HbA1c
The term HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin. It develops when haemoglobin, a protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body, joins with glucose in the blood, becoming ‘glycated’. By measuring HbA1c, we can see what blood sugars have been for 8-12 weeks.
Triglycerides
Triglycerides are the body’s storage form of fat. Most triglycerides are found in fat (adipose) tissue, but some circulate in the blood to provide fuel for muscles to work. Extra triglycerides are found in the blood after eating a meal — when fat is being sent from the gut to fat tissue for storage. Triglycerides are a form of lipid (fat), and are therefore included as part of a lipid profile.
LDL cholesterol
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is sometimes referred to as “bad” cholesterol. High levels of LDL can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke
Total cholesterol:HDL ratio
This ratio examines the amount of “good” or HDL cholesterol you have in relation to your total.
Non-HDL cholesterol
Non-HDL cholesterol is the amount of “good” cholesterol, subtracted from your total cholesterol number. This will leave you with the amount of “bad” cholesterol.
HDL cholesterol
High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is sometimes referred to as “good” cholesterol – it absorbs cholesterol and carries it back to the liver, which in turn, “flushes” it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Total cholesterol
Cholesterol is a substance that is essential for life. It helps form the membranes for cells in all organs and tissues in your body. It is used to make hormones that are essential for development, growth and reproduction. It forms bile acids that are needed to absorb nutrients from food. Cholesterol comes both from what you eat and from your body’s own production of cholesterol, which takes place in the liver.
A small amount of your body’s cholesterol circulates in the blood in complex particles called “lipoproteins”. These include some particles that carry excess cholesterol away for disposal (HDL, good cholesterol) and some particles that deposit cholesterol in tissues and organs (LDL-bad cholesterol). The test for cholesterol measures all cholesterol (good and bad) that is carried in the blood.
TSH
Testosterone
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone – it plays a huge role in the development of male reproductive tissues as well as promoting secondary characteristics such as muscle and bone mass, libido and growth of bodily hair.
Prolactin
Prolactin is a protein known for its role in enabling mammals, namely females, to produce milk.
