7 signs you may not be healthy — even if you think you are

To me, health is multi-faceted and ultimately can be quite complicated. It encompasses a physical component, mental component, emotional component, and overall sense of wellness, but we don't always think of health in this way.

To be deemed as healthy, according to Medical News Today, one should have a sense of "physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and the resources to live a full life." While we ultimately know that being diagnosed with a health condition, or being classified as overweight deems one to be "unhealthy," there are other indicators of health that won't necessarily elicit a diagnosis that you may only observe or know yourself.

Be mindful of some of the less than obvious signs that you may not be as healthy as you think you are.

1. You snore
   It's loud, sometimes embarrassing, and annoying to most, but snoring is also a sign that you might not be as healthy as you think you are.

Snoring is linked to many health conditions like sleep apnea, excess weight, heart disease, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), and stroke. Everyday Health writers Madeline R. Vann, MPH and Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH suggest discussing your snoring habit with your doctor, as the cause potentially could be a little more serious than you think

1. Your skin isn't clear.
   Breakouts are an indicator that you may not be as healthy as you think you are. Unfortunately, there's no one sole cause of acne, but face mapping is a great tool to help us identify where we ultimately need to make changes to improve our health.

Face mapping clues us in as to the underlying cause of acne by linking the area of the face your breakout is in to the part of the body correlated with causing the breakout. Forehead acne, for example, is associated with our lifestyle, including hygiene, sleep, and diet as the root cause of acne. Another example is acne on the bottom of the chin, which is associated with the stomach, rooting the cause of acne back to digestive issues.
Although your acne could just be caused by genetics or bacteria, rather than investing in expensive exfoliants and creams to rid of breakouts, first try identifying the health-related cause to get clearer skin and ultimately improve your health.

1. The whites of your eyes aren't white.
   If the whites of your eyes are yellowish, it may be indicative of problems with the gallbladder, liver, pancreas, or bile ducts. Red eyes are also a sign of poor health; they're a sign of lack of sleep, too much strain on the eyes, and broken blood vessels.

Eye drops won't fix the culprit of some these health-related issues.

1. Your toenails and fingernails are an odd color or texture.
   Have you ever considered the relationship between your health and nails? Probably not, but the shape, texture, and color of your fingernails and toenails can clue you in to just how healthy, or unhealthy you are.

While smoking and certain nail polish colors can sometimes cause yellowing, related to health, prevention.com lists that "the yellow color is believed to be caused by inadequate circulation and fluid build-up in the body."

If you have indentions in the nails, or abnormal nail growth, you may have some nutritional deficiencies. So take a closer look, and see if there's any important insight you're missing out on.

1. You're gassy
   While it's considered average and healthy to pass gas 10 to 20 times per day, according to Active.com, more than that is considered excessive. Excessive gas may be a sign that you're not quite as healthy as you think you are.

While our diet and specific foods in particular are often the cause of gassiness, it could also be a sign of something else health-related. Lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, and celiac disease are a few of the more serious health conditions that could be the cause of excessive gas. While these conditions don't deem you to be unhealthy, untreated they don't allow the body to function optimally.

1. You're always tired

Tired is a state of being for many, but the reasoning behind it may be more than what they're attributing it to. While repeatedly over-caffeinating and running on too little sleep are plausible causes of exhaustion, there may be more to it than that.

Health.com lists a slew of health-related reasons as to why you may be feeling tired including dehydration, low iron levels, too little exercise, and too much sugar in the diet. If you're always tired, you may not be as healthy as you thought; take a look at your diet, physical activity, hydration status, and consider talking with your doctor about any nutritional deficiencies you may have.

1. Your urine isn't a "pale, straw color
   When people think about their health, they don't usually think about one of the most-telling indicators: urine. It might seem strange or gross, but there's a real science to it.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the "color, density, and smell [of urine] can reveal health problems." You want your urine to be a "pale, straw color," and it really shouldn't smell like much at all. If your urine has a strong scent, or is a darker color, you'll want to keep a close eye on it, and if it doesn't improve, see a doctor.