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Casey Means's Blood Test Panel: Every Marker and Target

Dr. Casey Means, a physician and author of Good Energy, argues that standard lab ranges flag disease years after it's detectable. Below are the five markers she cites a specific numeric target for, each attributed to her own book or interviews rather than presented as FixFirst clinical guidance, and set alongside what Peter Attia, Tim Ferriss, and Bryan Johnson each target for the same markers.

AI-curated · Expert-attributed
Compiled by AI from the named experts’ own public statements, with every figure attributed to its source. These are individual expert protocols, not clinical guidelines or FixFirst medical advice. Evidence & methodology
5 markers, each attributed to a stated source Compared against 3 other longevity protocols on this site Free 45-second read on your own results
Reference ranges vs. reported targets
These stated targets are narrower than what a lab flags as abnormal — the same gap the optimal-vs-normal guide covers for blood markers generally.
See how "optimal" and "normal" ranges differ

Why Means sets tighter targets than standard lab ranges — and how they compare

Means, a Stanford-trained physician, built her book Good Energy and her "Good Energy Panel" (an 11-test panel offered through rupahealth.com) around one thesis: metabolic dysfunction shows up in blood work years before a standard "normal" flag catches it. The five markers below are the ones with a specific, sourced numeric target — not the full 11-test panel, since some of those (hs-CRP, uric acid, GGT) don't yet have a confirmed, unambiguous number attributed to her specifically.

✓
HbA1c 5–5.4% — in the same band as Attia and Ferriss
Means's range overlaps almost exactly with Tim Ferriss's stated <5.4% and sits close to Peter Attia's <5.5%. All three treat the ADA's 5.7% prediabetes cutoff as the wrong bar to aim for, not a target.
✓
ApoB <80 mg/dL — between Attia and Bryan Johnson
Looser than Attia's <65 mg/dL and Johnson's reported mid-to-high-50s, but still well under the standard <90 mg/dL guideline threshold most labs use.
⚠
Fasting insulin and HDL — framed as downstream, not primary
Means treats both as consequences of insulin resistance rather than independent levers — her stated intervention for elevated insulin and low HDL is the same one (eliminate refined carbohydrates, reduce sedentary time), not a marker-specific protocol the way some other pages on this site describe.

This page is part of FixFirst's Longevity blood markers series, which attributes every target to the person who stated it rather than presenting it as clinical guidance. Means is a physician, which distinguishes her sourcing from some other pages in this section — her numbers come from her own published book and interviews about her clinical practice, not from third-party breakdowns of self-reported results.

Means's full "Good Energy Panel" tests 11 markers (CBC with differential, a comprehensive metabolic panel, HbA1c, ApoB, triglycerides, HDL, insulin, CRP, GGT, uric acid, and vitamin D). The five below are the ones where a specific, single, unambiguous number could be confirmed and sourced to her directly — the rest are tested as part of her recommended panel but without a confirmed target figure to publish here.

Some markers below (HbA1c, fasting glucose, HDL) are commonly included on a standard panel. Fasting insulin and ApoB usually need to be requested specifically, the same gap covered generally in the optimal vs. normal ranges guide.

Casey Means's blood test targets at a glance

Every marker she cites a specific target for, with the figure as she has stated it. Each one is sourced and compared to other experts in the sections underneath.

MarkerMeans's targetOn a standard panel?
HbA1c5–5.4%Usually included
Fasting glucose70–85 mg/dL fasting; post-meal rise <30 mg/dL; 90% of day in 70–120 mg/dLUsually included
Fasting insulin<8 µIU/mLAsk for it
ApoB<80 mg/dLAsk for it
HDL50–90 mg/dLUsually included

Sourced to Good Energy (2024) and a rupahealth.com piece quoting her stated ranges directly. None of these are FixFirst recommendations or clinical targets.

The 5 markers in detail

Grouped by the metabolic cluster Means reads together, plus the cardiovascular marker she layers on top.

Cluster 1 of 2
Metabolic health
Means reads HbA1c, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin as one signal — her core argument is that a normal HbA1c can still mask early insulin resistance that fasting insulin catches first.
Core Usually in a standard panel Ask Request specifically
Core
HbA1c
Target 5–5.4%, tighter than the ADA's <5.7% non-diabetic threshold. Compare: Ferriss targets <5.4%, Attia <5.5%, Bryan Johnson ~5.0–5.2% — Means sits inside the same tight band as Ferriss and Attia.
Core
Fasting glucose
Target 70–85 mg/dL fasting; post-meal rise <30 mg/dL; 90% of day in 70–120 mg/dL. Means treats fasting glucose in the 85-99 mg/dL range most labs call "normal" as early metabolic dysfunction, not a healthy result — a stricter read than the standard clinical cutoff of 100 mg/dL for prediabetes.
Ask
Fasting Insulin
Target <8 µIU/mL. Means calls fasting insulin "the most underutilised metabolic test in standard practice," arguing metabolic disease develops silently within lab-normal insulin ranges years before glucose or HbA1c move.
Cluster 2 of 2
Cardiovascular
Means layers ApoB and HDL on top of the metabolic cluster rather than treating them as a separate lipid conversation — in her framework, both move as a consequence of fixing insulin resistance.
Core Usually in a standard panel Ask Request specifically
Ask
ApoB
Target <80 mg/dL, under the standard <90 mg/dL guideline threshold. Compare: Attia targets <65 mg/dL (patients: 30–40 mg/dL), Huberman <60 mg/dL, Bryan Johnson Mid-to-high 50s mg/dL (reported as low as 55, high as 60 mg/dL across sources) — Means's number is the least aggressive of the four cited on this site, though still stricter than most standard lab flags.
Core
HDL
Target 50–90 mg/dL. Means positions low HDL as a downstream consequence of insulin resistance rather than a marker to target directly — her stated approach is to fix the upstream metabolic dysfunction and expect HDL to follow, rather than a HDL-specific intervention.

Frequently asked questions

What blood tests does Casey Means recommend?
Her "Good Energy Panel" (available through rupahealth.com) tests 11 markers: a complete blood count with differential, a comprehensive metabolic panel, HbA1c, ApoB, triglycerides, HDL, fasting insulin, CRP, GGT, uric acid, and vitamin D. This page covers the five where a specific numeric target could be confirmed and sourced directly to her — HbA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, ApoB, and HDL.
How does Casey Means's HbA1c target compare to Peter Attia's and Tim Ferriss's?
Means targets 5–5.4%, Ferriss targets <5.4%, and Attia targets <5.5% — all three sit within a few tenths of a percentage point of each other, all tighter than the ADA's 5.7% non-diabetic threshold. Bryan Johnson's reported target of ~5.0–5.2% is tighter still. None of the four numbers is a clinical guideline; each is an individual target its source has cited for their own protocol.
Is Casey Means a doctor?
Yes — she is a Stanford-trained physician (MD) and the author of Good Energy (2024), which argues that metabolic dysfunction is an upstream driver of most chronic disease. That distinguishes her sourcing on this site from protocols attributed to non-clinicians: her stated targets come from her own published clinical writing and interviews, not from third-party analysis of self-reported results.
Why does this page skip hs-CRP, uric acid, and GGT even though they're part of her panel?
Those three are included in her named Good Energy Panel, but no single, unambiguous numeric target attributed specifically to Means could be confirmed for them at the time this page was written — one source's hs-CRP figure used a unit inconsistent with how every other source on this site states it, and no second source corroborated a specific number. Rather than publish a possibly-wrong figure, this page covers only the five markers with a confirmed, sourced target.
Can my regular doctor order these tests?
HbA1c, fasting glucose, and HDL are commonly included on a standard metabolic or lipid panel. Fasting insulin and ApoB usually need to be requested specifically, since they aren't part of a default panel. Insurance coverage for the less-common markers varies by provider.

References & Guidelines

Keep reading: Longevity blood markers hub · Peter Attia's blood test panel · Bryan Johnson's blood test results

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These are targets from one physician's stated protocol, not a clinical guideline. Seeing where your own results sit against the standard clinical range is the first comparison point.

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