Blood test biomarkers explained
Reference ranges, what pushes each number up or down, how to test and which at-home panels include it. 63 biomarkers and counting.
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SiPhox Health covers 14 to 62 biomarkers per test from a needle-free upper-arm draw. From $124 a test plus $25 shipping.
See SiPhox plansHeart and cholesterol
ApoBFor adults, Mayo Clinic Laboratories rates an ApoB under 90 mg/dL as desirable, 100 to 119 mg/dL as ...Lp(a)An Lp(a) under 75 nmol/L (about 30 mg/dL) is low risk, 75 to 125 nmol/L is intermediate, and 125 nmo...LDL cholesterolFor adults, an LDL cholesterol under 100 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L) is optimal, 130 to 159 mg/dL is borderli...HDL cholesterolHDL under 40 mg/dL (1.0 mmol/L) is low for men and under 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L) is low for women; 60 ...TriglyceridesNormal triglycerides for adults are under 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L); 150 to 199 mg/dL is borderline hig...Total cholesterolFor adults 20 and older, total cholesterol under 200 mg/dL (5.2 mmol/L) is desirable, 200 to 239 mg/...ApoA1Mayo Clinic Laboratories lists an ApoA1 of 120 mg/dL or more as normal for adult men and 140 mg/dL o...TG:HDL ratioDivide triglycerides by HDL: in mg/dL, under 2.5 is low, 2.5 to 2.9 borderline and 3.0 or more sugge...Non-HDL cholesterolFor adults, a healthy non-HDL cholesterol is under 130 mg/dL (3.4 mmol/L), according to MedlinePlus....VLDL cholesterolA normal VLDL cholesterol is under 30 mg/dL, and 30 mg/dL or more is high, according to Cleveland Cl...HomocysteineNormal homocysteine levels are about 5 to 15 umol/L, with lab upper limits rising with age (14.5 up ...hs-CRPAn hs-CRP under 1.0 mg/L means low cardiovascular risk, 1.0 to 3.0 mg/L average risk and above 3.0 m...
Blood sugar and metabolism
HbA1cAn A1C (HbA1c) under 5.7% is normal, 5.7% to 6.4% is prediabetes and 6.5% or higher is in the diabet...GlucoseA fasting glucose of 70 to 99 mg/dL (3.9 to 5.5 mmol/L) is normal, 100 to 125 mg/dL is prediabetes a...Fasting insulinMayo Clinic Laboratories gives a fasting insulin reference range of 2.6 to 24.9 mcIU/mL after an 8-h...C-peptideA normal fasting C-peptide is about 0.5 to 2.0 ng/mL according to Cleveland Clinic, while MedlinePlu...HOMA-IRHOMA-IR is fasting glucose (mg/dL) times fasting insulin (uIU/mL) divided by 405. The model sets 1.0...IGF-1IGF-1 has no single normal range: it peaks in puberty and falls with age. At Mayo Clinic Laboratorie...Uric acidMedlinePlus gives a normal blood uric acid of 3.0 to 7.1 mg/dL for women and 4.0 to 8.6 mg/dL for me...CortisolA normal morning cortisol is about 5 to 25 mcg/dL (138 to 690 nmol/L) at 8 a.m., according to Medlin...
Thyroid
TSHThe TSH normal range is about 0.4 to 4.8 mIU/L (the same as µU/mL), according to MedlinePlus, and ma...Free T4A typical free T4 normal range is 0.8 to 1.9 ng/dL, or 10.3 to 24.5 pmol/L, according to MedlinePlus...Free T3A typical free T3 normal range is 2.1 to 4.4 pg/mL (MedlinePlus writes it as 210 to 440 pg/dL), or 3...TPO antibodiesA normal TPO antibody result is negative: under 9.0 IU/mL on ARUP's assay, though each lab sets its ...Thyroglobulin antibodiesA negative thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) test is normal. Mayo Clinic Laboratories uses under 4.0 IU/...
Hormones
TestosteroneFor adult men, normal total testosterone is about 264 to 916 ng/dL (the harmonized range for healthy...Free testosteroneIn adult men, the normal free testosterone range is about 47 to 244 pg/mL (4.7 to 24.4 ng/dL) on ARU...SHBGNormal SHBG is about 17 to 56 nmol/L for men aged 18 to 49 and 25 to 122 nmol/L for women of the sam...EstradiolNormal estradiol is about 30 to 400 pg/mL for premenopausal women, 0 to 30 pg/mL after menopause and...ProgesteroneProgesterone is normally under 1 ng/mL (3.18 nmol/L) before ovulation and rises to about 5 to 20 ng/...FSHIn women, FSH is about 3.5 to 12.5 IU/L in the follicular phase, peaks at 4.7 to 21.5 IU/L mid-cycle...LHLH in women is about 2.4 to 12.6 IU/L in the follicular phase, 14.0 to 95.6 IU/L during the mid-cycl...ProlactinNormal prolactin is under 20 ng/mL for men and under 25 ng/mL for women who are not pregnant, accord...DHEA-SNormal DHEA-S depends heavily on age and sex. For ages 18 to 29 it is about 45 to 320 µg/dL in women...Free androgen indexThe free androgen index (FAI) is total testosterone divided by SHBG, times 100, both in nmol/L. At t...AMHAMH falls steadily with age. Mayo Clinic Laboratories lists 1.2 to 12 ng/mL for women aged 20 to 24,...PSAA PSA up to 4.0 ng/mL has traditionally been considered normal, but PSA rises with age: a community ...
Nutrients and iron
Vitamin DA blood level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D of 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) or more is enough for most people, und...FerritinMedlinePlus gives a normal ferritin of 30 to 400 ng/mL for men and 13 to 150 ng/mL for women, though...IronNormal serum iron is 59 to 158 mcg/dL for men and 37 to 145 mcg/dL for women, according to MedlinePl...TIBC and iron saturationMedlinePlus lists a normal TIBC of 171 to 505 mcg/dL for men and 149 to 492 mcg/dL for women, with i...Vitamin B12MedlinePlus gives a normal vitamin B12 of 299 to 1,054 pg/mL (219 to 773 pmol/L), and the NIH says v...FolateA normal serum folate is 2.7 to 17.0 ng/mL (6.1 to 38.5 nmol/L), according to MedlinePlus, and the N...
Blood count and proteins
HemoglobinMedlinePlus gives a normal hemoglobin of 13.8 to 17.2 g/dL for adult men and 12.1 to 15.1 g/dL for a...HematocritMedlinePlus gives a normal hematocrit of 37% to 48% for men and 34% to 43% for women, while its CBC ...AlbuminA normal blood albumin is 3.4 to 5.4 g/dL (34 to 54 g/L), according to MedlinePlus. A low albumin ca...Total proteinMedlinePlus gives a total protein normal range of 6.5 to 8.1 g/dL (65 to 81 g/L). Total protein is a...
Kidney and liver
eGFRA normal eGFR is 90 mL/min/1.73 m² or higher, and an eGFR below 60 for three months or more is a sig...CreatinineA normal blood creatinine level is about 0.7 to 1.3 mg/dL (62 to 115 µmol/L) for men and 0.5 to 0.95...Cystatin CCystatin C in healthy young adults is usually under about 1.0 mg/L; US data put the median at 0.85 m...BUNA normal blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is generally 6 to 20 mg/dL, according to MedlinePlus. Cleveland C...ALTLab reference ranges for ALT run from about 4 to 36 U/L (MedlinePlus) to 7 to 56 U/L (Cleveland Clin...ASTMedlinePlus gives an AST normal range of 8 to 33 U/L, while Mayo Clinic Laboratories uses 8 to 48 U/...ALPFor adults, a normal alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is about 40 to 129 U/L in men and 35 to 104 U/L in w...GGTA normal GGT for adults is 5 to 40 U/L according to MedlinePlus, and Cleveland Clinic says it is oft...BilirubinA normal total bilirubin is 0.1 to 1.2 mg/dL (1.71 to 20.5 µmol/L) and a normal direct bilirubin is ...
Charts by age and symptoms
Testosterone by ageIn healthy non-obese men, median total testosterone is 531 ng/dL at 19 to 39 and about 477 ng/dL fro...TSH by ageIn US adults with no thyroid disease or thyroid antibodies, the TSH normal range by age runs about 0...A1C by ageThe A1C normal range is the same at every adult age: under 5.7%, with 5.7% to 6.4% prediabetes and 6...Cholesterol by ageHealthy cholesterol levels by age come in two main sets: under 170 mg/dL total and under 110 mg/dL L...Vitamin D chartOn the NIH vitamin D levels chart, a 25-hydroxy vitamin D under 12 ng/mL (30 nmol/L) risks deficienc...PSA by ageNormal PSA levels by age, from a study of 471 healthy men, top out at 2.5 ng/mL at 40 to 49, 3.5 at ...Low ferritin symptomsLow ferritin symptoms are the signs of running short of iron: tiredness, weakness, pale skin, shortn...
Which SiPhox panel covers what
| Panel | Biomarkers | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Longevity Essentials | 31 | Heart, Metabolic, Inflammation, Thyroid, Hormones, Nutrition, Blood |
| Heart & Metabolic | 28 | Heart, Metabolic, Inflammation, Thyroid, Kidney, Liver, Nutrition, Blood |
| Thyroid Focus | 21 | Thyroid, Heart, Metabolic, Inflammation, Hormones, Nutrition, Liver, Kidney |
| Hormone Focus | 14 | Hormones, Metabolic, Prostate |
| Ultimate 360 | 62 | Heart, Metabolic, Inflammation, Thyroid, Hormones, Nutrition, Liver, Kidney, Prostate, Blood |
| GLP Optimization | 46 | Metabolic, Heart, Inflammation, Liver, Kidney, Thyroid, Hormones, Nutrition, Blood |
Compare the panels in the SiPhox cost guide or read the full SiPhox Health review. Looking for a test rather than a marker? See at-home tests by type.