Insulin helps move sugar into your cells; this test shows how your body handles it.
Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas. It lets your cells take in glucose from the blood for energy and helps keep blood sugar steady.
This test usually measures fasting insulin, the level after not eating overnight. Read with fasting glucose, it shows how hard your pancreas is working to keep blood sugar in range.
A high fasting insulin often means insulin resistance, where the body needs more insulin to do the same job. This can appear years before blood sugar rises and is closely tied to weight, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes risk.
A low insulin with high blood sugar can point to a pancreas that is not making enough, as in type 1 or long standing type 2 diabetes. Insulin is most useful read together with glucose.
Aniva reads your result against research-backed ranges, not just the lab's wide normal. The reference shown below is specific to this biomarker.
| State | Fasting insulin (SI) |
| Typical fasting range | ~18 to 173 pmol/L |
| In conventional units | ~2.6 to 25 mIU/L |
Ranges are guidance only and vary widely by lab and assay. Lower fasting values within range are generally better for metabolic health. To convert, 1 mIU/L is about 6.945 pmol/L. Read against your own lab's interval.
Recent food sharply raises insulin, so a fasting sample is essential. Stress, acute illness, and some medicines affect it. Assays differ between labs, so results are not always directly comparable. Insulin breaks down quickly, so the sample is handled promptly.
Best read with fasting glucose (together they give the HOMA-IR score), and with HbA1c and a lipid panel for overall metabolic health.
What do my insulin results mean? Higher levels can mean your body is making more or needs more insulin. Lower levels can mean less production. Results make the most sense alongside glucose.
Do I need to fast for this test? Fasting is not required, but consistent timing helps compare results. Your clinician may request a fasting sample.
What can affect my results? Meals, insulin or diabetes pills, steroids, biotin supplements, hard exercise, stress, illness, and pregnancy can all shift levels.
How often should I test insulin? Only as advised. It’s often checked when adjusting treatment or evaluating symptoms and paired with glucose or HbA1c.
How long do results take? Results are usually ready in about 7 days.
What should I discuss with my clinician? Share all medicines and supplements, your symptoms, and recent meals. Ask whether fasting or additional tests are needed.
One annual membership, 100+ biomarkers, every result explained in plain language with a personalized action plan and concierge guidance.
