I figured this might be useful to the group, and possibly good enough to earn a sticky from a benevolent mod.
Enclosed you will find the clinical reference ranges from Greenspan's book on endocrinology, 7th edition. This is one of the more well cited books in the field even if it's a bit out of date. I'm afraid I don't have a book scanner, so hopefully the images aren't too frustrating to deal with.
If someone wants to type them up into a handy-dandy Excel sheet and repost to the thread, I'm sure everyone would be thankful!
Now, several things you may want to know before using this as "gospel":
* Firstly, this may not match your specific lab's reference ranges. Lab reference ranges will differ somewhat from what an academic text book will find (as labs see a different set of patients than your academic types would).
* Additionally, testing methods differ significantly and can throw off reference ranges substantially. A great example of this LH tests - some testing methodologies will actually report HCG in the bloodstream as LH, while more modern ones do not.
* Thirdly, remember that this is a clinical reference range (which includes sedentary people as well as athletes). If you are going to "Play God" with these numbers, know what is reasonable given your goals. For instance, a sedentary individual who just needs a little help in the sack may be happy getting his Total Test up to 500, but if he's a competitive athlete, 700 may be a more reasonable number. My "natural" number was 840... 500 may be in the normal range but damn I feel and train like shit when I'm that low.
* Fourthly, remember that the endocrine (hormonal) system is VERY interconnected with your nervous system and immune system. Blood work taken on sick days (or days where you're under significant stress) may alter your test results. Similarly, numbers that are "outta whack" can mess with your mood and immune functions. A GOOD endocrinologist will know this and will work with you on getting to what is optimal for Y-O-U (charts be damned).
* Remember that hormones are also intermingled with each other - don't think that just getting your Total Test checked really is a good quality result. To get a good interpretation, the more data you have the better.
* Some people don't fit into a normal catagory and that's okay - I'd rather someone have a good quality "baseline" and work towards achieving that after a cycle than a clinical range (though if you don't have a proper baseline, the clinical range is a good starting point).
* Reference ranges change based upon population, as well as time. Besides the book being out of date, I would venture a guess that geneology plays into these numbers significantly (so African American vs. Asian vs. Hispanic vs. Caucausian, etc) can alter numbers... however...
* Your lifestyle is the number one contributing factor to your numbers. If you eat and train like a normal healthy sane individual you will most likely have the bloodwork of a healthy/sane individual. That means healthy fats, carbs equal to your energy level, a reasonable amount of bodyfat, some greens and veggies, various sources of protein, and an hour of cardio a week just for heart health.
Enjoy!
Enclosed you will find the clinical reference ranges from Greenspan's book on endocrinology, 7th edition. This is one of the more well cited books in the field even if it's a bit out of date. I'm afraid I don't have a book scanner, so hopefully the images aren't too frustrating to deal with.
If someone wants to type them up into a handy-dandy Excel sheet and repost to the thread, I'm sure everyone would be thankful!
Now, several things you may want to know before using this as "gospel":
* Firstly, this may not match your specific lab's reference ranges. Lab reference ranges will differ somewhat from what an academic text book will find (as labs see a different set of patients than your academic types would).
* Additionally, testing methods differ significantly and can throw off reference ranges substantially. A great example of this LH tests - some testing methodologies will actually report HCG in the bloodstream as LH, while more modern ones do not.
* Thirdly, remember that this is a clinical reference range (which includes sedentary people as well as athletes). If you are going to "Play God" with these numbers, know what is reasonable given your goals. For instance, a sedentary individual who just needs a little help in the sack may be happy getting his Total Test up to 500, but if he's a competitive athlete, 700 may be a more reasonable number. My "natural" number was 840... 500 may be in the normal range but damn I feel and train like shit when I'm that low.
* Fourthly, remember that the endocrine (hormonal) system is VERY interconnected with your nervous system and immune system. Blood work taken on sick days (or days where you're under significant stress) may alter your test results. Similarly, numbers that are "outta whack" can mess with your mood and immune functions. A GOOD endocrinologist will know this and will work with you on getting to what is optimal for Y-O-U (charts be damned).
* Remember that hormones are also intermingled with each other - don't think that just getting your Total Test checked really is a good quality result. To get a good interpretation, the more data you have the better.
* Some people don't fit into a normal catagory and that's okay - I'd rather someone have a good quality "baseline" and work towards achieving that after a cycle than a clinical range (though if you don't have a proper baseline, the clinical range is a good starting point).
* Reference ranges change based upon population, as well as time. Besides the book being out of date, I would venture a guess that geneology plays into these numbers significantly (so African American vs. Asian vs. Hispanic vs. Caucausian, etc) can alter numbers... however...
* Your lifestyle is the number one contributing factor to your numbers. If you eat and train like a normal healthy sane individual you will most likely have the bloodwork of a healthy/sane individual. That means healthy fats, carbs equal to your energy level, a reasonable amount of bodyfat, some greens and veggies, various sources of protein, and an hour of cardio a week just for heart health.
Enjoy!
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