Complete metabolic panel: your metabolism in view

Bicarbonate is an electrolyte that helps maintain the body's acid-base balance. It acts as a buffer in the blood, neutralising excess acids and helping to keep your pH within a healthy range.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, essential for strong bones and teeth, muscle contraction, nerve signalling, and blood clotting. Most calcium is stored in bones and teeth, with a small amount circulating in the blood.

Chloride is an essential electrolyte that helps maintain fluid balance, blood pressure, and the body's acid-base equilibrium. It works closely with sodium and potassium to regulate these vital functions.

Potassium is an essential electrolyte and mineral that helps regulate heartbeat, muscle contractions, nerve signals, and fluid balance. It is one of the most important minerals for cardiovascular health.

Sodium is a vital electrolyte that regulates fluid balance, blood pressure, and nerve and muscle function. It is the primary cation in extracellular fluid and is closely regulated by the kidneys.

Fasting glucose measures the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood after an overnight fast. It is one of the primary tests used to screen for and monitor diabetes and pre-diabetes.

HbA1c (glycated haemoglobin) reflects your average blood sugar levels over the past 2-3 months. It is the gold standard for long-term blood sugar monitoring and diabetes management.

Albumin is the most abundant protein in the blood, produced by the liver. It maintains fluid balance, transports hormones and nutrients, and serves as an indicator of liver and kidney function.

Alkaline phosphatase, usually shortened to ALP on a report, is an enzyme found in almost every tissue. Two sources account for nearly all of what reaches the blood. The first is the liver, and within it mainly the cells lining the small bile ducts. The second is bone, where the enzyme is released as new bone tissue is built. A raised result therefore does not yet say where the rise came from. That question is not answered by this one number. It is answered by the values beside it, by your age and by your situation.

Your ALT value shows how much alanine aminotransferase is in your blood. This enzyme sits mainly in the liver. That makes ALT the most liver-specific of the routine enzymes. When it reaches the blood, liver cells have been damaged. In adult men the reference range runs to 45 u/l, and in women to 34 u/l. A mildly raised result is common and has several causes. Fatty liver leads that list, well ahead of alcohol and hepatitis.

Your AST value shows how much aspartate aminotransferase is circulating in your blood. It is an enzyme that leaks out whenever cells are damaged. AST sits in the liver, but equally in skeletal muscle, heart muscle, kidneys, brain and red blood cells. That is why a raised AST is not, on its own, a liver value. A hard training session the day before explains the result more often than liver disease does. The reference range runs up to 35 u/l in men and 31 u/l in women. What the number means only becomes clear alongside ALT, gamma-GT and CK.

Total bilirubin measures the combined amount of direct and indirect bilirubin in your blood. Bilirubin is a waste product formed during the normal breakdown of red blood cells, and elevated levels may indicate liver disease, bile duct problems, or increased red blood cell destruction.

BUN (blood urea nitrogen) measures the amount of urea nitrogen in your blood, a waste product formed when the body breaks down protein. It is primarily used to evaluate kidney function and can be influenced by diet, hydration status, and liver health.

Creatinine is a waste product generated by normal muscle metabolism that is filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. It is widely regarded as the gold standard marker for evaluating kidney function, as consistent production makes it a reliable indicator of filtration efficiency.

eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) is a calculated measure of how effectively your kidneys filter waste from the blood. It is the gold standard for diagnosing and staging chronic kidney disease and is derived from blood creatinine or cystatin C levels along with demographic factors.

Total protein measures the combined amount of albumin and globulins in your blood. These proteins play essential roles in maintaining fluid balance, fighting infections, transporting substances, and supporting tissue repair.