and the music nearly lulled me to sleep.
Before I knew it, the scan was over, with the entire experience taking less than an hour.
The hidden health alarms lurking in my body
Five days later, a doctor-reviewed report landed in my inbox.
The scan didn’t detect anything urgent — though Ezra says it has helped 6% of members catch potential cancer early — but it did raise a few concerns. The report translated the findings into plain language and recommended some next steps.
I had some sinus inflammation and mildly swollen lymph nodes, possibly signaling an infection. The MRI also detected a few follicular cysts on my ovaries, which Hyman said are usually harmless and often resolve on their own.
8It looks for potential abnormalities that could be signs of early disease.Courtesy of McKenzie Beard/EzraWhat really caught his attention was my liver. It was slightly enlarged — something Hyman said can happen for a number of reasons, including infections, metabolic disorders or repeated exposure to toxins like alcohol and Tylenol.
I’m definitely guilty of those last two.
I also had a gallstone, which Hyman said could mean I had insulin resistance. Sure enough, I’d previously done blood work with Function for a biological age test — which showed a slightly elevated fasting insulin level, which suggests mild insulin resistance.
“My guess is you have early fatty liver, which affects about 100 million Americans, most of whom don’t know it,” Hyman said.
A silent epidemic
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a key driver of insulin resistance and high blood sugar, both contributing to and resulting from metabolic dysfunction. It occurs when excess fat accumulates in the liver, leading to inflammation and damage.
This “silent epidemic” is increasingly common, especially in Western countries as obesity rates rise. In the US, 40% of adults and up to 10% of children have NAFLD.
“It accelerates your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s,” Hyman explained. “It’s not good, but you can completely reverse it.”
It usually causes few or no symptoms early on, which makes sense, since I generally feel healthy. When signs appear, they can include fatigue, bloating, unexplained weight loss, weakness, increased thirst and abdominal pain.
Left untreated, NAFLD can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cirrhosis and even liver failure.
“It’s not cancer, but you have a gallstone and early fatty liver, which means you probably need to address your insulin resistance more aggressively,” Hyman said.
“That’s really useful information,” he added. “It’s not just something that will affect you later — it’s affecting you now.”
What do these results mean for me going forward?
Hyman recommended I cut back on Tylenol and reduce sugar and starch in my diet. He suggested I consider supplements like N-acetyl cysteine and alpha-lipoic acid to help reduce fat buildup, improve liver function and tackle insulin resistance.
“You’re a classic example of someone who’s walking around at 25, thinking you’re healthy and invincible — but you have things that, one, affect how you feel now, and two, significantly raise your risk going forward,” Hyman said.
I’m not alone.
“Ninety-three percent of Americans have some form of metabolic dysfunction and don’t know it,” Hyman said. “The sooner you get on top of this stuff, the better.”
