How to read your own blood test results

You finally got your bloodwork done.

You wait for the results. You open the portal…
And then what?

A list of acronyms, numbers, and ranges — with a final note:
“Everything looks normal.”

But you don’t feel normal. You’re still tired, foggy, bloated, inflamed, or stuck in the same cycles you were hoping labs would explain.

Here’s the truth: most standard bloodwork only scratches the surface — and “normal” doesn’t mean optimal.
At YFS (Your Form Sux), we teach our clients how to read between the lines and use their labs as a roadmap to real answers.

📄 First: What Are You Even Looking At?

Here are some of the most common blood markers that show up in a standard lab panel — and what they actually tell you when read through a functional lens:

🔋 Energy & Fatigue Markers

• Ferritin (Iron Storage)
  Standard range: 12–150 ng/mL
  Optimal range (functional): 70–100 ng/mL for most active people
  Low ferritin = chronic fatigue, brain fog, poor recovery.
• Vitamin B12
  Standard range: 138–652 pmol/L
  Optimal range: 500–800 pmol/L
  Impacts energy, focus, mood, and nerve health. Low-normal = subclinical deficiency.
• Vitamin D (25-Hydroxy D)
  Standard range: 75–250 nmol/L
  Optimal range: 100–150 nmol/L
  Too low = low immunity, poor recovery, mood dips.

💪 Metabolic & Blood Sugar Health

• Fasting Glucose
  Standard: <6.0 mmol/L
  Optimal: 4.5–5.2 mmol/L
  Higher levels suggest poor insulin regulation.
• Fasting Insulin
  Optimal: 3–8 µIU/mL
  Often skipped — but crucial to detect early insulin resistance.
• HOMA-IR
  Calculates insulin sensitivity. Rarely flagged but essential.

🧠 Inflammation & Stress

• hs-CRP
  Optimal: <1.0 mg/L
  Marker for chronic inflammation.
• Cortisol
  Usually not in standard labs.
  We use cortisol curves to evaluate stress/fatigue patterns.

🩸 Thyroid Function

• TSH
  Standard: 0.4–4.0 mIU/L
  Optimal: 1.0–2.0 mIU/L
• Free T3 & Free T4
  Needed for a full picture of thyroid health. Not just TSH.
• Reverse T3 / Thyroid Antibodies (TPO, TGAb)
  Essential for unresolved fatigue, anxiety, or unexplained thyroid issues.

🧪 What Standard Tests Often Miss

Standard panels usually skip:

• Insulin
• Free hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone)
• Nutrient markers (magnesium, zinc, CoQ10)
• Cortisol curves
• Full thyroid panel
• Stool/gut testing
• Detox and inflammation markers

🔍 How to Read Your Labs Functionally (Not Just Statistically)

Conventional medicine: looks for disease.
Functional care: looks for dysfunction.

• We use tighter optimal ranges
• Track patterns, not just outliers
• Cross-reference with symptoms
• Go deeper when “normal” doesn’t match how you feel

👀 Warning Signs Hidden in “Normal” Labs

• Fatigue, anxiety, or bloating with “normal” B12 = subclinical deficiency
• Hair loss or cold extremities with “normal” TSH = thyroid dysfunction
• Good glucose but high insulin = early insulin resistance
• Low ferritin in range = fatigue + poor performance
• Single cortisol snapshot = meaningless without full curve

🙌 What We Do at YFS

• Functional review of existing labs
• Order deeper testing when needed
• Create personalized recovery or health plans
• Track progress through follow-ups
• Teach you how to interpret your own data

Bottom Line: Your Labs Are Talking — Are You Listening?

You don’t need a medical degree to understand your bloodwork.
You need someone to explain it, contextualize it, and help you act on it.

Book a functional lab review at YFS and let’s turn your numbers into a personalized action plan — not a dead-end PDF.