Lab services

Bloodwork and diagnostics you can order yourself

Lab services are diagnostic tests for people — bloodwork and biomarkers. That is different from product testing, which checks what is inside a supplement.

Example listings — our real write-ups are in progress

Providers

The labs we have used ourselves

These are the laboratory and diagnostic companies we have ordered from personally and had great experiences with. We show what each one covers and what it costs so you can compare before you buy, and any compensation we receive never changes the order here.

Example Direct Labs (demo)

Direct-to-consumer bloodwork

No relationship — demo listing

Placeholder listing showing how a consumer lab provider appears: panels, draw locations and turnaround time.

Typical price range: $60–$400 per panel
Availability: Most US states (demo)

Example Longitudinal Panels (demo)

Comprehensive annual panels

No relationship — demo listing

Placeholder listing for a broad annual biomarker panel with repeat testing at defined intervals.

Typical price range: $400–$800 per year
Availability: Selected metro areas (demo)

Example At-Home Kits (demo)

At-home collection

No relationship — demo listing

Placeholder listing for finger-stick and saliva collection kits processed by a partner laboratory.

Typical price range: $50–$200 per kit
Availability: Nationwide (demo)

Example CGM Access (demo)

Continuous glucose monitoring

No relationship — demo listing

Placeholder listing for consumer CGM programs including sensor supply and data review.

Typical price range: $80–$180 per month
Availability: Prescription required in some states (demo)

What about Anabolic Insights?

We have used Anabolic Insights personally and had a good experience, but we were notified they were shutting down. They seem to be operational now, but their support link is not working, so we cannot recommend them at this time.

Recommended tests

What we would order for a specific goal

Panel names vary between providers, so here are the actual markers worth asking for, grouped by what you are trying to understand — and why each one earns its place. Educational only: what you need is between you and a clinician.

Men's hormone health

The usual starting set when energy, libido, mood, training recovery or fertility questions come up, or before and during hormone therapy.

Total testosterone: The headline number, but only meaningful with the markers below beside it.
Free testosterone: The fraction not bound to carrier proteins, which is what tissue can actually use.
SHBG: The main carrier protein. High or low SHBG explains why total and free testosterone disagree.
LH: The pituitary signal telling the testes to produce testosterone — separates a testicular problem from a signalling one.
FSH: The pituitary signal driving sperm production, so it matters for fertility questions.
Estradiol (sensitive assay): Men need some estradiol; too little or too much both cause symptoms. Ask for the sensitive assay.
Prolactin: Elevated prolactin can suppress testosterone and points toward a pituitary cause.
TSH: Thyroid problems mimic low testosterone symptoms almost exactly, so rule them out first.
Free T4: Confirms whether the thyroid is actually producing hormone when TSH looks off.
CBC and comprehensive metabolic panel: Baseline blood counts, kidney and liver values — and hematocrit needs watching on therapy.
PSA: Standard baseline before and during testosterone therapy for men over about 40.

Women's hormone health

For cycle irregularity, perimenopause symptoms, fertility planning, hair loss, acne or unexplained fatigue. Timing in your cycle changes what several of these mean.

Estradiol: The primary estrogen; interpretation depends heavily on where you are in your cycle.
Progesterone: Best drawn about a week after ovulation, where it indicates whether ovulation actually happened.
LH and FSH: The pituitary signals that drive the cycle; the ratio helps flag PCOS and the menopause transition.
Total and free testosterone: Relevant to libido, energy, acne and hair pattern changes.
DHEA-S: An adrenal androgen that helps locate where excess androgens are coming from.
SHBG: Shifts with thyroid status, oral contraceptives and insulin resistance, and changes free hormone levels.
Prolactin: High prolactin is a common, treatable cause of missed periods.
TSH and free T4: Thyroid dysfunction is common in women and affects cycles, fertility and fatigue.
AMH: A rough marker of remaining egg supply, useful for fertility planning — not a fertility guarantee.
Ferritin: Low iron stores from monthly blood loss are a frequent, very fixable cause of fatigue and hair shedding.

Heart health

A closer look than a standard cholesterol panel, aimed at particle burden, inflammation and inherited risk.

ApoB: Counts the actual number of artery-damaging particles, which tracks risk better than LDL cholesterol alone.
LDL cholesterol: The familiar number, still worth trending over time.
Lipoprotein(a): Largely inherited and mostly diet-proof. Check once — it changes how aggressive your plan should be.
Triglycerides: Rises with excess carbohydrate, alcohol and insulin resistance; responds quickly to changes.
HDL cholesterol: Useful in context rather than as a target to chase upward.
hs-CRP: A general inflammation marker that adds risk information on top of cholesterol.
Lp-PLA2 or myeloperoxidase: Optional add-ons that some clinicians use to gauge how active plaque is.
Homocysteine: Elevated levels can reflect B12 or folate status and are associated with vascular risk.
Blood pressure and HbA1c: Not exotic, but they outrank most add-on tests for predicting heart events.

Metabolic and diabetes risk

Catches insulin resistance years before fasting glucose drifts up. Useful before, during and after a GLP-1 or a serious body-composition push.

Fasting insulin: Usually the first thing to rise. High insulin with normal glucose is the early warning.
Fasting glucose: Standard, but it changes late — read it next to insulin.
HbA1c: A roughly three-month average of blood sugar; smooths out day-to-day noise.
HOMA-IR: A simple calculation from fasting glucose and insulin that summarises insulin resistance.
Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio: A cheap, surprisingly informative signal of metabolic dysfunction.
ALT and AST: Mildly elevated ALT is often the first clue of fat accumulating in the liver.
Uric acid: Tracks with fructose intake and metabolic syndrome, and with gout risk.
Comprehensive metabolic panel: Kidney function and electrolytes, which matter for medication decisions.

Thyroid, energy and fatigue

For people who feel flat, cold, foggy or wiped out after training. Deficiencies and thyroid problems explain a large share of it.

TSH: The screening test, though it can look normal in the early stages of a problem.
Free T4: How much hormone the thyroid is producing.
Free T3: The active form; helps explain symptoms when TSH and T4 look acceptable.
Thyroid antibodies (TPO, TgAb): Identifies autoimmune thyroid disease, the most common cause in adults.
Ferritin: Iron stores can be low long before hemoglobin falls, and low ferritin alone causes fatigue.
CBC: Screens for anemia and other blood-count causes of exhaustion.
Vitamin B12 and folate: Deficiency causes fatigue and nerve symptoms and is easy to correct.
Vitamin D (25-OH): Very commonly low, and worth knowing before you guess at a dose.
Magnesium (RBC): A red-cell measurement reflects status better than the usual serum test.
Cortisol (morning): Screens for the rarer adrenal causes when the obvious ones come back clean.

Longevity and inflammation

A broader baseline you can repeat once or twice a year to watch trends in organ function, inflammation and nutrient status.

hs-CRP: The workhorse inflammation marker; trend it rather than reading one value.
Fasting insulin and HbA1c: Metabolic health is the single biggest modifiable lever on healthy lifespan.
ApoB and Lp(a): Cardiovascular risk is the leading cause of death, so it belongs in any longevity baseline.
eGFR and cystatin C: Kidney function from two angles; cystatin C is less thrown off by muscle mass.
Liver panel (ALT, AST, GGT, albumin): Liver strain shows up here well before symptoms do.
Vitamin D (25-OH): Widely deficient and relevant to bone, muscle and immune function.
Omega-3 index: Measures what you actually absorbed rather than what the bottle claimed.
Homocysteine: Reflects B-vitamin status and associates with vascular and cognitive risk.
Uric acid: A simple marker that tracks metabolic strain and inflammation.
CBC with differential: Broad screen for blood, immune and marrow problems.

Panels

What a panel actually covers

Panel names differ between providers. These are the biomarker groups worth checking before you pay.

Common consumer lab panels and their biomarkers
Panel	Biomarkers	Why it is ordered
Cardiometabolic	ApoB, LDL-C, HDL-C, Triglycerides, Lp(a), hs-CRP	Lipid and inflammatory markers most used to assess cardiovascular risk.
Glycemic	Fasting glucose, Fasting insulin, HbA1c	Baseline picture of glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity.
Hormone (male)	Total testosterone, Free testosterone, SHBG, LH, FSH, Estradiol	Requires morning collection and clinical interpretation.
Hormone (female)	Estradiol, Progesterone, FSH, LH, SHBG, Testosterone	Cycle timing changes reference interpretation substantially.
Thyroid	TSH, Free T4, Free T3, TPO antibodies	TSH alone can miss context; antibodies matter for autoimmune thyroid disease.
Nutrient status	Ferritin, Vitamin D, 25-OH, Vitamin B12, Folate, Magnesium, RBC	Most relevant panel before starting or evaluating supplementation.

Laboratory results need clinical context. Bring anything unexpected to a licensed clinician rather than acting on a single value.