A deeper look at how your body handles blood sugar, cholesterol, and inflammation. Three systems that quietly shape how you feel today and how you age over time.
Stubborn weight that won't budge no matter what you try. Energy crashes in the afternoon. Belly fat that's new or harder to lose. Cravings that feel impossible to outrun. Labs that keep coming back "in range" even though something feels off. These are the patterns that often show up years before a conventional diagnosis, and they're the patterns this panel is designed to catch.
Metabolic health and inflammation are deeply connected. When blood sugar and insulin are quietly out of balance, inflammation tends to follow, and both contribute to cardiovascular risk, energy issues, weight changes, and how you feel day to day. This panel gives you a fuller picture than a standard cholesterol and A1c check, so you can see what's actually happening underneath the surface.
Anyone, men or women, who wants a proactive look at metabolic and cardiovascular health, especially if you're experiencing unexplained weight changes, energy dips, sugar cravings, or family history concerns.
It's also a smart choice for anyone whose standard labs keep coming back "normal" despite symptoms that suggest otherwise.
Standard bloodwork often catches metabolic problems only once they've progressed far enough to be obvious. This panel looks earlier, at markers like fasting insulin, which can rise years before blood sugar does, and hs-CRP and homocysteine, which reveal inflammatory and cardiovascular risk that standard cholesterol doesn't capture.
For women in their late 30s, 40s, and early 50s, this is especially important. As estrogen declines through perimenopause, women become more insulin resistant, belly fat becomes easier to gain and harder to lose, cholesterol numbers often rise, and inflammation can quietly increase. Many women are told their labs are "fine" at the exact moment their bodies are changing most.
Hemoglobin A1c. Your average blood sugar over the past three months. One of the most important markers for long-term metabolic health.
Fasting insulin. Often the earliest warning sign of insulin resistance, rising years before blood sugar itself starts to climb. Rarely ordered in conventional care, but deeply informative.
Lipid panel with LDL/HDL ratio. A full cholesterol picture, including the ratio between LDL and HDL, which is often more meaningful than any single cholesterol number alone.
Uric acid. Linked to metabolic health, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk. Elevated levels can signal insulin resistance and are associated with joint discomfort as well.
hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). A sensitive marker of low-grade, systemic inflammation. Useful for understanding cardiovascular risk and overall inflammatory burden.
Homocysteine. An amino acid that, when elevated, is linked to cardiovascular and cognitive risk. Often reflects underlying issues with B vitamins (B12, folate, B6) or methylation.
Numbers on a page are data, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Metabolic and inflammatory patterns often have multiple causes that a single lab result can't explain on its own.
If you'd like help understanding what your results mean, you have options.
For residents of Virginia, Maryland, DC, and Delaware, you can book an interpretation visit with Discreet Health for a clear, educational walk-through of your numbers.
If you live elsewhere, we recommend following up with a licensed clinician in your state.
If you're looking for a treatment plan or ongoing care beyond interpretation, that lives in our clinical programs (available only to residents of VA, MD, DC, and DE).
Fasting
This panel requires fasting for accurate results. Plan to fast for 8 to 12 hours before your draw. Water is fine. Morning appointments are ideal. Fasting is especially important for the lipid panel and fasting insulin results to be meaningful.
A dried urine test that measures sex hormones, adrenal hormones, and the metabolites your body produces as it processes them. Often chosen by women already on hormone therapy who want additional detail. We're upfront about where this test is useful and where blood work gives us more reliable answers.
A look at how your cortisol rises, falls, and settles across the day. Useful for understanding stress patterns, sleep issues, and HPA axis dysregulation when blood cortisol alone doesn't tell the full story.
A comprehensive stool test that identifies gut bacteria, yeast, parasites, and markers of digestion, inflammation, and intestinal barrier function. Often chosen by women investigating digestive symptoms or the gut-hormone connection.
A urine-based test that measures mycotoxins (toxic byproducts of mold) in your body. Often chosen by women with a history of water-damaged buildings or unexplained symptoms that haven't responded to other interventions.
An at-home test that uses DNA analysis to identify the bacteria, yeast, and organisms living in your vaginal microbiome. Often chosen by women with recurrent symptoms or those investigating the connection between hormones, the gut, and vaginal health.
Compassionate, evidence-based hormone health care for women, delivered through secure telemedicine.
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