The Blood Test That RevealsYour True Metabolic Risk
Weight gain, stubborn fat, blood sugar problems, and cardiovascular risk share a common root: metabolic dysfunction. This panel maps it — in depth, before it becomes a diagnosis.
Book Your Metabolic Health Test01
Panel
What's Covered
The EGA Metabolic Health panel is built around the markers that current preventive medicine considers most critical for assessing cardiometabolic risk — including markers that are absent from standard NHS and GP blood panels but that leading specialists now regard as essential.
01Glucose Regulation
Glucose, HbA1c, insulin, C-peptide. Fasting insulin is the earliest detectable marker of insulin resistance — often elevated years before HbA1c shows any abnormality. By the time a standard diabetes screen flags a problem, metabolic changes may already be well established. C-peptide provides an independent measure of how hard the pancreas is working to compensate for insulin resistance.
02Advanced Lipid Profile
Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, ApoB, ApoB/A-I ratio, small LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a). ApoB measures particle number rather than cholesterol mass — a more direct and more accurate predictor of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease than LDL alone. Many leading preventive cardiologists now consider ApoB the single most important cardiovascular risk marker. Lipoprotein(a) — Lp(a) — is a genetically determined cardiovascular risk factor present in elevated levels in approximately one in five people. It is not reduced by statins or lifestyle change. It is not included in standard NHS testing.
03Inflammation Markers
hsCRP, Lp-PLA2. hsCRP is the most widely used marker of systemic inflammation. Lp-PLA2 is a more specific vascular inflammation marker — specifically elevated in the context of arterial wall inflammation and active plaque instability. It is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events, particularly relevant for people with borderline or normal standard cholesterol results.
04Metabolic Hormones — Adipokines
Leptin, adiponectin, resistin. These three hormones are secreted by fat tissue and govern the relationship between adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation. Leptin resistance is a key driver of persistent hunger and inability to lose weight. Adiponectin has anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitising properties — low levels are strongly associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
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Audience
Who It's For
This test is for you if you:
- Are trying to lose weight and finding it unexpectedly difficult
- Are on or considering GLP-1 weight-loss medication and want to understand your metabolic baseline or track your response
- Have been told your cholesterol is borderline or elevated and want a more thorough cardiovascular risk assessment
- Have a family history of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or metabolic syndrome
- Have pre-diabetes or elevated blood sugar and want to understand the underlying drivers
- Are concerned about insulin resistance — particularly if you experience energy crashes, sugar cravings, central weight gain, or acne
- Experience symptoms consistent with PCOS and want a metabolic assessment alongside hormonal testing
- Want to understand your true cardiovascular risk before starting, adjusting, or reviewing statin therapy
- Feel metabolically 'stuck' despite diet and exercise and want data to explain why
No referral needed. No waiting list. Particularly relevant for GLP-1 therapy clients.
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Deliverable
Your Report
At EGA, we provide a clinician-reviewed PDF that includes:
- Results for every marker, structured by metabolic category
- A doctor's written commentary on every marker outside optimal range
- Plain-language explanation of each finding and its clinical significance
- Prioritised observations — what your results mean for your cardiovascular and metabolic health
- Specific recommendations for lifestyle, nutrition, medication review, or further investigation
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Difference
Why EGA Goes Further
A standard NHS metabolic panel typically measures four lipid markers and a glucose level. The EGA Metabolic Health panel measures sixteen — including the markers that leading preventive cardiologists and metabolic medicine specialists now consider essential for accurate risk assessment.
Fasting insulin is not tested in standard NHS care
Yet insulin resistance — the condition that drives type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, PCOS, and metabolic syndrome — is detectable through fasting insulin years before anything else shifts.
ApoB and Lp(a) are absent from standard cholesterol panels
Yet they are independently associated with cardiovascular events in people with otherwise normal cholesterol. Around one in five people carries elevated Lp(a) without knowing it.
Lp-PLA2 is not available through NHS primary care
It is a specialist vascular inflammation marker used in preventive cardiology — it identifies people at elevated cardiovascular risk who would appear low-risk on standard testing.
Adipokines are never measured in standard care
Yet leptin resistance and low adiponectin explain, at a biological level, why losing weight becomes progressively harder in metabolic syndrome.
Optional Longevity Plan
If your results reveal metabolic patterns requiring targeted intervention, you can add a personalised EGA Longevity Plan addressing your specific findings. Available as a separate service.
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Questions
Common Questions
Do I need to fast before this test?
Yes. Fasting for 10–12 hours is essential for this panel. Fasting insulin, glucose, triglycerides, and lipid markers all require a fasted state for accurate measurement. Water is fine.
What is insulin resistance and how is it detected?
Insulin resistance is a state in which cells become progressively less responsive to insulin — requiring the pancreas to produce more and more insulin to maintain normal blood sugar. Fasting insulin is the most direct blood marker for detecting this state early — often elevated years before HbA1c moves out of range.
What is Lp(a) and should I be worried if it is elevated?
Lp(a) is a lipoprotein particle with a genetically determined structure that makes it more atherogenic than standard LDL. Around 1 in 5 people carry elevated Lp(a) (HEART UK), and it cannot be reduced through diet, exercise, or standard statin therapy. Knowing your Lp(a) level allows you and your clinician to take other risk-reducing steps.
What is the difference between ApoB and LDL?
LDL measures the total amount of cholesterol carried in LDL particles. ApoB measures the number of atherogenic lipoprotein particles — regardless of how much cholesterol each one carries. A person can have normal LDL but a high ApoB and carry significantly elevated cardiovascular risk that LDL alone would miss.
I am on a GLP-1 medication. How can this test help?
This panel provides a comprehensive metabolic baseline before treatment and a meaningful measure of response during it — covering insulin dynamics, adipokine changes, lipid shifts, and inflammatory markers that standard monitoring typically does not include.
I've been told my cholesterol is fine. Do I still need this test?
Possibly yes. 'Normal' LDL does not rule out elevated ApoB, elevated Lp(a), or a pro-inflammatory vascular state — all of which this panel measures. A significant number of heart attacks occur in people with normal standard cholesterol.
Do I need a GP referral?
No referral is required. Book directly online or by phone.
Can I share my results with my GP or cardiologist?
Yes. Your EGA report is delivered as a PDF and contains the full marker detail that GPs, cardiologists, and metabolic medicine specialists need to act on your results.
Is my data secure?
Yes. All data is stored and processed in full compliance with UK GDPR and is never shared with third parties without your explicit consent.
06 · Next Step
Ready to book?
The Blood Test That Reveals
- 01Book onlineReserve your slot online or by phone. Fasting for 10–12 hours required.
- 02Visit the clinicCome to our London clinic for your blood draw — about 15 minutes.
- 03Receive your reportGet your clinician-reviewed EGA report shortly after your blood draw.
- 04Plan next stepsAdd a Longevity Plan or book a metabolic health consultation.