My Health Screening

Table of contents

What I changed between April and October
What the reports track
April vs October at a glance
The short version

In April 2026 I did a full health screen at a metabolic clinic: a big blood panel, a urine test and a DEXA scan for body composition and bone density. A few things came back off: borderline blood sugar, LDL cholesterol above my doctor’s target, low vitamin D and zinc, mild anaemia, and more fat around my middle than I’d like. So I spent the next six months working on it, and retested in October 2026.

This page is the overview: what the reports track, what changed, and what I think drove it. Each marker then gets its own article explaining what it is, what I’m aiming for, why the April number was a concern, and what probably made the October number better (or worse).

What I changed between April and October

	What I did
Supplements	Vitamin D3 5,000 IU every evening (now cut back to 3× a week) and zinc 50 mg a day, both from April
Diet	More protein, and lower-GI carbs such as brown rice instead of white
Training	BJJ at New Era MMA, building from once a week to 2–3× a week, then 6× a week in prep for a no-gi competition on 11 October. A full-body strength and conditioning programme from September
Weight	70.5 kg in April, cut to 63.6 kg for the 65 kg division, 64.8 kg at the October scan

Not everything went to plan. I picked up a neck disc injury in early October, and my right elbow got hyperextended by an armbar, first in September and again at the competition. That put me on a course of anti-inflammatories just before the October blood test, and it shows in one result.

What the reports track

The blood panel and scans cover six areas:

Glucose control: how well my body handles sugar, and how hard insulin has to work.
Lipids & heart: the cholesterol and particle counts that drive heart disease risk, plus inflammation markers.
Blood, vitamins & minerals: red blood cells, vitamin D, zinc, B12 and folate.
Kidney & liver: how well my kidneys filter, and whether my liver is under stress.
Body composition (DEXA): fat, visceral fat, lean mass and bone density, measured by a low-dose X-ray scan.
Everything else: thyroid, electrolytes, hormones and the screening markers that came with the package.

April vs October at a glance

👍 Improved

Marker	April	October	Target or range	Article
Fasting glucose	5.7	4.7	<5.6 mmol/L	Fasting Glucose
HOMA-IR	1.57	0.42	<2	Fasting Insulin & HOMA-IR
LDL cholesterol	3.45	2.51	<2.6 mmol/L	LDL Cholesterol
ApoB	0.94	0.73	<0.9 g/L	ApoB
Total cholesterol / HDL / triglycerides	5.29 / 1.41 / 1.21	4.59 / 1.77 / 0.99	<5.2 / >1.0 / <1.7	Total Cholesterol, HDL & Triglycerides
hs-CRP	1.82	1.24	<1 mg/L	hs-CRP
Homocysteine	14.36	9.78	<15 µmol/L	Homocysteine
Haemoglobin	12.4	13.8	13.5–18.0 g/dL	Haemoglobin & Red Cells
Vitamin D	68.2	181.2	>75 nmol/L	Vitamin D
Zinc	8.64	18.41	11.07–19.03 µmol/L	Zinc
Creatinine / eGFR	108 / 77	88 / 102	eGFR >90	Kidney Function
Body fat	19.3 %	9.55 %	—	Body Fat
Visceral fat / android-gynoid ratio	66.1 cm² / 1.17	36.8 cm² / 0.83	<100 / <1	Visceral Fat & Fat Distribution
Lean mass	53.25 kg	54.69 kg	—	Lean Mass & ALMI

👎 Worse, or still to watch

Marker	April	October	Target or range	Article
HbA1c	5.7	5.9	<5.7 %	HbA1c
Fasting insulin	6.2	2.0	2.6–24.9 mU/L	Fasting Insulin & HOMA-IR
ALT (liver enzyme)	37	62	<51 U/L	ALT, Etoricoxib & My Neck
Vitamin B12	293	590	145–569 pmol/L	Vitamin B12 & Folate
Red cell count	4.0	4.3	4.5–6.5 ×10¹²/L	Haemoglobin & Red Cells
Leg lean mass	19.9 kg	19.4 kg	—	Lean Mass & ALMI

↔ Normal both times

Bone density, thyroid (TSH and free T4), electrolytes, calcium, phosphate, magnesium, albumin and platelets were all normal in April and October. Bone density gets its own article, Bone Density. The rest, plus the tumour markers, PSA, EBV screen and testosterone that came with the April package, are in The Other Markers in My Package.

The short version

Every target my doctor set in April is now met: LDL, ApoB, vitamin D, visceral fat, fat distribution and insulin resistance.
Both deficiencies are fixed (vitamin D and zinc), and the mild anaemia has mostly resolved.
Two things to sort out: HbA1c crept up even though every other glucose marker improved, and ALT (a liver enzyme) jumped, most likely from the anti-inflammatories I took for my neck. I’m now wearing a glucose sensor to dig into the first; you can follow along on my glucose readings page. The second gets a repeat liver test in 4–6 weeks.

This is my own personal data, shared for interest only. It’s not medical advice.

Until next time, peace and love!