Metabolic Health

Folates function as cofactors in the transfer and utilization of one carbon groups. These reactions are essential for the production of purines and pyrimidines for DNA synthesis. Folates also play a major role in the regeneration of methionine from homocysteine. In pregnancy, poor body stores of folates may lead to neural tube defects, such as spina bifida.

The adiponectin blood test determines the levels of adiponectin in blood. It is used to diagnose metabolic disorders such as Type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin is a hormone that is released from fat cells and will help to control the inflammation of tissue. The hormone will also boost insulin sensitivity and increases the breakdown of fatty acid in the liver. This process will, in turn, decrease the manufacturing of glucose by the liver. A low result might suggest Type 2 diabetes mellitus or metabolic syndrome. 

This test is useful in the management of patients with relatively early diabetes mellitus to assist in avoiding or delaying the onset of diabetic renal disease.

Albumin/Creatinine Ratio is the first method of preference to detect elevated protein. The recommended method to evaluate albuminuria is to measure the Albumin/Creatinine Ratio in a spot urine sample.

Thyroglobulin antibodies are antibodies that recognize and bind to thyroglobulin, interfering with its function. Thyroglobulin is critical for thyroid hormone production, so thyroglobulin antibodies usually indicate thyroid disease.

Other names: insulin C-peptide, connecting peptide insulin, proinsulin C-peptide

C-peptide is a substance made in the pancreas, along with insulin.

What is insulin?

Insulin is a hormone that controls the body's glucose (blood sugar) levels. Glucose is your body's main source of energy. If your body doesn't make the right amount of insulin, it may be a sign of diabetes.

Ceruloplasmin is a copper-containing enzyme that plays a role in the body's iron metabolism. This test measures the amount of ceruloplasmin in the blood.

Cyclic AMP (Cyclic adenosine-3′-5′-monophosphate) serves as a 2nd messenger in signal transmission of many hormones, such as adrenaline, ACTH, LH, FSH, glucagon, and calcitonin.

Dihydrotestosterone is a hormone that stimulates the development of male characteristics

Your estimated Average Glucose (eAG) number is calculated from the result of your A1c test. Like the A1c, the eAG shows what your average blood sugars have been over the previous 2 to 3 months, but instead of a percentage, the eAG is in the same units (mg/dl) as your blood glucose meter.

The free androgen index is a measure of the biologically active testosterone in the blood. It is a ratio of the total testosterone to the level of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).

Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone in humans. A healthcare professional may order a free testosterone blood test if you’re experiencing sexual problems or a secondary condition, like hyperthyroidism, is suspected.  

Although Testosterone is generally viewed as a male-only hormone, women’s ovaries also make small amounts of testosterone. It helps many organs and body processes in women. Free testosterone and albumin-bound testosterone are also referred to as bioavailable testosterone. This is the testosterone that is easily used by your body.

Although Testosterone is generally viewed as a male-only hormone, women’s ovaries also make small amounts of testosterone. It helps many organs and body processes in women. Free testosterone and albumin-bound testosterone are also referred to as bioavailable testosterone. This is the testosterone that is easily used by your body.

Thyroxine is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland. The term “free thyroxine” means the measured thyroxine that is not bound to proteins in the blood.

Free thyroxine index is considered to be a reliable indicator of thyroid status in the presence of abnormalities in plasma protein binding. The free thyroxine index has generally been replaced by Free Thyroxine in the assessment of thyroid function, but is occasionally useful when a free T4 result is suspected of being anomalous.

Fructosamine is found in the plasma of both normal and diabetic individuals. “Fructosamine” is the term used to describe proteins that have been glycated (ie, are derivatives of the nonenzymatic reaction product of glucose and albumin). It has been advocated as an alternative test to hemoglobin A1c for the monitoring of long-term diabetic control. Fructosamine and hemoglobin A1c do not measure exactly the same thing, since fructosamine has a shorter half-life and appears to be more sensitive to short-term variations in glucose levels; however, this is not necessarily a disadvantage. Fructosamine is clearly superior in patients with abnormal hemoglobins because of the interference of abnormal hemoglobins in the anion-exchange chromatography methods for Hb A1c. Published reference interval for apparently healthy subjects between age 20 and 60 is 205−285 μmol/L and in a poorly-controlled diabetic population is 228−563 μmol/L with a mean of 396 μmol/L.

What is Glucose?

A blood sugar test measures the amount of a sugar called glucose in a sample of your blood. Glucose (also known as blood sugar) is a major source of energy for most cells of the body, including brain cells. Glucose is a building block for carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are found in fruit, cereal, bread, pasta, and rice. Carbohydrates are quickly turned into glucose in your body. This can raise your blood glucose level. A hormone called insulin helps move glucose from your bloodstream into your cells. Elevated fasting blood glucose is often a sign of Type 2 diabetes. Very high glucose levels, whether fasting or not, usually indicate Type 1 diabetes.

Glucose is often part of a regular blood test called the comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP).

Glutamic acid decarboxylase is an enzyme found in brain and pancreas that converts glutamic acid (glutamate) into GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter. The glutamic acid decarboxylase test is a test that looks for antibodies directed against the glutamic acid decarboxylase enzyme.

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is the percentage of hemoglobin molecules with attached glucose molecules. HbA1c is an accurate means to estimate the average blood glucose over the preceding 3 months. 

Homocysteine is an amino acid that requires vitamin B12 and folate to be used by our bodies. As such, homocysteine blood tests are often ordered to identify vitamin B12 / folate deficiency.

Rarely, an abnormally high level of homocysteine indicates a rare genetic disorder called homocystinuria.

Insulin is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body, and its primary function is to facilitate the absorption of glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body (muscular and fat), as well as the liver. 

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When insulin enters your bloodstream, it helps cells throughout your body to absorb glucose.

Insulin allows your body to:

- Use glucose from the food that you eat for energy; and

- Store glucose for future use.

The anti-insulin antibody test checks to see if your body has produced antibodies against insulin.

Antibodies are proteins the body produces to protect itself when it detects anything "foreign," such as a virus or transplanted organ.

Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) is a hormone that is similar in structure to insulin and works with Growth Hormone to reproduce and regenerate cells.

Growth Hormone, made by the pituitary gland, stimulates the liver to produce IGF-1 and IGF-1 subsequently stimulates growth in cells throughout the body, leading to growth and development (as in the womb and through adolescence), strengthening of tissues (improving bone density, building muscle), and healing (skin, bones, gut lining, etc.), depending on what the body needs. 

Iodine is an essential element that is required for thyroid hormone production.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) helps the body maintain stable levels of calcium in the blood. It is part of a feedback loop that includes calcium, PTH, vitamin D, and, to some extent, phosphorus (phosphate) and magnesium. Conditions and diseases that disrupt this feedback loop can cause inappropriate elevations or decreases in calcium and PTH levels and lead to symptoms of hypercalcemia or hypocalcemia.

Pregnenolone is a chemical substance that is a precursor to all steroid hormones.

Reverse T3 is a biologically inactive thyroid hormone; however, it does block the conversion of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3). Higher levels of reverse T3 can decrease the effect of thyroid hormone.

Sex hormone-binding globulin is a protein that binds primarily to testosterone, making it biologically unusable by our bodies. For this reason, an abnormal level of SHBG indicates that too much or too little testosterone is present in the tissues. In men, this can cause sexual issues like erectile dysfunction or infertility. In women, it can cause irregular menstruation or excess facial hair growth. A healthcare professional may order a SHBG test when total testosterone levels do not fit with one or more of the above-mentioned symptoms.

What are normal SHBG levels?
The normal ranges for SHBG concentrations in adults are:

Males: 10 to 57 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L)
Females (nonpregnant): 18 to 144 nmol/L

Men typically have lower SHBG levels than women. However, a man’s SHBG level will usually increase with age as his testosterone levels drop.

Pregnancy usually raises SHBG levels. They typically return to normal after childbirth.

Triiodothyronine or T3 is the most biologically active thyroid hormone in humans. The term “free T3” means the amount of T3 that is not bound to proteins in the blood.

Thyroxine or T4 is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland. The term “free T4” means measured T4 that is not bound to proteins in the blood.

Thyroxine (T4) is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland. It is sometimes called total thyroxine because it includes both free T4 and T4 bound to proteins.

The T7 Index is used to calculate Free T4, one of the two active thyroid hormones in your bloodstream.

Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone in humans. Testosterone blood tests can assess testosterone that is bound to a protein, testosterone that is free in the blood, or both. A healthcare professional may order any of these tests if you’re experiencing sexual or hormonal problems.

Testosterone is a male sex hormone or androgen. It is generally low in women and children, but it can be elevated in certain diseases. A certain level of testosterone is important for development and maturation in both genders.

Testosterone is a male sex hormone produced in a woman’s ovaries in small amounts as well. Combined with estrogen, the female sex hormone, testosterone helps with the growth, maintenance, and repair of a woman’s reproductive tissues, bone mass, and human behaviors.

Thyroglobulin is the protein precursor of thyroid hormone and is made by normal well differentiated benign thyroid cells or thyroid cancer cells.

Thyroglobulin antibodies are antibodies that recognize and bind to thyroglobulin, interfering with its function. Thyroglobulin is critical for thyroid hormone production, so thyroglobulin antibodies usually indicate thyroid disease.

Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) is an enzyme that is critical for to thyroid hormone synthesis in the thyroid gland. Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies bind to and block the action of TPO, resulting in decreases in thyroid hormone levels. The presence of TPO antibodies in the blood is abnormal and usually indicates thyroid disease. The thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies test is usually ordered after thyroid abnormalities have been detected with some other type of testing, such as TSH and free T4. It is usually ordered with thyroglobulin antibody testing.

The measurement of thyroid stimulating autoantibodies, in conjunction with other clinical and laboratory findings, is used as an aid in the diagnosis of patients suspected of having Graves' disease.

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is one of the most important hormones currently used to diagnose thyroid abnormalities. This glycoprotein is secreted by the pituitary and stimulates release of thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) from the thyroid gland.

TSH release from the pituitary is controlled by thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation and negative feedback from free T3 and free T4.

Thyroid-binding globulin (TBG) is produced in the liver and is the primary circulating (transport) protein that binds thyroid hormones3,5,3’-triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) and carries them in the bloodstream.

TMAO (trimethylamine-N-oxide) is a metabolite derived from gut bacteria. This test can powerfully predict future risk for heart attack, stroke, and death in people who appear otherwise healthy.

TMAO is a compound produced by the liver after intestinal bacteria digest certain nutrients: L-carnitine (found in red meat) and lecithin (found in egg yolks, meats and full-fat dairy products). Lecithin is also pumped into the intestines as a component of bile, so all individuals, regardless of diet, feed their gut microbes lecithin and have potential for elevated levels of TMAO.

Triiodothyronine or T3 is the most biologically active thyroid hormone in humans. It is called total T3 because it includes both free T3 and T3 bound to proteins.

T3 Uptake - T3 Uptake (T3U) is used with measurement of Thyroxine (T4) to calculate the Free T4 Index. The calculated Free T4 is useful in the assessment of thyroid diseases. Elevations are associated with Hyperthyroidism or Thyroid Hormone Resistance whereas low concentrations are associated with Hypothyroidism.

Triiodothyronine (T3) is the most biologically active thyroid hormone in humans. It is sometimes called total triiodothyronine because it includes both free triiodothyronine and triiodothyronine bound to proteins.