The Labs I Run on Every Patient. Print This. Bring It to Your Doctor.

I’m about to give you something for free that most people pay me for.

This is the list of labs I run on every patient I work with. Not the stripped-down version your insurance approves. Not the five-item panel your PCP runs and calls it a day. The actual labs that tell me what’s going on in your body — and more importantly, what’s about to go wrong before it does.

Here’s the thing you need to understand before we start: “normal” and “optimal” are not the same thing.

The normal ranges on your lab report are based on the average American. 76% of American adults have at least one chronic disease. So when your doctor says your labs are normal, they’re comparing you to a sick population and calling it good.

I don’t use those ranges. I use optimal ranges — where your body actually functions best. The difference between “normal” and “optimal” is often the difference between “you’re fine” and “we caught this ten years early.”

Every lab below has two numbers: what your doctor says is normal, and what I know is optimal. That gap is where disease hides.

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METABOLIC HEALTH — This is where I start. Always.

Fasting Insulin This is THE most important metabolic marker and the one your doctor almost certainly did not run. It tells me how hard your body is working to keep your blood sugar stable. It’s elevated 10+ years before your blood sugar ever looks abnormal. Ten years of missed opportunity.

Lab “normal”: under 25 Optimal: under 5 If yours is over 8, you are insulin resistant. Period.

HgA1c Your average blood sugar over 3 months.

Lab “prediabetic”: 5.7-6.4% Optimal: under 5.3% If yours is over 5.3%, insulin resistance has already taken hold. Your doctor won’t flag this until 5.7%. That gap is where diabetes quietly develops.

Fasting Glucose

Lab “normal”: under 100 Optimal: under 90 Even “high normal” glucose in the 95-99 range increases your disease risk. Don’t let anyone tell you 99 is fine.

IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor) Growth hormone activity. This one matters especially if you’re interested in peptides or longevity — and especially if there’s any cancer risk.

Lab “normal”: 150-250 (age dependent) Optimal: under 100 in adults Elevated IGF-1 may increase cancer risk and accelerate aging. This is the lab I wish every person considering growth-promoting peptides would run first.

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THYROID — The most underdiagnosed condition in women.

Your doctor probably checks a TSH and calls it done. That’s not a thyroid panel. It’s a guess. A full panel includes ALL of these:

TSH Lab “normal”: 0.4-5.0 Optimal: 1.0-2.5 A TSH over 2.5 means your thyroid is struggling. Your doctor won’t flag it until 5.0. That’s a massive gap where women suffer for years.

Free T4 Optimal: 1.0-1.5 (top half of range)

Free T3 Optimal: 3.0-4.0 This is your ACTIVE thyroid hormone. If your doctor isn’t checking this, they’re not seeing what your thyroid is actually doing.

Reverse T3 Optimal: under 15 High Reverse T3 means your body is converting T4 into an inactive form instead of active T3. You’ll have all the symptoms of hypothyroid with a “normal” TSH.

TPO and TG Antibodies Optimal: under 9 for both Lab “normal”: under 35 — but ANY elevation means your immune system is attacking your thyroid. This is Hashimoto’s, often present years before TSH ever becomes abnormal. If nobody checks antibodies, nobody catches it.

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INFLAMMATION — The root of almost everything.

hs-CRP (highly sensitive C-reactive protein) Optimal: under 1.0 Elevated CRP means inflammation. Inflammation drives heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, autoimmunity. This should be on every single annual panel and it almost never is.

ESR (Sed Rate) Lab “normal”: under 20 Optimal: under 10 General inflammation marker. Another one that gets ignored until it’s screaming.

Homocysteine Optimal: under 7 Above 7 means you’re not methylating well — often due to MTHFR gene variants or B vitamin deficiencies. Increases cardiovascular risk, stroke risk, and dementia risk.

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CARDIOVASCULAR — Beyond the basic cholesterol panel.

Your doctor checked your total cholesterol and LDL. That tells me almost nothing. Here’s what actually matters:

Triglyceride/HDL Ratio Optimal: under 2 (ideally under 1) This is one of the strongest predictors of heart disease. Stronger than total cholesterol. Stronger than LDL. And your doctor probably never calculated it.

ApoB/ApoA-1 Ratio Optimal: under 0.6 Far superior to standard cholesterol for predicting cardiovascular risk. If ApoB is high, you have too many LDL particles — even if your total cholesterol looks “normal.”

Lipoprotein(a) Optimal: under 30 This is genetic. It doesn’t respond to diet or statins. Elevated Lp(a) independently increases heart attack and stroke risk. You only need to check it once. Most people have never been checked.

HDL Optimal: over 60. Higher is better.

Triglycerides Optimal: under 80. If your triglycerides are high, you have an insulin problem.

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NUTRIENTS — The foundation nobody checks.

Vitamin D3 Lab “normal”: over 30 (way too low) Optimal: 50-80 Most people are deficient. Low vitamin D increases risk of autoimmunity, cancer, osteoporosis, depression, and infections. Supplement with D3 + K2.

Ferritin Lab “normal” for women: 12-150 Optimal: 50-100 Your doctor says your ferritin of 15 is normal. You’re exhausted, losing hair, can’t think. Optimal is 50-100. This is one of the most commonly missed causes of fatigue in women.

Vitamin B12 Lab “normal”: over 200 (way too low) Optimal: over 700 Low B12 causes fatigue, brain fog, depression, and nerve damage. Extremely common if you have gut issues, are on metformin, or take acid reducers.

Folate Optimal: over 10 Critical for methylation and DNA synthesis. If you have MTHFR variants, you need methylated folate, not folic acid.

RBC Magnesium (not serum — serum is unreliable) Optimal: 5.0-6.5 Magnesium is involved in over 300 reactions in your body. Most people are deficient. Low magnesium causes insomnia, anxiety, muscle cramps, constipation, and blood sugar problems.

Zinc Optimal: 90-110 Most people are low. Deficiency impairs immune function, hormone balance, and wound healing.

Copper Optimal: 85-115 High copper is common with estrogen dominance and copper IUD use. Causes anxiety and oxidative stress.

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LIVER & DETOX

GGT Lab “normal”: under 40 Optimal: under 15 The earliest marker of liver stress — often elevated before ALT and AST budge. If your GGT is up, your liver is struggling to detox.

Uric Acid Optimal: 3.0-5.5 Elevated uric acid is tied to metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and high fructose intake.

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HORMONES — Blood work is a start, but it’s not the full picture.

For a real hormone assessment, I recommend the DUTCH test — dried urine that shows your complete cortisol pattern, sex hormones AND their metabolites, how you’re breaking down estrogen, melatonin, and oxidative stress markers. Blood work gives you a snapshot. DUTCH gives you the movie.

If doing blood work, at minimum check: Estradiol, Progesterone, Free and Total Testosterone, DHEA-S, and morning Cortisol.

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How to use this guide:

Print it. Bring it to your next appointment. Request these labs. Most are covered by insurance when your doctor orders them.

If your doctor says “you don’t need all this” — that tells you everything you need to know. Find someone who will partner with you in optimizing your health, not just managing your disease.

Compare YOUR numbers to the optimal ranges here, not the ranges on the lab report. Track them yearly. Look for trends — even small shifts toward dysfunction are your body giving you a signal. Don’t wait until you’re “abnormal.” By then you’ve lost years.

Knowledge is power. But only if you use it.

— Dagmara

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PRINT THIS — YOUR OPTIMAL LAB CHEAT SHEET

Copy, paste, print, bring to your doctor. These are optimal ranges, not “normal.”

METABOLIC Fasting Insulin: under 5 mIU/L HgA1c: under 5.3% Fasting Glucose: under 90 mg/dL IGF-1: under 100 ng/mL

THYROID (request ALL of these — TSH alone is not a thyroid panel) TSH: 1.0-2.5 mIU/L Free T4: 1.0-1.5 ng/dL Free T3: 3.0-4.0 pg/mL Reverse T3: under 15 ng/dL TPO Antibodies: under 9 IU/mL TG Antibodies: under 9 IU/mL

INFLAMMATION hs-CRP: under 1.0 mg/L ESR: under 10 mm/hr Homocysteine: under 7 µmol/L LDH: under 175 U/L

CARDIOVASCULAR Triglyceride/HDL Ratio: under 2 (ideally under 1) ApoB/ApoA-1 Ratio: under 0.6 Lipoprotein(a): under 30 mg/dL HDL: over 60 mg/dL Triglycerides: under 80 mg/dL

NUTRIENTS Vitamin D3: 50-80 ng/mL Ferritin: 50-100 ng/mL (women) Vitamin B12: over 700 pg/mL Folate: over 10 ng/mL RBC Magnesium: 5.0-6.5 mg/dL Zinc: 90-110 µg/dL Copper: 85-115 µg/dL

LIVER & DETOX GGT: under 15 U/L (women) ALT: under 25 U/L (women) AST: under 25 U/L (women) Uric Acid: 3.0-5.5 mg/dL

BASIC PANELS Hemoglobin: 13.5-15.5 g/dL (women) Hematocrit: 38-44% (women) WBC: 4.5-7.5 x10^9/L Platelets: 150-350 x10^9/L Albumin: 4.0-5.0 g/dL eGFR: over 90 mL/min

HORMONES (blood work is a snapshot — DUTCH test is the full picture) Estradiol, Progesterone, Free & Total Testosterone, DHEA-S (over 100 µg/dL), Morning Cortisol (10-18 µg/dL)

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Want me to actually interpret your labs and build a personalized protocol? That’s what Her Better Way Mastermind is for — comprehensive lab interpretation, epigenetic testing, DUTCH hormones, 6 live coaching sessions with me, and a plan tailored to YOUR body. Learn more at zuzasway.com/mastermind

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This guide is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen.