Understanding lab results

Make sense of your bloodwork at home — what the markers mean and how to track them over time.

How often should you get blood work done?

How often to get blood work by age, sex, risk factors, medications, and goals — which panels and how often, why the trend beats any single reading, and what to do with an abnormal result.

What causes high ferritin?

High ferritin doesn't always mean iron overload — most often it's inflammation. The real causes of high ferritin, how doctors tell them apart, and when to worry.

At-home blood testing: a 2026 guide

How at-home blood testing works in 2026, what you can and can't measure, finger-prick vs venous draws, accuracy, and how to actually make sense of your results over time.

Evidence-based ways to lower LDL cholesterol — the diet and lifestyle changes that actually move it, how much and how fast, when medication matters, and why tracking your LDL trend over time is what proves it's working.

What your creatinine and eGFR mean

A plain-English guide to creatinine and eGFR on your blood test: what they measure, typical ranges, the eGFR G-stages, why muscle mass and hydration skew the numbers, where urine albumin (ACR) and cystatin C fit, and why the trend beats any single reading.

Albumin & ALP: the rest of your metabolic panel

What albumin and ALP (alkaline phosphatase) measure on a comprehensive metabolic panel, what high and low values commonly point to, and how they are read together with your other liver and kidney markers. Educational, not diagnostic.

How to track your lab results over time

Learn how to track lab results over time, organise numbers from different labs, and read trends instead of single readings — including which markers to trend and how to compare labs — privately, on your own device.

What HDL, LDL, TSH and CBC actually mean

What do lab result abbreviations mean? A plain-language decoder for HDL, LDL, TSH, CBC, HbA1c, CRP and the other common blood test markers — what each measures, why it's ordered, and how to read it against your lab's range.

What your HbA1c means

A plain-English guide to the HbA1c blood test (A1C / glycated haemoglobin): what it measures, how it maps to average blood sugar (eAG), the normal, prediabetes and diabetes ranges in both % and mmol/mol, what falsely raises or lowers it, why targets are individual, and why the trend matters.

What your TSH level means

A plain-English guide to the TSH thyroid test: what it measures, typical ranges, and what high TSH (hypothyroidism) and low TSH (hyperthyroidism) mean — plus free T4/T3, TPO antibodies, pregnancy, biotin interference, and why tracking it over time matters.

What your fasting glucose means

A plain-English guide to the fasting glucose (fasting blood sugar) test: normal, prediabetes and diabetes ranges in mg/dL and mmol/L, what raises or lowers a reading, how insulin resistance fits in, and how it compares to HbA1c and the OGTT.

What your cortisol level means

A plain-English guide to the cortisol test: what it measures, normal morning and evening ranges in µg/dL and nmol/L, what high (Cushing's) and low (Addison's) cortisol mean, the different test types (serum, salivary, urine, suppression and stimulation), and why timing and method matter.

What your bilirubin level means

A plain-English guide to the bilirubin blood test: total, direct and indirect bilirubin, normal ranges in mg/dL and µmol/L, what high bilirubin (jaundice, Gilbert's syndrome, hemolysis, liver and bile-duct problems) means, how it's read with ALT/AST/ALP/GGT, and when to worry.

What your vitamin B12 level means

A plain-English guide to the vitamin B12 blood test: what low, normal and high mean, why borderline results need context, and how active B12, MMA and homocysteine confirm a true deficiency.

What your vitamin D level means

A plain-English guide to the vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) blood test: what it measures, deficient/insufficient/sufficient ranges in ng/mL and nmol/L, what causes low levels, how it's read alongside calcium and PTH, and why the yearly trend matters.

What your ferritin level means

A plain-English guide to ferritin on your blood test: what it measures, why inflammation can raise it and mask iron deficiency, typical ranges, what high and low ferritin mean, how it's read with transferrin saturation and CRP, and why the trend matters.

What your uric acid level means

A plain-English guide to the uric acid blood test: normal ranges in mg/dL and µmol/L, what high uric acid (hyperuricemia) means, its link to gout, kidney stones, what drives it up or down, dietary levers, and when medication is considered.

What high triglycerides mean

A plain-English guide to triglycerides: the normal, borderline-high, high and very-high ranges in mg/dL and mmol/L, what causes them to rise, the risks, the lifestyle levers that lower them, and how they fit with HDL, LDL and the metabolic picture.

High ALT & AST (elevated liver enzymes): what they mean

What high ALT and AST mean on a blood test: typical ranges, common causes (fatty liver, alcohol, medications), the AST/ALT ratio, where GGT and ALP fit, and when to worry. Also written ALAT/ASAT or SGPT/SGOT.

Low hemoglobin and anemia

A plain-English guide to hemoglobin and the CBC red-cell indices (Hb, hematocrit, RBC, MCV, MCH, RDW): what they measure, normal ranges for men and women in g/dL and g/L, what low hemoglobin and anemia mean, how MCV classifies the type, the symptoms, and how it links to ferritin, iron, and B12.

How to read your blood test results

A plain-English guide to reading your blood test results: how to read a lab report, what a reference range really means, why units differ, and why patterns and trends matter more than one flagged line.

What your MCV blood test means

A plain-English guide to MCV (mean corpuscular volume): what it measures, the normal range, what specific values like 100 or 80 mean, why MCV is read alongside RDW, and when a high or low MCV is worth attention.

What your RDW blood test means

A plain-English guide to RDW (red cell distribution width): what it measures, the normal range, what specific values like 14.5 or 15 mean, why RDW is read alongside MCV, and when a high RDW is worth attention.

Understanding your CBC: what the combinations mean

A plain-English guide to the complete blood count — the three cell lines (red cells, white cells, platelets), what each value can suggest, and how to read combinations like low MCV + low MCH or high WBC with low RBC as a whole. Educational, not diagnostic.