A general health panel typically includes four core blood tests: a complete blood count (CBC), a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP), a lipid panel, and a blood sugar measurement. Many providers also order a urinalysis and, depending on your age and risk factors, a thyroid screening. Together, these tests give a broad snapshot of how your organs are functioning, whether your blood cells are healthy, and how well your body is managing sugar and cholesterol.
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
The CBC is one of the most commonly ordered blood tests and measures three main types of cells circulating in your blood. It counts your red blood cells, which carry oxygen; your white blood cells, which fight infection; and your platelets, which help your blood clot. Beyond simple counts, it also measures hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein inside red blood cells) and hematocrit (the percentage of your blood volume made up of red cells).
Abnormal results on a CBC can flag a wide range of issues. A low red blood cell count or low hemoglobin points to anemia, while an elevated white blood cell count can signal an infection or, less commonly, a blood disorder. Platelet counts that are too high or too low may indicate clotting problems. Because it covers so many basics, the CBC is almost always part of routine screening.
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)
The CMP measures 14 different substances in your blood and is the single most information-dense test in a standard panel. It evaluates your liver, kidneys, blood sugar, and the balance of minerals that keep your muscles, nerves, and heart working properly.
Here’s what those 14 markers cover:
- Blood sugar (glucose): Your body’s primary energy source. A fasting level of 70 to 99 mg/dL is considered normal.
- Calcium: Essential for nerve signaling, muscle contraction, and heart rhythm.
- Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate): Electrically charged minerals that regulate fluid balance, blood pressure, and the acid-base balance in your body.
- Kidney markers (BUN and creatinine): Waste products your kidneys filter out. Rising levels suggest your kidneys aren’t clearing waste efficiently.
- Liver enzymes (ALP, ALT, AST): Enzymes produced mainly in the liver. Elevated levels can indicate liver inflammation, damage, or disease.
- Bilirubin: A byproduct of old red blood cells being broken down. Your liver removes most of it. High bilirubin can signal liver or bile duct problems.
- Albumin and total protein: Proteins made by the liver. Low levels may point to liver disease, kidney disease, or nutritional deficiencies.
Some providers order a basic metabolic panel (BMP) instead, which includes only 8 of these markers and skips the liver-related tests. If your doctor orders a “metabolic panel” without specifying, it’s worth confirming which version you’re getting.
Lipid Panel
The lipid panel measures fats in your blood that affect cardiovascular risk. It includes four values: total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol (which captures LDL plus other harmful types like VLDL). Some panels also report triglycerides separately.
LDL is often called “bad” cholesterol because it builds up in artery walls and creates blockages. Optimal LDL is below 100 mg/dL; levels above 160 mg/dL are considered high. HDL is “good” cholesterol because it helps pull cholesterol out of your arteries. Your total cholesterol number combines both, so a high total isn’t automatically alarming if your HDL is also high. The lipid panel is one of the tests most likely to require fasting, typically 9 to 12 hours beforehand.
Blood Sugar Screening
The CMP already includes a fasting glucose reading, but many providers add a separate A1C test for a fuller picture of diabetes risk. While fasting glucose captures your blood sugar at a single moment, the A1C reflects your average blood sugar over the previous two to three months.
An A1C below 5.7% is normal. Between 5.7% and 6.4% indicates prediabetes, and 6.5% or above means diabetes. For fasting glucose, normal is 99 mg/dL or below, prediabetes falls between 100 and 125 mg/dL, and 126 mg/dL or above signals diabetes. Having both numbers gives your provider a clearer sense of whether a single high reading was a fluke or part of a pattern.
Urinalysis
A urinalysis examines your urine in three ways: its physical appearance (color, clarity, concentration), its chemical composition, and what’s visible under a microscope. The chemical portion checks for pH, protein, glucose, red and white blood cells, bilirubin, and ketones, among other markers.
One of the most important findings is proteinuria, or protein in the urine. Healthy kidneys keep protein in the blood, so protein showing up in urine can be an early sign of kidney damage, sometimes before blood tests catch a problem. The presence of glucose in urine may point to uncontrolled diabetes, while white blood cells or nitrites suggest a urinary tract infection. Normal protein levels in urine are 150 mg per day or less. Specific gravity, which measures how concentrated your urine is, helps assess hydration and kidney function, with a normal range of roughly 1.002 to 1.035.
Thyroid Screening
Thyroid testing isn’t automatically included in every general panel, but it’s commonly added based on your age, sex, or symptoms. The primary screening test is TSH, which measures a hormone that signals your thyroid to produce its own hormones. An abnormal TSH level is the earliest indicator that your thyroid is overactive or underactive.
Guidelines on who should be screened vary. The American Thyroid Association recommends checking thyroid function in all adults starting at age 35 and every five years after that. The American College of Physicians narrows this to women over 50 who have general symptoms that could be thyroid-related, such as fatigue, weight changes, or feeling unusually cold. If you have a family history of thyroid problems or are planning a pregnancy, your provider is more likely to include it regardless of age.
How to Prepare for Your Panel
Most general health panels require fasting for 8 to 12 hours before your blood draw. During the fasting window, you can drink plain water but nothing else. Coffee, juice, soda, and other beverages can enter your bloodstream and skew results, particularly for glucose and lipid measurements. If you take daily medications, ask your provider whether to take them before or after the draw, since some can affect specific markers.
You can usually expect results within one to three business days. Lab reports will show your value next to a reference range. Numbers outside that range aren’t always cause for alarm. A single slightly elevated liver enzyme or a marginally low platelet count often just warrants a recheck in a few months. Your provider will look at the full pattern across all your results, your symptoms, and your health history before recommending any next steps.