Select a biomarker. Enter your value. Get plain-English context using published reference bands — never personalised, never diagnostic.
Educational only — never diagnostic.The decoder maps your entered value against published reference bands for ten common biomarkers — ferritin, TSH, vitamin D, B12, estradiol, HbA1c, cortisol, iron, ApoB and hsCRP. Each biomarker has zones with editorial commentary written for U.S. women, drawing on the same source bands clinical labs use.
It's a reading of where your number sits inside the published bands and what that band typically describes — written in the same plain English Heme uses across the rest of the site. The text is identical for everyone whose value lands in that zone; it doesn't change for your age, sex, cycle day, medication, history or any other personal factor. It is, deliberately, an editorial-only reading.
This is not a diagnosis, not a clinical interpretation, and not personalised medical advice. A single number out of context can mean very different things depending on age, cycle phase, medication, recent illness, training load, pregnancy or postpartum status, family history, and dozens of other factors a real clinician would weigh.
It doesn't account for your individual context. It doesn't replace clinical judgement. If a value is flagged here, it doesn't mean something is wrong — it means it sits outside the typical published band and may be worth a conversation. Use the reading the way you'd use an editorial article — a starting point for a question with someone qualified, not an answer.
The full library of plain-English biomarker explainers — what each one measures, what the ranges mean, what to ask.
Biomarker index →The printable list of biomarkers worth bringing up at your next appointment — organised by panel.
Open checklist →A 6-step intake that routes you to the biomarkers and provider-conversation prompts most relevant to where you are.
Take the quiz →Educational only. Not medical advice. Heme is an editorial comparison platform and does not provide medical diagnosis, treatment or emergency advice. This decoder reads published reference bands; it does not interpret your individual context. Always speak to a qualified healthcare provider about blood results or treatment decisions. How we make money.