Your annual health assessment reveals a lot about your body—but some of the most important insights come from your blood. Two panels in particular can be quite informative about your health: your lipid panel and your metabolic panel.

Your lipid panel: The heart of prevention

Your lipid panel measures cholesterol and triglycerides—the lipids circulating in your bloodstream. This matters because these markers are associated with cardiovascular health. They can reveal information about your potential risk for heart disease, stroke and other conditions.

But here's what makes a lipid panel truly useful: the patterns it reveals. Are your triglycerides elevated while HDL (good cholesterol) is low? That's a different risk profile than high total cholesterol with healthy ratios—and the recommendations differ accordingly. Different profiles warrant specific intervention strategies—whether that involves targeted dietary adjustments, tailored exercise plans or medication.

“During a Preventive Health Assessment, our physicians, nurse practitioners and I work collaboratively to look at the story someone’s bloodwork is telling. These markers offer rich insight into where someone stands today, and trends over time reveal what's going well and what changes could have the most impact. My role is to look at those numbers alongside their daily lifestyle habits. Without that context, a lipid result is just a number. With it, it becomes a roadmap for personalized recommendations,” says Heather Vass, Registered Dietitian and National Dietitian Lead at TELUS Health Care Centres.

Your metabolic health markers: Catching the early signs

Your metabolic health markers measure fasting glucose, insulin and glycated hemoglobin (A1C) levels—essentially, how your body is managing blood sugar. This is important information for prevention, because conditions related to insulin resistance and abnormal blood glucose metabolism—such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, gout and fatty liver disease—develop silently over time, often without obvious symptoms until significant damage has occurred.

Your metabolic health markers can help identify early shifts in blood sugar metabolism before they lead to symptoms.

Regular health assessments may help identify risk factors early and guide these preventive measures. Research shows that when prediabetes is detected early, lifestyle interventions can significantly improve outcomes—reducing the likelihood of progression to diabetes by 20-30 per cent in prevention trials. Many people with early-stage glucose dysregulation and metabolic associated liver disease can successfully manage their risk factors with targeted nutrition and activity changes.