Your Panel, Mapped To The Machinery
Your laboratory already tells you which numbers it flagged. This page takes the 30 most-ordered markers and maps each one onto the biology underneath it — the pathway it reads, the direction it moves, and the formulas witnessed on that pathway. Every reference band here is quoted in the words of the body that published it, carrying that body’s own identifier. Nothing on this page is our number.
Enter your own values and the pathways underneath them are selected in the engine automatically — no number you type leaves your device. Enter your numbers →
The Published Absences
For 7 of the 30, no qualifying body publishes a reference interval a reader’s value could be held against. Rather than invent one, this site publishes the absence and the reason for it. A refusal is a grade; it is not the same as no evidence. These markers accept your laboratory’s own flag instead — its verdict on its own assay.
Fasting insulin
The Morning Tell
Reads Fasting insulin · 34 formulas on this site modulate it
You want it low: low fasting insulin marks an insulin-sensitive, metabolically healthy state.
No published band. No professional body publishes a fasting-insulin reference interval, and the reason is itself published: insulin immunoassays are not standardised. Measured against isotope-dilution mass spectrometry, assay deviation ran from −298.2 to +302.6 pmol/L. A single number here would be true only of one analyser.
Advanced glycation (AGEs)
Reduces sugar damage
Reads Reduces sugar damage · 4 formulas on this site modulate it
You want them minimized: fewer AGEs mean suppler vessels and slower metabolic aging.
No published band. No society, national study or large cohort publishes a reference interval for circulating advanced glycation end-products. Blood AGE testing is not one test — CML, pentosidine, MG-H1 and total fluorescent AGEs report on different scales — so no figure would be comparable to a laboratory report.
Lipoprotein lipase activity
Fat uptake enzyme
Reads Fat uptake enzyme · 1 formula on this site modulates it
You want it working: this is the step that clears fat from the bloodstream.
No published band. Lipoprotein lipase activity is a post-heparin assay requiring an intravenous heparin challenge. No society guideline or reference-interval study publishes a range, and the one laboratory service document found states on the same page that its range is method dependent.
Growth hormone
The Night Pulse
Reads Growth hormone · 1 formula on this site modulates it
You do not take this; you earn it. Its biggest pulse of the day arrives about an hour after you fall asleep, and it answers to sleep, exercise and fasting.
No published band. Growth hormone is secreted in pulses, which is why diagnosis rests on provocative testing rather than a resting draw. Every published growth-hormone figure is a stimulation-test cut-point for suspected pituitary disease. None of them applies to a blood draw, and no reference interval exists.
Cortisol
Lowers cortisol
Reads Lowers cortisol · 22 formulas on this site modulate it
Acute vs chronic: a cortisol pulse is how you meet a demand and it is why the rhythm exists.
No published band. No named body publishes a reference interval for morning serum cortisol. The guideline gives adrenal-insufficiency cut-points only, marks them assay dependent, and calls the rule-out values controversial — the assay-specific low limit alone spans 418–574 nmol/L.
Uric acid
Lowers uric acid
Reads Lowers uric acid · 1 formula on this site modulates it
You want it low: bringing urate down protects renal and joint health.
No published band. The published urate numbers are treatment targets measured in patients with diagnosed gout already on urate-lowering therapy. They are not a general-population reference interval, and no qualifying one could be retrieved, so no number is held against yours here.
Bone density
Bone health
Reads Bone health · 5 formulas on this site modulate it
You want it preserved: maintaining bone density guards against fracture and frailty with age.
No published band. BONE DENSITY IS NOT A BLOOD MARKER - it is a DXA measurement, and the number is a T-score, not a concentration; it belongs on a bloodwork page only if that is made explicit. The reference standard from which the T-score is calculated is, per ISCD 2023, 'the female, white, age 20-29 years, NHANES III database'; manufacturers should use NHANES III for femoral neck and total hip T-scores and their own databases for lumb
2 markers
Insulin sensitivity / HOMA-IR
The Linchpin
Reads Insulin sensitivity · 33 formulas on this site modulate it
You want it high: strong insulin sensitivity is central to weight, energy and longevity.
Where it should sit: below 1.9 HOMA-IR
“In 1,167 healthy adults from the population-based FINRISK/DILGOM cohort the upper 95th percentile of HOMA-IR was 1.9 (90% CI 1.8-2.0).”
Isokuortti et al., population-based FINRISK/DILGOM cohort (Finland), Diabetologia · 2017 · DOI 10.1007/s00125-017-4340-1
HbA1c and glycemic load
Blood-sugar support
Reads Blood-sugar support · 36 formulas on this site modulate it
You want it tight: steady glucose control is upstream of energy, weight and metabolic longevity.
Where it should sit: below 5.7 %
“NIDDK's A1C table gives "Normal: below 5.7 percent".”
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health · 2018 · The document
3 markers
Triglycerides
The Circulating Fat
Reads Triglycerides · 2 formulas on this site modulate it
You want them low: lower triglycerides mean a lighter load on the cardiovascular system.
Where it should sit: below 150 mg/dL
“The Endocrine Society classifies a fasting triglyceride level below 150 mg/dl as normal, and states the 'Classification of serum triglyceride levels greater than 150 mg/dl (1.7 mmol/liter) as elevated.'”
Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline: Evaluation and Treatment of Hypertriglyceridemia (Berglund L, Brunzell JD, Goldberg AC, Goldberg IJ, Sacks F, Murad MH, Stalenhoef AFH) · 2012 · DOI 10.1210/jc.2011-3213
Total and HDL cholesterol
Lowers cholesterol
Reads Lowers cholesterol · 37 formulas on this site modulate it
You want it balanced: sound lipid metabolism keeps the cardiovascular system in good order.
Where it should sit: below 200 mg/dL
“ATP III classifies total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL as 'Desirable'.”
National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III, NHLBI/NIH - ATP III Guidelines At-A-Glance Quick Desk Reference (NIH Publication No. 01-3305) · 2001 · The document
LDL and VLDL particles
Exports liver fat
Reads Exports liver fat · 3 formulas on this site modulate it
The balance here is a Literal Trade Between two Places — the liver and the blood. VLDL export is how the liver gets fat out of itself.
Where it should sit: below 100 mg/dL
“ATP III Table 2 classifies LDL cholesterol "<100 Optimal".”
National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel, Adult Treatment Panel III Executive Summary, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute / NIH (NIH Publication No. 01-3670) · 2001 · The document
8 markers
Testosterone, total
The Vitality Hormone
Reads Testosterone · 13 formulas on this site modulate it
The Balance here is Between Goals — and between people. Raising it helps eight things: muscle mass and recovery, bone density, sexual function, urinary…
Where it should sit: 264–916 ng/dL
“The paper's stated conclusion is that the 'Harmonized normal range in a healthy nonobese population of European and American men, 19 to 39 years, is 264 to 916 ng/dL' (2.5th to 97.5th percentile of total testosterone, assays cross-calibrated to the CDC reference method).”
Harmonized Reference Ranges for Circulating Testosterone Levels in Men of Four Cohort Studies in the United States and Europe (Travison TG, Vesper HW, Orwoll E, Wu F, Kaufman JM, Wang Y, Lapauw B, Fiers T, Matsumoto AM, Bhasin S), J Clin Endocrinol Metab 102(4):1161-1173 · 2017 · DOI 10.1210/jc.2016-2935
SHBG
Hormone-binding protein
Reads Hormone-binding protein · 1 formula on this site modulates it
You want it high: abundant SHBG sequesters DHT, and because insulin suppresses SHBG, protecting insulin sensitivity is how you keep this buffer full.
Where it should sit: 12.3–79.6 nmol/L
“In the simplified sex- and age-specific reference interval the authors adopted, SHBG in men aged 20-49 years ranged 12.3-79.6 nmol/L.”
Wang Y, NHANES 2013-2016 US adult reference-interval analysis, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2021 · DOI 10.1210/clinem/dgab416
DHEA-S and pregnenolone
DHEA precursor pool
Reads DHEA precursor pool · 2 formulas on this site modulate it
Upstream of both sex-hormone arms, Which Makes Supplementation Unpredictable: the direction it is metabolized depends on tissue enzyme expression, age and…
Where it should sit: 914–9390 nmol/L
“Table 3 gives DHEA-sulfate as median 4163 nmol/L with a 2.5-97.5 percentile interval of 914-9390 nmol/L in all 525 adult volunteers.”
Eisenhofer G et al., Reference intervals for plasma concentrations of adrenal steroids measured by LC-MS/MS: Impact of gender, age, oral contraceptives, body mass index and blood pressure status, Clinica Chimica Acta 470:115-124 · 2017 · DOI 10.1016/j.cca.2017.05.002
Estradiol
Estrogen balance
Reads Estrogen balance · 8 formulas on this site modulate it
You want it in a healthy range: sufficient estrogen defends bone density and tissue integrity.
Where it should sit: 31–771 pmol/L
“Estradiol measured daily across the menstrual cycle in 30 healthy premenopausal women by a CDC-traceable LC-MS/MS method gave an early follicular (days -15 to -6) reference interval of 31-771 pmol/L.”
Verdonk SJE, Vesper HW, Martens F, Sluss PM, Hillebrand JJ, Heijboer AC - estradiol reference intervals by traceable LC-MS/MS (Clinica Chimica Acta) · 2019 · DOI 10.1016/j.cca.2019.04.062
Prolactin
The After-Signal
Reads Prolactin · 1 formula on this site modulates it
The pituitary hormone that rises sharply after orgasm. Its relationship with dopamine is mechanical rather than mysterious: dopamine holds prolactin down, so…
Where it should sit: below 25 ng/mL
“The Endocrine Society guideline states that normal serum prolactin values are 'generally lower than 25 µg/liter', and that values are higher in women than in men and vary by assay.”
Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline: Diagnosis and Treatment of Hyperprolactinemia (Melmed S, Casanueva FF, Hoffman AR, Kleinberg DL, Montori VM, Schlechte JA, Wass JAH), J Clin Endocrinol Metab 96(2):273-288 · 2011 · DOI 10.1210/jc.2010-1692
IGF-1
Growth factor
Reads Growth factor · 1 formula on this site modulates it
You want it up: IGF-1 sustains the hair growth phase, and androgens work partly by suppressing it.
Where it should sit: 133.1–430.0 ng/mL
“Table 2 gives, for males aged 20 years, 2.5th-97.5th percentile IGF-1 of 133.1-430.0 ng/mL (50th percentile 258.5 ng/mL).”
Bidlingmaier M et al., Reference intervals for insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) from birth to senescence: results from a multicenter study using a new automated chemiluminescence IGF-1 immunoassay conforming to recent international recommendations, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 99(5):1712-1721 · 2014 · DOI 10.1210/jc.2013-3059
LH and FSH
Follicle-stimulating hormone
Reads Follicle-stimulating hormone · 1 formula on this site modulates it
The Pulse Pattern Carries the Information: LH Secretion is not Continuous but Pulsatile, with peaks every 90 to 120 minutes, Highest in the Morning Hours -…
Where it should sit: 3.91–8.76 IU/L
“FSH: in 20 normally cycling women aged 20-36 sampled across the cycle on the Abbott ARCHITECT analyzer, the early follicular 5th-95th percentile interval was 3.91-8.76 IU/L (median 6.42).”
Stricker R et al. - detailed reference values for LH, FSH, estradiol and progesterone across the menstrual cycle on the Abbott ARCHITECT analyzer (Clin Chem Lab Med) · 2006 · DOI 10.1515/CCLM.2006.160
Free T3 and thyroid
The Metabolic Thermostat
Reads Thyroid · 6 formulas on this site modulate it
About 80% of it is made outside the thyroid, in your tissues. That is why the standard blood test can read normal while the hormone that does the work is low.
Where it should sit: 0.45–4.12 mIU/L
“In the NHANES III disease-free reference population the paper reports 'the 95% TSH reference limits between 0.45 (0.42-0.47) mIU/liter and 4.12 (3.94-4.45) mIU/liter' (values in parentheses are the 95% confidence intervals on each limit).”
Serum TSH, T4, and Thyroid Antibodies in the United States Population (1988 to 1994): National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) (Hollowell JG, Staehling NW, Flanders WD, Hannon WH, Gunter EW, Spencer CA, Braverman LE), J Clin Endocrinol Metab 87(2):489-499 · 2002 · PMID 11836274
1 marker
hs-CRP and inflammatory markers
Calms body-wide inflammation
Reads Calms body-wide inflammation · 25 formulas on this site modulate it
They are not one thing: anti-TNF Worsened Heart Failure while IL-1-beta Blockade Reduced Cardiovascular Events.
Where it should sit: below 1.0 mg/L
“The AHA/CDC statement gives "The cutpoints of low risk (1.0 mg/L), average risk (1.0 to 3.0 mg/L), and high risk (3.0 mg/L)", noting that "Relative risk categories (low, average, high) correspond to approximate tertiles of values"; low risk is hs-CRP below 1.0 mg/L.”
Pearson TA et al., Markers of Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease: Application to Clinical and Public Health Practice - A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association, Circulation 107(3):499-511 · 2003 · DOI 10.1161/01.CIR.0000052939.59093.45
1 marker
ALT, AST and GGT liver panel
The Refinery
Reads Liver · 19 formulas on this site modulate it
You want it fortified: a protected liver safeguards metabolism, detoxification and whole-body health.
Where it should sit: below 33 IU/L
“ALT: 'A true healthy normal ALT level ranges from 29 to 33 IU/l for males'; the guideline states 'A normal ALT should be <29-33 IU/l in males' and that clinicians should be educated about outcomes for 'ALT>33 IU/l for men'.”
American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Clinical Guideline: Evaluation of Abnormal Liver Chemistries · 2017 · DOI 10.1038/ajg.2016.517
7 markers
Vitamin D, 25-OH
Vitamin D status
Reads Vitamin D status · 1 formula on this site modulates it
The mr literature is a cautionary case: bidirectional mr supports causal relationships with psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and vitiligo, while a vitamin D…
Where it should sit: below 30 nmol/L
“Serum 25(OH)D below 30 nmol/L is 'Associated with vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to rickets in infants and children and osteomalacia in adults'.”
Food and Nutrition Board, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, as tabulated by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (Vitamin D - Health Professional Fact Sheet) · The document
Magnesium
Magnesium status
Reads Magnesium status · 2 formulas on this site modulate it
ATP does not work as ATP — it works as Mg-ATP. That single fact puts magnesium behind every kinase, every synthetase and the whole of energy metabolism.
Where it should sit: 0.75–0.95 mmol/L
“The fact sheet states: "Normal serum magnesium concentrations range between 0.75 and 0.95 millimoles/liter (mmol/L)."”
NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Magnesium - Health Professional Fact Sheet · 2026 · The document
Zinc
Zinc status
Reads Zinc status · 1 formula on this site modulates it
It is not only an enzyme cofactor — zinc fingers are among the commonest DNA-binding motifs, so zinc status reaches gene expression directly.
Where it should sit: above 74 µg/dL
“Morning, fasting: the suggested lower cutoff for serum zinc in males aged 10 years and over is 74 µg/dL (11.3 µmol/L), the 2.5th percentile of the NHANES II reference distribution.”
International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG) cutoffs as published by Gibson RS, Hess SY, Hotz C, Brown KH, 'Indicators of zinc status at the population level: a review of the evidence', British Journal of Nutrition · 2008 · DOI 10.1017/S0007114508006818
Ferritin and iron studies
Iron status
Reads Iron status · 1 formula on this site modulates it
You want it adequate, not high: low stores are a documented cause of fatigue in some people and demonstrably not in others — see the conditional before…
Where it should sit: below 15 ng/mL
“WHO: in apparently healthy adults aged 20-59 years, a serum or plasma ferritin concentration below 15 µg/L indicates iron deficiency.”
WHO guideline on use of ferritin concentrations to assess iron status in individuals and populations (World Health Organization, Geneva) · 2020 · The document
Homocysteine
The Fork In The Road
Reads Homocysteine · 1 formula on this site modulates it
The same Molecule Feeds Methylation or Antioxidant Defense, and b-vitamin Status Decides Which.
Where it should sit: below 12 µmol/L
“For adults aged 15-65 years in a folate-supplemented or folate-fortified population, the upper reference limit for fasting total homocysteine is 12 umol/L.”
Homocysteine expert panel (Refsum et al.), 'Facts and Recommendations about Total Homocysteine Determinations: An Expert Opinion', Clinical Chemistry · 2004 · DOI 10.1373/clinchem.2003.021634
Folate and B12 (one-carbon)
One-carbon metabolism
Reads One-carbon metabolism · 1 formula on this site modulates it
The route from a vitamin to an epigenetic mark. Folate, B12 and B6 feed this cycle; the cycle supplies the methyl groups that DNA methylation runs on.
Where it should sit: below 10.0 nmol/L
“WHO defines folate deficiency on the metabolic (homocysteine) indicator as "serum or plasma folate lower than 4 ng/mL (10 nmol/L)", for all age groups.”
World Health Organization, eCatalogue of indicators for micronutrient programmes - folate status as measured by serum or plasma folate, citing WHO Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information System, Serum and red blood cell folate concentrations for assessing folate status in populations (WHO/NMH/NHD/EPG/15.01) · 2015 · The document
Albumin
Blood protein status
Reads Blood protein status · 1 formula on this site modulates it
You want enough of it arriving. Fatty acids do not dissolve in blood; they travel bound.
Where it should sit: 36–48 g/L
“Serum albumin, ages 18-39: 36-48 g/L, from the Nordic Reference Interval Project; the published table carries no sex stratification for albumin.”
Nordic Reference Interval Project (NORIP), reported by Simonsson P, Mårtensson A, Rustad P · 2004 · The document
1 marker
Blood pressure
The Wall Pressure
Reads Blood pressure · 3 formulas on this site modulate it
This is a measurement, and the direction is only true within range: you want it out of the raised band, not as low as possible.
Where it should sit: below 120 mm Hg systolic
“NORMAL blood pressure is less than 120 mm Hg systolic AND less than 80 mm Hg diastolic.”
2025 AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults, Circulation 152(11):e114-e218 · 2025 · DOI 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001356
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This is not medical advice and nothing here diagnoses, treats, cures or prevents any disease. A reference band is a population statistic, not a verdict on you — read yours with your clinician.