Summary
Dagmara Beine argues that “normal” lab ranges reflect a sick population, not optimal health. She outlines the standard testing protocol she runs on every patient to detect dysfunction before it becomes clinically apparent disease. This preventive approach uses comprehensive biomarkers to optimize health rather than wait for pathology to appear.
Complete Lab Testing Checklist
Metabolic Health
- Fasting Insulin — optimal: under 5 mIU/L
- HgA1c — optimal: under 5.3%
- Fasting Glucose — optimal: under 90 mg/dL
- IGF-1 — optimal: under 100 ng/mL
Thyroid Panel
- TSH — optimal: 1.0-2.5 mIU/L
- Free T4 — optimal: 1.0-1.5 ng/dL
- Free T3 — optimal: 3.0-4.0 pg/mL
- Reverse T3 — optimal: under 15 ng/dL
- TPO Antibodies — optimal: under 9 IU/mL
- TG Antibodies — optimal: under 9 IU/mL
Inflammation Markers
- hs-CRP — optimal: under 1.0 mg/L
- ESR — optimal: under 10 mm/hr
- Homocysteine — optimal: under 7 µmol/L
- LDH — optimal: under 175 U/L
Cardiovascular & Lipids
- Triglyceride/HDL Ratio — optimal: under 2
- ApoB/ApoA-1 Ratio — optimal: under 0.6
- Lipoprotein(a) — optimal: under 30 mg/dL
- HDL — optimal: over 60 mg/dL
- Triglycerides — optimal: under 80 mg/dL
Micronutrients
- Vitamin D3 — optimal: 50-80 ng/mL
- Ferritin — optimal: 50-100 ng/mL
- Vitamin B12 — optimal: over 700 pg/mL
- Folate — optimal: over 10 ng/mL
- RBC Magnesium — optimal: 5.0-6.5 mg/dL
- Zinc — optimal: 90-110 µg/dL
- Copper — optimal: 85-115 µg/dL
Liver & Detoxification
- GGT — optimal: under 15 U/L
- ALT — optimal: under 25 U/L
- AST — optimal: under 25 U/L
- Uric Acid — optimal: 3.0-5.5 mg/dL
Complete Blood Count & Basic Metabolics
- Hemoglobin
- Hematocrit
- WBC
- Platelets
- Albumin
- eGFR
Hormones
- DUTCH test (recommended for comprehensive hormone profiling)
- Estradiol
- Progesterone
- Testosterone variants
- DHEA-S
- Morning Cortisol
Key Insight
The distinction between “normal” (what most people have) and “optimal” (what indicates true health) is critical. Many people with lab values in the “normal” range are still experiencing subclinical dysfunction that could benefit from optimization.
Links
- The Labs I Run on Every Patient — Dagmara Beine’s complete guide to preventive lab testing and optimal biomarker ranges