Verbatim response from Claude
Annual Blood Tests for a Comprehensive Health Picture
Here are the key panels to ask your doctor about, along with recommended services:
Core Annual Tests
- Complete Blood Count (CBC) - checks for anemia, infection, immune issues
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) - kidney, liver, blood sugar, electrolytes
- Lipid Panel - cholesterol and heart disease risk
- Fasting Glucose + HbA1c - diabetes screening
- Thyroid (TSH) - often overlooked but affects energy, weight, mood
Worth Adding
- Vitamin D - deficiency is extremely common
- B12 - especially if you're vegetarian/vegan or over 50
- Iron/Ferritin - energy and immune function
- hsCRP - inflammation marker for heart risk
- Testosterone (men) or hormone panel (women, especially 40+)
Where to Get Tested
- Quest Diagnostics or LabCorp - widely accepted, use your insurance
- Ulta Lab Tests or Walk-In Lab - order your own without a doctor
- Function Health - comprehensive membership-based panel (100+ biomarkers), great for data-driven people
- Everlywell - convenient at-home options
Talk to your primary care doctor first - they can order most of these covered by insurance during an annual physical.