🧪 How to Read Your Bloodwork (Using My Labs as an Example)
This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about your health. Most people get bloodwork back, see "normal" on everything, and move on. But knowing how to actually read your labs—not just glance at the reference ranges—can tell you a completely different story. I'm going to walk you through how I analyze my own bloodwork, what markers I look at, and how I connect the dots. Hopefully this helps you do the same with yours. I recorded a full walkthrough of my actual labs if you want to see the numbers yourself: Watch the video breakdown here Step 1: Don't Just Look at "Normal" — Look at Where in the Range Lab reference ranges are built to catch disease, not optimize health. "Normal" just means you're not flagged as sick. When I pulled my results, most looked textbook healthy: - Blood sugar: dialed - A1C: low - Cholesterol: solid - Body fat: trending down On paper? Great. But a few numbers weren't bad... they were just sitting in odd places within the range. That's where the real information was hiding. Step 2: Start with Fasting Insulin (Most People Skip This) This is one of the most underrated markers. Most standard panels don't even include it—you often have to ask. Mine came back at 2 μIU/mL. Most people hear "low insulin" and think that's a win. And it is—to a point. It means you're insulin sensitive, your body handles glucose efficiently, you're not resistant. But here's what most people miss: insulin is also a metabolic signal. It tells your body "Energy is available. Run normal operations." When insulin stays rock-bottom for too long, your body starts interpreting that as a shortage. That's when other systems start quietly downregulating. What to look for in your own labs: - Fasting insulin between 3-8 μIU/mL is generally a good functional range - Under 3 μIU/mL can indicate you've been in a deficit too long - Over 10 μIU/mL starts suggesting insulin resistance