When you feel like your doctor isn’t truly giving you the attention you deserve or you simply want to stay on top of your health (not just because you run, but because it matters!) at home blood testing becomes a good option. But not all tests are created the same when it comes to what’s include and most importantly, what to do with the information. This InsideTracker review is based on my experience of using it since 2015.
Being a long time user means I can share the pro’s and con’s rather than some reviews I’ve seen from folks who have never used it at all.
InsideTracker is a complete service that uses blood analysis to give detailed biomarker insights into each person’s physiological data, as well as quick results and actionable advice and recommendations.
As a running coach, nothing frustrates me more than seeing athletes walk away from a doctors visit still not feeling well, but being told “oh you’re fine, you’re just stressed.” I went through that horrible cycle and it’s one of the reasons I now want more control over finding answers to fatigue, sleep issues, heart health and more.
I’ve talked at length about the benefits of blood testing for athletes, especially as we move in to peri and post menopause. So I won’t belabor that topic here, but instead focus specifically one what you can expect from testing.
InsideTracker Review
Your Dr can 100% provide you with annual blood work at a wellness check up. I’ve found unfortunately through working with thousands of runners that:
A. Some Dr’s just won’t. Saying “you’re you and fit, nothing to worry about.” GAHHHHHH
B. They run the tests and say everything is normal. But they’re comparing you against the average person in the US who is absolutely NOT a runner and not looking to be their healthiest. We know that as athletes our requirements are often higher for certain nutrients and minerals.
C. I can’t get them to run blood during the middle of a big training cycle to see what might be off that’s causing me some fatigue.
On the whole this InsideTracker review is focusing on the Ultimate test which covers 47 Biomarkers. But the ideas are the same, just less biomarkers with other tests.
What is InsideTracker?
InsideTracker provides daily, data-driven nutrition, exercise, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations to help you reach healthy biomarker zones and accomplish your wellness goals, making it feel like you have a nutritionist and personal trainer at your fingertips.
Their goal is to give you the tools to optimize your health.
InsideTracker is a health program based on blood test results, founded in 2009 by a team with backgrounds from Harvard, MIT, and Tufts University in aging, longevity, genetics, and biometric data.
It analyzes your bloodwork, lifestyle, and diet, as well as your DNA for certain plans. The platform’s algorithms will use this information to provide you with tailored suggestions for improving your health.
Since InsideTracker’s release to the market, the business won its first contract with the US military in 2016. In 2021, the platform integrated Garmin, the Android app, and the Apple Health kit into its system as well.
Overview of InsideTracker
InsideTracker mostly checks for different health factors in the body by looking at biomarkers. In general, a biomarker is any measurable characteristic of the body. Biomarkers include everything from blood pressure data to vitamins and minerals. This company analyzes the blood for the presence of specific biomarkers found inside it that influence optimal health.
Among the most frequently examined biomarkers are glucose, cholesterol, cortisol, Vitamin B12, and creatine kinase. The InsideTracker test determines the best biomarker range for you based on your age, gender, ethnicity, lifestyle, and other demographic factors.
This information is used by the company to give you specific advice on how to improve your health if certain areas are found to be lower than what is considered ideal. This covers advice on how to improve your body through diet, exercise, dietary supplements, and lifestyle.
Using a combination of blood analysis and DNA testing, the researchers at InsideTracker believe they can get a better picture of what’s going on inside the body. This idea, that combining both will help give the most accurate personalized advice possible, led to a partnership with the Helix DNA testing service.
Here’s one of the insights from my DNA.
To generate the healthiest recommendations for you, the service also considers other elements including your height, age, metrics, and lifestyle. InsideTracker simplifies your individualized recommendations based on the sort of goal you select, e.g. endurance, metabolism, cardiovascular health, etc.
The most important thing to know is that InsideTracker is fully HIPAA compliant so you don’t have to worry about your personal data being in the wrong hands. And for DNA testing, you also have the option for opting your data out at any time from being used in any scientific research.
When your blood samples are tested, the information is fed into the SegterraR data engine. This engine sifts through huge amounts of data to find individuals with comparable metrics and lifestyles.
It then sends this data to the SegterraX, an algorithmic engine that generates the majority of InsideTracker’s science-backed action plans and recommendations.
It filters information from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed scientific articles, a database of over 180,000 healthy people, a database of more than 8,000 unique foods, and more than 200 years of combined scientific expertise among their team and scientific advisory board. As the majority of these variables are subject to change, SegterraX is continuously evolving.
InsideTracker would suggest you to do the test once every three months to find out how your biomarkers have fared during this time due to the ongoing shift happening in the genetic world and scientific research. I don’t think you probably need to test this often unless you are trying to track a specific marker that you need to change (ie. like I have with ferritin).
If you’ve taken a test with the company before, it compares your current results to those from the past to help you track your progress over these intervals.
How to Get Started with InsideTracker (Quick Overview)
- Order online from InsideTracker
- Get a list of nearby labs where you can get your blood drawn (or use the new mobile draw option)
- You’ll register on the labs website for an appointment (aim for early morning as you want to be fasted)
- Take with you the single printable sheet emailed from InsideTracker
- Your samples are sent to a verified lab (so yes your results are reliable and accurate)
- Wait for an email saying “WOHOOO Your Results are In” – I’ve found it to be about a week.
- Log in to InsideTracker for an insanely detailed map of what’s green, yellow and red in your results (see examples below)
- Review the recommended foods or supplements to help address your issues
- Keep reading the great blog posts they send on sports nutrition which will help you continually stay on top of your markers
BONUS: InsideTracker now has an app, so you can set up reminders and track your new to do list.
For example, I’m trying to meditate daily to drop my inflammation levels and eat beans at least 3 days a week!
What’s the InsideTracker Process Like?
Before the Test
1. Choose a plan and go through the checkout process.
2. The next step is to complete a brief questionnaire about your exercise, diet, sleep, and other lifestyle behaviors. You’ll also be asked for your body measurements.
3. You’ll receive an email when your lab slip is ready.
4. You will then either schedule your blood test or simply print and take your lab slip to a Quest Diagnostics location. I use the online scheduling tool to try and find the earliest possible time!!
5. Earliest because you cannot eat or drink the morning of the test. A 12-hour fast is required before blood tests to accurately measure things like glucose storage, etc.
Regarding how to get ready for this, you should receive brief instructions. For example, you might need to stop taking supplements 24 hours before your blood test.
After the Test
Your blood test results should be available in five to seven days. You’ll get an email that the results have been loaded to your dashboard. You can then check your results and recommendations.
Once your results are available, you can access them via InsideTracker’s website or app. The InsideTracker app is free on both iOS and Android app stores.
But I prefer to look at my initial results on the computer!! It’s much easier to see a large table of data and things like the food recommendations.
You will be able to view your biomarker levels and how they compare to optimal ranges, as well as InsideTracker’s recommendations for improving out-of-range biomarkers.
Action Plan
The next step is to create an action plan, which may include enhancing your overall health or concentrating on a specific goal, such as improving your energy levels, metabolism, endurance, heart health, sleep, strength and power, injury prevention and recovery, stress, cognition, or endurance, etc.
This is where the app can really come in handy.
Selecting a specific action plan enables you to prioritize the provided recommendations, allowing you to concentrate on achieving your specific objective. The suggestions range from continuing to get more sun to increasing resistance training to eating a different variety of foods for nutrition that week.
Tracking
You can then use InsideTracker’s app to check in on a regular basis and access numerous informational articles and podcast episodes. Also, you’ll have a Wellness Score, which is updated as you track your daily improvement.
Every day, you’re also asked to rate your stress level from the previous day. You may also integrate your wearable device with the app so that it sends any data to InsideTracker if you have one, like an Apple Watch, Fitbit, or Garmin watch.
Re-testing
Your plan will last about three months, after which InsideTracker suggests getting an updated blood test. This will enable you to determine if there have been any improvements.
InsideTracker also says that re-testing is important because any changes to your diet, lifestyle, exercise level, or environment will change your test results, and it’s important to make an action plan based on relevant results.
How to Read InsideTracker Results?
This is where the big value lies in InsideTracker testing. Results that you can actually USE to make nutrition or lifestyle or training changes.
After a normal visit to the doctor you get a piece of paper with a million values and then a note that things are normal.
What I truly love about this is that I can fully comprehend and utilize the information provided and they aren’t just comparing me to a random group of adults to decide what’s normal!
This chart is NOT mine, but I think a good example of how your data is compared to help you find normal, low, optimized or high values.
When you first open your report, it will be quickly divided in to areas that need attention and areas that are optimized.
You can then dive in to each one more more details!
- A chart showing where you are from low to optimized to high
- Your exact numbers, so you can do more research on your own if desired
- Recommended foods or actions (like yoga to lower cortisol)
- Science tab to understand why this biomarker is important for your health and performance
- Ongoing history of that biomarker if you’ve had more than one test
- Links to detailed articles for additional information
Here is an example from my Sugar Group, which is always a bit off due to my low estrogen and thus these tips help me do my best to manage it.
(more on what is the sugar group in a following section)
Based on your results you’ll get recommendations to improve:
- sleep
- boost energy
- reduce injury
- prevent illness
- generally enhance your performance
Ever wondered why you ALWAYS get sick the week of race, this might help you put an end to that.
Finding out that you’re deprived of B12 or Vitamin D gives you something specific to take action on and support your body.
Checkout this chart on the Vitamins Athletes Need for Optimal Performance >>
What Does Inside Tracker Test?
It’s important to know that nothing in our body works alone, so sometimes a single biomarker needs others to make sense of it and that’s why InsideTracker has certain groups.
- Sugar Group – Glucose, HBA1C
- Lipid Group – LDL, HDL, Triglycerides, Total Cholesterol, ApoB
- Inflammation Group – hsCRP, WBC, Neutrophils, Basophils, Eosinophils, Monocytes, Lymphocytes
- Iron Group – Ferritin, HB, TS, Iron, TBIC, RBC, HCT, MCV, MCH, MHCH, RDW
- Testosterone Group – Testosterone, DHEAS, SHBG, Testosterone Cortisol Ratio
- Hormones: TsH, Progesterone, Estrodial
- Cortisol
- Magnesium, RBC Magnesium
- Liver Enzyme Group – ALT, AST, GGT, Albumin
- Platletes, MPV,
- Vitamin D, Vitamin B12
- Creatine Kinase
- Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Folate
All right this InsideTracker review is trying not to get too deep on science, but stick to what the heck are we learning. So let’s just break down a couple of the things above:
Liver Enzymes
This if often a good indicator that we are over training and high levels of muscle damage. Watching these markers over time especially can help pin point when we are not recovering well and need additional time off.
hsCRP
This is one of the inflammation markers that let’s me know I’ve pushed beyond the bounds of what I should in training. We know that levels will be elevated the day after a hard workout, so it’s best to schedule your test for a few days after any big training sessions.
Creatine Kinase is another marker that will be high when we are really working too hard. It’s a sign of muscle damage.
Vitamin D
Did you know this is a hormone?! YES and one that so many runners are low in. Yet when low we are more susceptible to stress fractures, fatigue and mood issues.
Iron Group
First they don’t just measure iron, they do the whole spectrum of Ferritin, hemoglobin, Iron, TIBC, and TS.
It’s important to realize they all work together and not in isolation.
If ferritin is low, you have less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells to carry oxygen. When your iron is low, you feel fatigued, workouts that were good standbys become demanding, and performance falters.
Even meat eaters often have LOW iron during heavy training!
Read this post on tips for fixing iron deficiency.
Athlete CORTISOL Levels
We’ve talked a lot about the role cortisol plays in weight gain and how our workouts can often add more stress to our lives. BUT we can use that stress to optimize things if we know how to do it right!
We actually want to see our cortisol higher in the morning and lower at night.
I appreciate that their recommendations focus on lifestyle {i.e. sleep, yoga, reduced training, creative outlets} and foods that can help.
They also point out all the ways it’s going to impact performance, so if you can’t make a change for your health maybe you’ll do it to run faster!
Women’s Health Markers
Previously, InsideTracker didn’t focus on female hormones and thyroid. But they have now added three additional biomarkers, namely estradiol, progesterone, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). You can now get personalized insights about these biomarkers through all stages of life, including before and after menopause.
I’m beyond excited about these because it’s something I need and something that will benefit so many women!!
APOB
Earlier this year in 2023, InsideTracker also added APOB (Apolipoprotein B) to its system as one of the biomarkers that are tested. It’s an essential indicator of heart health and heart disease risk to help you determine if you’re at risk for cardiovascular disease and what you can do about it.
Again, this is a marker that I was over the moon to see. After my Dad’s heart attack I learned a lot more about health testing and found that this marker is SO MUCH BETTER than cholesterol to know your heart health.
It was a nice relief to see mine in good shape.
DNA
The InsideTracker DNA Kit is the perfect choice for those who are just interested in learning more about their genes. Using 261 genetic markers, the kit examines 29 wellness traits in your DNA.
It examines how your genes impact aspects of wellbeing like sleep, weight, aging genetics, sensitivity, and performance. For even more details and targeted advice, you may combine a DNA kit with blood testing.
What Does InsideTracker Not Include?
As mentioned above, previously didn’t mention thyroid or female hormones. Fortunately, it now does and keeps adding more research and biomarkers to its system. What’s not included though, is a complete gut health check.
Certain biomarkers do cover aspects of gut health, for example, according to research lower levels of hsCRP are also associated with an increased diversity of gut bacteria.
And so, it’s important to note that a fecal sample microbiome test is not part of the InsideTracker goal for gut health.
However, currently, such tests only reflect your gut microbiome at a specific time point and can be influenced by a variety of factors, including the foods you ate that day, your stress level, and how much you slept.
Which InsideTracker Test Should You Do?
A number of folks have asked me this question and of course it depends on your goals, but I would look at this way…
- If you are getting your annual bloodwork from the Dr, then you could do just the High Performance test.
- If you can’t get your Dr to do bloodwork you could do just the Essentials to check on your overall health.
- ✅But if you are looking for health and performance, do the Ultimate Package the first time around. This will ensure you get the most comprehensive results and know exactly what areas you need to pay attention to or maybe find out you’re a perfect specimen.
- Following tests or each year, you might be able to do just the Vitality or High Performance because you have a few areas that are more important to pay attention to than others.
- If you are doing multiple tests per year, then I definitely think one should be Ultimate and then the others can be smaller check-ins.
- De-prioritize InnerAge – I just didn’t find it that valuable. Mine is always going to be higher than my age because I have low estrogen…but even if lower, what does that gain me to know?
- De-prioritize DNA – I’ve done a number of fitness DNA tests and it’s super interesting to learn about your muscles and endurance, but in terms of changing your training…it probably won’t.
Downside to InsideTracker Testing
What are the drawbacks… it wouldn’t be a great InsideTracker review if I didn’t give you the full picture. So let’s discuss.
Worry.
Sometimes you’ll have levels that are flagged as low, which a Dr will not give you the time of day for. A great example is my platlets which are RED VALUE LOW. But still considered very normal for the majority of people.
So I was freaked out for awhile, but found on the whole it’s ok just something I’m aware of now.
It’s not cheap.
Let’s just be real. $300-$500 is an investment. I prioritize when I’m getting a test to have the most impact on my goals and know that what I learn from it has been worth the cost, but yes it’s something to plan for.
There is so much more information here, but now you have an overview of just what you can learn from performance blood testing. It really is about better health, which results in better training…and tada better racing.
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