Cholesterol is an essential fat that your body produces. It helps make vitamin D and hormones. Your body needs cholesterol to stay healthy, but too much can increase your risk of heart disease. The cholesterol home test, also called a lipid profile test, measures the different types of fats in your blood. 

The cholesterol home test checks 7 biomarkers:

1. LDL (low-density lipoproteins)
2. Non-HDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol)
3. HDL (good cholesterol)
4. Total cholesterol
5. Triglycerides
6. Total cholesterol: HDL ratio
7. Triglycerides: HDL ratio 

High cholesterol has no symptoms, so regular testing is the only way to keep track of your levels.

Healthy levels of cholesterol:

“Blood sugar or glucose levels are a measurement that shows how much glucose (blood sugar) you have in your blood. Blood sugar is vital as it provides the body’s cells with energy. Diabetes is a condition where blood sugar levels become too high.” - Dr. Neel Patel

An HbA1c test measures your average blood sugar (glucose) levels over the past 3 months. This can help you understand your risk of developing type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.

When the amount of sugar in your blood rises, any that your body can’t use attaches to red blood cells to form glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c).

Red blood cells live for around 3 months, which is why a HbA1c test measures the average blood sugar over the past few months.

The at-home HbA1c test will show you whether you have healthy levels of HbA1c.

Results include: 

The thyroid is a gland at the front of your neck that produces hormones (T3 and T4).

If it becomes underactive, it may not release the right levels of these hormones. This can result in symptoms such as weight gain, hair loss, migraines and fatigue. If your thyroid becomes overactive, it may release too many hormones. This may cause symptoms such as mood swings, anxiety and weight loss.

The at-home thyroid blood test checks levels of free thyroxine (T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which regulates the release of thyroid hormones.

Healthy ranges include:

The instructions included in your test will let you know if you need to fast. However, we do recommend fasting (not eating or drinking anything except water for up to 8-12 hours) before collecting your sample.

Your results can be affected by food and drink. Eating a high-fat meal before a lipid test could cause your triglyceride levels to look higher than they are. 

Your test results are available within 3 working days once your sample reaches the lab.

Your results will tell you what your biomarker levels are and how they compare to the healthy ranges.

Healthy ranges for each check include:  

HbA1C

• Normal - Below 42 mmol/mol
• Prediabetes - 42 to 47 mmol/mol
• Diabetes - 48 mmol/mol or over 

Your HbA1c result is influenced by lots of circumstances. Such as being unwell, medications, lifestyle changes including your diet, and stress levels.

Thyroid function

• Free T4 between 12-22 pmol/L
• TSH between 0.27 - 4.2 mIU/L

Your thyroid levels can be influenced by a number of factors including genetics and your lifestyle. In studies body mass index (BMI) and smoking showed the clearest association with thyroid levels. Quitting smoking and being a healthy weight may be helpful for thyroid hormone health.

Cholesterol

• Total cholesterol - below 5mmol/L
• HDL (good cholesterol) - above 1.0mmol/L for men or above 1.2mmol/L for women
• Non-HDL (bad cholesterol) - below 4mmol/L 

There are many things that can affect whether you have high cholesterol. For some people it’s genetic, because of their age or ethnicity. It’s not something they can control even if they live a healthy lifestyle. For other people factors like diet, how much exercise you do and whether you smoke impact cholesterol levels.

If you have any abnormal results one of our clinicians will contact you with more information. 

We’ll send you an email or a text to let you know when the lab has received your samples. 

Results are usually ready in 3 working days of receipt of samples  — we’ll let you know when you can view them in your dashboard.

If ready, your results will be in the results portal. If you've already created an account, please login to view them now.

The results portal requires a different login to your LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor account. To create your results portal account, please refer to the email sent to you when you placed your order.

Home blood test result examples:

If you’re on a weight loss journey, repeating a weight management blood test can show how your efforts are having an impact. The results may show non-scale signs of weight loss such as lowering cholesterol levels and diabetes risk.

Changing results can keep you motivated to achieve your goals and make more lifestyle changes such as:

• Swapping unhealthy snacks for healthier ones
• Eating more fruits and vegetables
• Following a diet like the Mediterranean diet
• Exercising regularly 

Weight loss treatments may be helpful for some people wanting to lose weight. Find out more in our weight loss medication guide.