Lab Tests I Track
Cardiovascular and kidney health are two of the most important areas in health in terms of the scale of mortality. Also, they are easily trackable and you can slow down the disease progression by quite a lot through supplements and lifestyle. I can feel amazing, but you don’t necessarily feel that you are getting cardiovascular or kidney disease.
Most of the time, people only find out very late in their development. For example, 9/10 people with kidney disease don’t know they have it – and 1/7 adults in the US have it.
This list is not exhaustive, but these are the tests that I like to measure more often – ideally every 4 months.
Make sure to check this post on 10 essential blood tests to get.
General Health:
- Weight
- VO2 max for general fitness
- Bone density (DEXA)
- Fat percentage (DEXA)
- Muscle percentage (DEXA)
- Visceral fat percentage (DEXA)
- Blood Pressure
- HRV – Oura
- Heart rate – Apple watch
- Sleep length
- REM Sleep
- Deep Sleep
- Apneas
- Oxygen %
- Urinary pH
- Ketones
Complete Blood Count (CBC):
- WBC
- Neutrophil
- Lymphocyte
- Lymphocyte %
- Monocyte
- Monocyte %
- Eosinophil
- Basophil
- RBCs
- Hemoglobin
- Hematocrit
- RDW
- MCH
- MCHC
- MCV
- Platelets
Glucose control/insulin sensitivity:
- Fasting Glucose
- HbA1C
- Insulin
- C Peptide
- Fructosamine
- Alpha-aminoadipic acid
- Alpha-aminobutyric acid (AABA)
Blood minerals:
- Calcium (CMP)
- Potassium (CMP)
- Sodium (CMP)
- Chloride (CMP)
- Iron, TIBC
- Ferritin
- Phosphorous
Inflammation/Immunity:
- Hs-CRP
- Ferritin
- ESR
- IgE
- IgA
- IgG
- IgM
- IgG4 Subclass
- Complement C3
- Complement C4
- Food IgG antigens
- IgE antigens
- CH50
- D-Dimer
- Troponin
- Kynurenine-to-Tryptophan ratio
Cardiovascular/Lipids/Lipoproteins
- Triglycerides
- LP(A)/Lipoprotein(a)
- APOB
- APOA1
- LDL-C
- VLDL
- HDL-C
- LDL particle number and size
- LP-PLA2
- Homocysteine
- Prothrombin Time
- Coronary CT Calcium Scan
- Fibrinogen
- Von – Willebrand Antigen
- Factor VIII Activity
- TMAO
- ADMA (Asymmetric dimethylarginine)
- Homoarginine
- Succinate
- Carnitine
- Ceramide 18
- Choline-to-betaine ratio
Cognitive:
- Acetylcarnitine
- Indoxyl sulfate
- Glycolithocholic acid
- Glycodeoxycholic acid
Gut Health:
- Indole Proprpionic Acid
- DCA (Deoxycholic acid)
Hormones:
- Total Testosterone
- Free Testosterone
- DHT
- DHEAS
- DHEA
- SHBG
- Estradiol
- Free T3
- Total T3
- Total T4
- Free T4
- TSH
- Cortisol
- IGF1
- PTH (Parathyroid hormone)
- LH
- FSH
- Aldosterone
- Progesterone
- Prolactin
- 17-Hydroxyprogesterone
- Androstenedione
- Corticosterone
- Deoxycortisol
Kidney:
- Cystatin C
- BUN/Urea (CMP)
- Creatinine (CMP)
- eGFR (CMP)
- CO2 (CMP)
- Uric Acid
- p-Cresol Sulfate
- Indoxyl Sulfate
- SDMA
Urine:
- Creatinine
- pH
- Epithelial Cells
- Protein
- Albumin
- Microalbumin
- WBCs
- Bacteria
- Crystals
- Bilirubin
- Ketones
- Glucose
- Blood
- Nitrite
Liver:
- GGT
- Total protein (CMP)
- Albumin (CMP)
- Globulin (CMP)
- ALT (CMP)
- AST (CMP)
- Alkaline Phosphatase (CMP)
- Bilirubin
- LDH
- Ammonia
- Glycocholic acid
Pancreas:
- Amylase
- Lipase
Nutrients (serum):
- Magnesium
- Zinc
- Copper
- Selenium
- Chromium
- Manganese
- Vanadium
- Strontium
- Molybdenum
- B1/Thiamine
- B2/Riboflavin
- B3/Nicotinic Acid
- B5
- B7/Biotin
- B9/Folate
- B12
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin C
- Iodine
- Ceruloplasmin
- Methylmalonic acid (for B12)
- Choline
Heavy Metals/Toxins:
- Lead
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Mercury
- Aluminum
- Tin
- Antimony
- Nickel
- Thallium
- Uranium
- Cesium
- Silver
- Beryllium
- Barium
- Bismuth
Muscle Damage/Recovery:
- Uric acid
- Ornithine
- 3-Methylhistidine
- Creatine Kinase
- CK-MB
- LDH
Fatty Acids:
- EPA
- DHA
- Arachidonic acid
- GLA
- DGLA
- ALA
- Linoleic acid
- Oleic acid
- Palmitic acid
- Palmitoleic acid
- Stearic acid
- Myristic acid
Amino Acids:
- Alanine
- Anserine
- Arginine
- Asparagine
- Argininosuccinic acid
- Aspartic Acid
- Beta alanine
- Beta-Aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA)
- Citrulline
- Cystathionine
- Cystine
- GABA
- Glutamine
- Glutamic acid
- Glycine
- Histidine
- Hydroxylysine
- Hydroxyproline
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Proline
- Sarcosine
- Serine
- Threonine
- Tryptophan
- Tyrosine
- Valine
- Taurine
- Carnosine
- N-Methylhistidine
- 1-Methylhistidine
Autoimmune:
- Anti-Tg
- ANA
- Anti-CCP
- Rheumatoid factor
- Anti-TPO
- Gliadin IgG
- Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) Antibody (IgG)
- Endomysial IgG
Infections:
- Lyme IgG/IgM
- EBV IgG/IgM
- CMV IgG
STDs:
- Chlamydia
- Gonorrhea
- Syphilis
- Hep B
- Hep C
- HSV 1 & 2
- HIV
Aging Tests
- DunedinPace
- GlycanAge
- NAD Levels
- Spermidune
- Trigonelline
Cancer/Tumor Markers:
- Grail cancer cell blood test
- Whole body MRI
- AFP
- Beta HCG
- CA19.9
- CEA
- PSA
- Free PSA
Fertility:
- Sperm count
- Sperm volume
- Sperm motility
Oxidative Stress:
- GGT
- Hypoxanthine-to-Xanthine ratio
Bone Health:
- Bone mass & Density (DEXA)
- trans-Hydroxyproline
Qualitative Measures That I Track
I keep a close eye on these metrics, many of which are qualitative, but I am still quite aware of all of these.
Sleep quality
- Time it takes to fall asleep
- Number of midnight wakings
- Waking up feeling refreshed
Cognitive function
- Reasoning – my day involves a lot of reasoning
- Reading comprehension – my day involves a lot of reading comprehension
- Verbal ability (including number of filler words used)
- Attention – I need to be focused in the day
- Alertness
- Working memory (including keeping track of volleyball scores)
- Long Term Memory – I am required to memorize a lot of information
Mood
- General mood
- Anxiety
- Stress tolerance
- Insecurity
- Negative thoughts
- Anxious behaviors – including how much I fiddle with hair, nails, eyebrows, lip biting, etc…)
Energy
- Energy levels
- Motivation
- Sex drive
- Exercise tolerance
- Exercise performance
- Stamina
- Recovery
Gut health
- Bloating
Other
- Frequency of infections or feeling close to getting one and recovery length
- White hairs
- Wrinkles
