--- title: InsideTracker Optimal Zones 101 description: Blood tests at year physicals just tell you whether some markers are normal, high, or low. But what's normal may not be what's optimal for you. InsideTracker's optimal zones tell you what's optimal. image: https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/2-%20InsideTracker_Bloodwork.jpeg --- [![Logo](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/Logo.png "Logo")](https://www.insidetracker.com/) - [Why InsideTracker?](https://www.insidetracker.com/testimonial/) - [How it works](https://www.insidetracker.com/tour/) - [Science](https://www.insidetracker.com/science/) - [About](https://www.insidetracker.com/about/) - [Blog](https://blog.insidetracker.com/) - [Contact us](https://support.insidetracker.com/supportcenter) - [Shop](https://store.insidetracker.com/) Open main menu Close main menu - [Home](https://blog.insidetracker.com/) - [Courses](https://info.insidetracker.com/live-healthier-longer-course) - [Nutrition](https://blog.insidetracker.com/nutrition) Open the submenu - [Food](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/food) - [Supplements](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/supplements) - [Health + Wellness](https://blog.insidetracker.com/health-wellness) Open the submenu - [Heart health](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/heart-health) - [Women's health](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/womens-health) - [Sleep](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/sleep) - [Energy](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/boost-energy) - [Cognition](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/Cognition) - [Immunity](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/immunity) - [Stress](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/reduce-stress) - [Performance](https://blog.insidetracker.com/performance) Open the submenu - [Endurance](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/endurance) - [Strength + Fitness](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/strength-fitness) - [Longevity](https://blog.insidetracker.com/longevity) - More... 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Very early in my professional career, I learned that to do that we need to know what is happening inside the body. The best indicator for that is blood analysis, as it reflects the current status of our organs and body systems. # How InsideTracker selected what biomarkers to measure InsideTracker measures about 50 biomarkers. When I was selecting which biomarkers to include, I wanted to make sure that they: 1. Are most relevant for a healthy person looking to improve his or her health and performance 2. Are common markers of health and wellness for most healthy people. (I was not looking for markers where just one out of one million people is optimized) 3. Are actionable and can be modulated by food, supplements, exercise, and lifestyle changes. ![Bloodwork-Graph-3](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hs-fs/hub/419889/file-2490084638.jpeg?width=500&name=file-2490084638.jpeg) # Development of the optimal zones My next task was to develop an optimal zone for each biomarker. Generic health reports give the same "normal" zones for biomarkers, regardless of if you are male or female, old or young, active or sedentary, and so on. InsideTracker developed the optimal zone by extracting relevant information from peer-reviewed scientific publications about specific populations in relationship to specific markers. For example, the normal zone for ferritin for females is above 12, but young athletic females might need more iron due to monthly iron loss with the menstrual cycle and exercise that depletes iron levels. That is why, for this population, the InsideTracker optimal zone is greater than 12. The second method of developing the optimal zones was by using a large database of hundreds of thousands of data points from the American population that includes demographic information like age, gender, ethnicity, athletic activity, and so on that are connected to those biomarkers. This mega-database allowed us to find the zone in which the majority of your peers’ levels fall. We use a mix of these two methods to calculate the optimal zone for each of our members.   # The most up-to-date references Since InsideTracker's creation, the optimal zones have been updated. We decided that we needed to re-evaluate the validity of each marker’s optimal zone in order to provide our members with the most innovative information possible. To do that, we significantly expanded the size of the population database. In addition, we reviewed all of the rules extracted from the peer-reviewed scientific publications and updated them based on newer, more cutting-edge research. One area we specifically focused on was the impact of specific markers on the aging process and how that affects the optimal level for you. Our goal is to provide personalized, powerful, and practical information to each member, so you can live longer and delay the onset of age-related disease. InsideTracker will continue to evaluate the data and adjust optimal zones to give our members the most precise and personalized information possible.     #### 8 Ways to Biohack Your Health Free eBook ![eBook_img](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hs-fs/hubfs/inside-tracker/images/eBook_img.png?width=684&height=264&name=eBook_img.png) ### More on this topic [Manage Your Mind with These Three Strategies from Dr. Caroline Leaf](https://blog.insidetracker.com/manage-mind-strategies-dr-caroline-leaf) ###### By Michelle Darian, MS, MPH, RD, April 21, 2021 [Chasing Your Big, Wild, Audacious Goals: A Letter from Olympian Shalane Flanagan](https://blog.insidetracker.com/chasing-big-wild-audacious-goals-letter-shalane-flanagan) ###### By Shalane Flanagan, April 9, 2021 [Slowing Down to Speed Up: Olympian Tianna Bartoletta's Bedtime Routine for Improved Performance](https://blog.insidetracker.com/olympian-tianna-bartoletta-bedtime-routine-improved-performance) ###### By Tianna Bartoletta, April 5, 2021 [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/419889/4c987482-a4a3-4770-8721-a3e7cf9b89e8.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/419889/4c987482-a4a3-4770-8721-a3e7cf9b89e8) ### Longevity by Design #### The Podcast [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dzy7kt4%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Andrea%20Maier%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) [Do Longevity Supplements Really Work?](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dztppxp%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Uri%20Alon%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) [What Houses, Garbage, and Trucks Teach Us About Aging with Dr. Uri Alon](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) [View all articles](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/podcast) #### Recent articles [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dzy7kt4%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Andrea%20Maier%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) [Do Longevity Supplements Really Work?](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) March 30, 2026 [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dztppxp%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Uri%20Alon%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) [What Houses, Garbage, and Trucks Teach Us About Aging with Dr. Uri Alon](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) March 28, 2026 [View all articles](https://blog.insidetracker.com/all) ##### Company - 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