- Adults due for diabetes screening based on age, weight, pregnancy history or risk
- People with symptoms, PCOS, metabolic syndrome or treatment monitoring needs
- Anyone using a result to guide nutrition, activity or clinical care
Standard of care
TEST PASSPORT · REVIEWED JULY 2026
Glucose, A1c + fasting insulin
Separate a current glucose snapshot from the longer A1c trend—and use insulin only in context.Fasting glucose and A1c are established diabetes tests. Fasting insulin can add metabolic context, but no single universal insulin cutoff diagnoses insulin resistance.
ACCESSLab drawVenous blood
TURNAROUNDOften 1–3 daysProvider and location dependent
RELATIVE COST$–$$Total downstream cost matters
COMMERCE STATUSPartner readyLab bundle with optional clinician review
HOW TO USE THIS PAGE
Decide whether this test deserves a place in your plan.
- 01Confirm the question
Be clear about what decision the result would change before ordering.
- 02Check fit and preparation
Review who it helps, who should pause and how to protect the quality of the signal.
- 03Plan the response
Know what you will do with a normal, abnormal or unclear result.
01 / WHO SHOULD TAKE IT
Fit the test to
the person.
Testing is useful when the result can change a real decision. These are educational selection criteria, not a diagnosis or personal order.- Diagnosing diabetes from a consumer CGM trace
- Calling a normal fasting insulin proof of complete metabolic health
02 / SIGNAL VS. STORY
What it tells you.
What it cannot.
01
Fasting plasma glucose at the time of the draw
02
A1c, an estimate of recent average glycemia
03
Fasting insulin as an optional context marker, sometimes combined with glucose estimates
01
A1c can be misleading with anemia, hemoglobin variants, pregnancy and altered red-cell turnover
02
Fasting insulin assays and thresholds vary
03
One result does not describe meal response, sleep, fitness or the cause of dysglycemia
03 / MARKERS + RANGES
Read the panel
without chasing flags.
The report should show its own method, units and laboratory reference interval. Clinical decision thresholds may be different from a lab interval. We do not invent a universal “optimal” range where authoritative guidance does not support one.Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
Use the laboratory unit and method, then interpret with symptoms, trend and the decision this marker can change.
MEN, WOMEN + LIFE-STAGE CONTEXT
The correct range is personal context—not pink versus blue numbers.
Where biology differs, we call it out. Clinical interpretation should also reflect organs present, hormone therapy, pregnancy, age, medications and health history.
PCOS, pregnancy and prior gestational diabetes change screening and interpretation; pregnancy uses specific pathways.
Waist pattern, sleep apnea and cardiometabolic risk can be important even when fasting glucose is not yet elevated.
04 / PREPARATION
Protect the quality
of the signal.
The best assay cannot rescue the wrong timing, wrong specimen or wrong question. Follow the ordering clinician and laboratory instructions when they differ from this general guide.Usually 8–12 hours for fasting glucose/insulin; water is generally allowed. Follow the lab order.
A morning draw makes fasting conditions easier to standardize.
Report acute illness, steroid use, pregnancy and major blood loss/transfusion.
REPEAT CADENCEFollow preventive guidance and individual risk; repeat sooner for prediabetes, pregnancy, medication changes or active treatment.
05 / AFTER THE RESULT
Turn the number
into a next step.
- 01
Confirm abnormal screening with the appropriate clinical pathway
- 02
Pair results with blood pressure, lipids, waist/body composition and history
- 03
Change behavior first where appropriate, then retest at a biologically meaningful interval
DO NOT WAIT ON A CONSUMER TEST
Vomiting, abdominal pain, deep rapid breathing, confusion or severe dehydration
Markedly high glucose with symptoms needs urgent care
06 / MODERN BIO SELECT
Built for a responsible purchase path.
Sell the interpretation and action pathway—not a fear-based ‘insulin resistance’ label.Glucose, A1c + fasting insulin
- Future format
- Lab bundle with optional clinician review
- Price position
- Future metabolic bundle
- Before checkout
- Eligibility · method · privacy · total cost · interpretation · abnormal-result routing
07 / SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION