What a Lipid Panel Measures
A lipid panel is a blood test built around four core numbers: total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Together these four numbers form a standard cardiovascular risk snapshot, one of the more established and widely ordered panels in routine bloodwork.
LDL is often called the "bad" cholesterol because higher levels are associated with plaque buildup in artery walls over time, while HDL is called the "good" cholesterol because it helps carry excess cholesterol back to the liver for clearance. Triglycerides are a separate fat molecule circulating in the blood, and elevated levels are tied to diet, body composition, and metabolic health. A lipid panel is one piece of the broader panel covered in BioStackIQ's peptide bloodwork guide, which walks through the full set of markers worth tracking on a protocol.
Reference Ranges
Labs report each marker against a standard reference range. These ranges are a general screening tool, not a personal diagnosis, and results should always be reviewed with a healthcare provider.
| Marker | Generally Desirable Range |
|---|---|
| Total Cholesterol | Under 200 mg/dL |
| LDL Cholesterol | Under 100 mg/dL considered optimal |
| HDL Cholesterol | Above 40 mg/dL in men, above 50 mg/dL in women |
| Triglycerides | Under 150 mg/dL |
General screening thresholds, not a diagnosis. These ranges flag values worth a closer look, but they are not diagnostic on their own. A full cardiovascular risk picture considers more than a lipid panel alone, including other bloodwork, family history, and lifestyle factors reviewed with a healthcare provider.
Why Peptide and NAD+ Users Track This
A lipid panel is relevant to metabolic-focused protocols and to NAD+ supplementation interest, since both metabolic health and mitochondrial-support compounds like those covered in BioStackIQ's guide to NAD+ therapy benefits and cost can influence these markers over time. Someone running a metabolic-focused stack, or simply curious how NAD+ supplementation lines up with their bloodwork, gets more out of a lipid panel drawn before starting and compared against a follow-up later, rather than a single isolated result.
If lab results are already in hand, BioStackIQ's Analyze My Labs tool can flag values outside range and explain what each marker means in the context of a current protocol, so the interpretation step does not require cross-referencing ranges by hand.
Testing Conditions
A standard lipid panel is usually drawn fasted, typically 9 to 12 hours, mainly for the most accurate triglyceride reading. Food, especially anything high in fat or sugar, can raise triglycerides temporarily and skew that number.
Some newer guidance allows non-fasted panels in certain contexts, since total cholesterol, LDL, and HDL tend to shift less with recent food intake than triglycerides do. Fasting requirements can still vary by lab and by provider, so it is worth checking with whoever is ordering the panel beforehand rather than assuming either way.