"Normal" Blood Sugar Does NOT Mean No Disease
Let me guess…you get your annual bloodwork back, scan the results and see that your fasting glucose is in range. “Normal”. The doc says - everything looks fine!
Great. Nothing to worry about, right?
That result is reassuring, but the reality is, it doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about your metabolic health.
Your body works hard to keep blood glucose within a controlled range.
But the main hormones helping it do that?
INSULIN. 👏🏻
So - what does insulin do and what do you need to know about it?
Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas that helps glucose move from your bloodstream into your cells, where it can be used for energy. When your cells become less responsive to insulin (insulin resistance) your pancreas compensates by producing more. That extra insulin can keep blood glucose in range for a while, but if your pancreas can no longer keep up, blood sugar begins to rise.
Compare it to this: think of someone working behind the scenes to keep a household running.
The meals get made. The appointments happen. Everyone gets where they need to go.
From the outside, everything looks fine.
But keeping it all together is taking WAY more effort than anyone realizes.
That’s why a normal fasting glucose result doesn’t automatically rule out insulin resistance or metabolic disease. In fact - fasting glucose is often the last number to appear “elevated” when dysfunction is brewing - that’s why looking at other biomarkers in addition to glucose matters so much!
Glucose tells us your blood sugar level at that moment.
Insulin can add context to how your body is managing it.
I want women to understand their health without feeling frightened by every lab result or dismissed because one marker looks okay. At the end of the day - looking at patterns and the BIG picture are what matter most.
It’s all about seeing how the pieces fit together - looking at things like:
Fasting Glucose: What is blood sugar doing after an overnight fast?
Hemoglobin A1C: What has blood glucose averaged over roughly the past three months?
Fasting Insulin: Could this add useful context about insulin production?
Triglycerides and HDL cholesterol: Are there lipid patterns that warrant further evaluation?
Waist circumference (WHR) and body composition: What information do these add beyond scale weight?
Blood pressure, symptoms, habits and history: What else might influence risk or guide the next step?
Fasting Glucose and A1C are established tools for screening and diagnosing pre-diabetes and diabetes. Fasting insulin, however, is the thing that can provide additional information about what’s happening under the surface.
Remember - you do not have to wait for a diagnosis to build habits that support your health. And you do not have to accept that everything looks “normal” when biomarkers are only looked at through a small scope.
That’s the conversation I want more women to have:
informed, proactive and EMPOWERED on what they can do next.
Want help understanding which tests to discuss with your provider? Or what tests and labs matter most?
Head to this page to check out more: www.erintrier.com/labs