No matter your age, gender, or wellness goals, tracking your blood biomarkers can help you optimize your health and fitness while avoiding chronic illnesses.
Everybody has a unique response to exercise, nutrition, sleep, and stress. That’s why two people who follow the same wellness and nutrition plan may experience different results.
Because no two bodies are exactly alike, biomarker testing can unlock hyper-personalized recommendations based on the optimization of your health, performance, recovery, longevity, and wellbeing. Using a simple at-home test to monitor your biomarkers—and following a custom plan to improve them—is a powerful way to transform your body over time and avoid chronic illness and injury.
In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about blood biomarker monitoring and its benefits.
What are biomarkers?
Biomarker (short for “biological marker”) is an umbrella term that covers a broad range of different biological indicators all of which give you a snapshot of what’s going on inside your body. Biomarkers act as a benchmark to your internal health as well as an indicator of potential underlying disease threats. Examples of biomarkers include blood pressure, heart rate, metabolism, body composition, antibodies, hormones, muscle mass, aerobic capacity, and body temperature.
Biomarker testing—also known as molecular, genomic, or genetic testing—is a genome-based nutrition and wellness analysis that tracks key indicators to reveal deep insights into your general health. With this handy diagnostic tool, you can better understand and identify connections between genetic variations in your DNA and your body’s predisposition to nutrition, fitness, allergies, sleep, and even skincare.
How biomarker testing works
Today, biomarker tests can be performed with a quick, easy, self-administered at-home finger-prick—no visit to a lab or doctor’s office necessary.
Typically, biomarker tests come with a kit featuring step-by-step instructions on how to collect your blood sample with a prick of your finger. You then mail your samples to a lab to be tested.
The biomarkers analyzed may vary from test to test. Below, we’ve listed and defined examples of key biomarkers:
HDL Cholesterol: Often referred to as the “good” cholesterol, your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels should be high. A low level of HDL cholesterol could indicate an increased risk of heart disease.
LDL Cholesterol: Sometimes called the “bad” cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) could signal a risk of heart disease when found in higher-than-average levels.
Cholesterol/HDL Ratio: This is the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol in your body. A ratio of less than 5.0 indicates a lower risk of heart disease, and the optimal level is 3.5.
Triglycerides: These are fats made up of fatty acids and glycerol that travel from your liver to other parts of the body. Your level of triglycerides reveals how effectively your body processes the fat you eat.
Glucose (blood sugar): The primary source of energy for your body’s cells, glucose—otherwise known as blood sugar—is regulated by insulin and other hormones in your body. Glucose levels outside the optimal range could indicate a risk for conditions like diabetes and hypoglycemia.
Hemoglobin A1c: This tells you the average amount of glucose blood sugar in your body for the past few months. High levels of hemoglobin A1c levels indicate the presence or increased risk of diabetes.
HS-CRP: Highly sensitive C-reactive protein (HS-CRP) are fatty deposits created by the liver in response to tissue injury, inflammation, or infection. Elevated levels of CRP can indicate a risk of atherosclerotic heart disease and heart attack.
In addition to a detailed, easy-to-understand chart of your biomarker values, many results will also provide an in-depth analysis of what it all means. Your report may include a practical explanation of how different biomarkers are affecting your fitness, nutrition, sleep, stress, and mood. It may also reveal how your nutrition profile compares to clinical guidelines for individuals of your age group and activity level.
Pulling data from your biomarker test, your test results may also deliver a custom-designed nutrition and fitness program with recommendations for food, exercise, and lifestyle actions to take to improve your biomarker levels. By bringing biomarker levels to your personalized, optimal zone, you can improve your health, performance, and longevity beyond what you could achieve in the average range.
Benefits of biomarker monitoring
Whether you are young or old, diligent about fitness and health or simply trying to stay healthy, you can benefit from routine biomarker monitoring. That means testing your biomarkers not once but at regular intervals.
Why is routine monitoring important? Biomarkers are continually changing due to shifts in your diet, activity, and lifestyle habits. Your biomarker test only reveals a snapshot of your current health level in that moment. Instead of relying on old, outdated results, it’s essential to refresh your results three to four times per year.
Need more convincing? Here are some of the benefits of testing your biomarkers at regular intervals:
You can track your progress. Monitoring your biomarkers over time lets you compare current levels to past assessments. By tracking changes in your biomarker levels over time, you can measure the effectiveness of the nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle actions you are taking.
You’ll know when to abandon ineffective strategies. When collected over time, multiple biomarker results will reveal whether the actions you take are making an impact. By identifying the actions that aren’t working for you, you’ll know when it’s time to abandon a strategy and try a new approach.
You’ll spot warning signs. By regularly monitoring your biomarkers, you can spot warning signs—like high levels of LDL cholesterol or hemoglobin A1c. By catching such problems, you can keep them from growing into chronic illnesses down the road.
You can see how far you have to go. Routine biomarker testing keeps you informed on how close you are to hitting your biomarker targets. Your result will reveal how far you are from reaching your goal so you can develop a realistic, time-bound training and/or nutrition plan.
You get the most up-to-date recommendations. The fields of science and medicine are constantly advancing. By having your biomarkers tested regularly, you can get the most up-to-date, relevant, and actionable recommendations from your test administrators.
If you’re curious about your baseline numbers or interested in optimizing your health, fitness, and mood with the help of biomarker data, start your journey with an at-home biomarker test for general health, athletic performance, or a comprehensive blood panel.
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