4 min read
Metabolic health explained: glucose, insulin and HbA1c
Three blood markers tell most of the story of how your body handles sugar. Here is what fasting glucose, fasting insulin and HbA1c each show, and why reading them together matters.
Metabolic health - how well your body manages energy and blood sugar - underpins a lot of long-term risk. Three widely available markers cover most of the picture, and they are far more informative together than alone.
Fasting glucose
Fasting glucose is a snapshot of your blood sugar after an overnight fast. It is simple and standard, but it is just one moment in time and can be nudged by stress, sleep and recent activity.
HbA1c
HbA1c reflects your average blood sugar over roughly the past two to three months, so it smooths out day-to-day noise. It is a cornerstone marker for spotting glucose drifting upward over time.
Fasting insulin
Fasting insulin shows how hard your pancreas is working to keep glucose normal. It can rise years before glucose or HbA1c move, so it is sometimes an earlier window on metabolic strain. Combined with glucose it can estimate insulin resistance (the HOMA-IR calculation).
Reading them together
Glucose that still looks fine can hide rising insulin doing the work behind the scenes - which is why the three are best read as a set, ideally with triglycerides and HDL for context. No single value is a verdict.
This is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis. If any of these markers concern you, discuss them with a clinician.
This is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis. Always discuss your results with a qualified clinician.
See your own numbers
bettr.now measures your markers, scores them against optimal, and reads them as one plain-English story: your bettr age.