What is a normal blood test range?

What’s covered?

Getting your blood tested is an easy and efficient way to find out what problems you have that could be related to the ratio of each type of cell in your blood.

However, when you receive your results, it might be challenging to understand whether or not you are in a healthy range.

This article will cover a good blood test range and how you can alter yours. Please remember that the advice in this article is general and might not apply to you specifically.

How do you prepare for a blood test?

Unless a blood test has a total blood count, you can drink or eat for a certain amount of time before your test. Your doctor will advise you whether or not you need to fast before your blood test.

What you can expect

The blood test takes place at a medical facility. Blood samples are deposited at a laboratory to be analysed. You can resume normal work immediately after the test.

Red Blood Cells

What's a good range for red blood cells?

Red blood cells are essential for many reasons.

However, their primary purpose is to carry oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

A healthy range is generally between 4.3 and 5.9 million per cubic mm of blood for men and between 3.5 and 5.5 million per cubic mm of blood for women.

Red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and are constantly being replaced as they age or become damaged.

A variety of conditions can cause a decrease in the number of red blood cells, including anaemia, cancer, and chronic illness.

Without red blood cells, the oxygen we breathe wouldn't be able to travel from the lungs to our body's cells.

How to alter red blood cell levels

A lack of red blood cells can lead to several health problems, including fatigue, shortness of breath, and anaemia.

The best way to increase your red blood cell count is to ensure that you're getting enough iron in your diet. Red meat, organ meat, leafy greens, dried fruit, beans, and egg yolk are all excellent sources of iron.

Suppose you have too many red blood cells. You can reduce your count by exercising more, eating less red meat, drinking plenty of water, avoiding caffeine (which dehydrates the body), and not smoking. You can keep your red blood cell count healthy by following these simple tips.

For more information and our comprehensive guide to blood tests, click here.

White Blood Cells

What's a good range for red blood cells?

Another type of blood cell that helps us stay healthy is the white blood cell.

As you may remember from your old biology classes, white blood cells form an essential part of our immune systems.

When a pathogen, such as a virus or a bacterium, enters our body, the white blood cells immediately release antibodies. The antibodies capture the invader and kill it while remembering its appearance.

Next time the same pathogen enters your body, your white blood cells will recognise it and immediately kill it.

A good range of white blood cells would be 4,500-11,000 per cubic mm of blood.

How to alter white blood cell levels

If you find that you don't have enough white blood cells, the best way to increase them would be to alter your diet. Some foods can help your body produce more disease-fighting cells because they contain nutrients that go into making them.

The best foods to eat are those high in vitamin C. This means fruits and vegetables. However, you can also increase your white blood cell count by eating garlic, ginger, almonds, yoghurt, lemons, spinach and sunflower seeds. These foods will also boost your immune system.

However, there is such a thing as too many white blood cells. Vitamin C can also help regulate their levels.

Additionally, you should also consider avoiding sugar and rather eat foods high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.

Platelets

What's a good range for platelets?

Have you ever cut yourself?

Ever notice that within a few minutes, the bleeding stops, and a scab forms over the wound? This is all thanks to platelets which are tiny cells that our blood contains. If it weren't for platelets, blood could not clot, and we would bleed heavily every time we cut ourselves.

Platelets clump together and form a plug on the skin while the body heals the wound.

A good platelet range would be 150,000 to 400,000 for every cubic mm of blood.

How to alter platelet levels

Don't have enough platelets? Your body probably lacks Vitamin B12, folate, iron, or vitamin C.

Vitamin B12 can come from liver or clams. Iron is in foods such as beef or lentils. Peanuts and beans are excellent sources of folate. And lemons and spinach contain plenty of vitamin C.

However, if you have too many platelets, eating dark chocolate, ginger, garlic, fish oil, onions, grapes, or tomatoes can help regulate their levels.

Haemoglobin

What's a good range for haemoglobin?

Haemoglobin is a type of protein found in red blood cells. The haemoglobin holds onto oxygen as it moves from the lungs to the cells. It also holds onto carbon dioxide as it's transported back to the lungs for expulsion from the body.

I like to look at it because red blood cells are like the mailman, and haemoglobin is like his bag where he holds the mail (or, in this case, oxygen).

There should be 13.5-17.5 grams of haemoglobin for every decilitre of blood for men. For women, it's 12-16 grams per decilitre.

How to alter haemoglobin levels

You can solve high haemoglobin levels by cutting back on sugar, exercising more, losing weight, or managing stress.

We understand that much of that advice is easier said than done. However, if your blood tests indicate you have too much haemoglobin, it's wise to think about a reduction.

Conversely, suppose your haemoglobin levels are too low. You can increase them by eating more meat, eggs, soy, broccoli, leafy green vegetables, green beans, nuts, and seeds.

What happens in a blood test?

When you get your blood tested, your doctor will insert a needle into one of your blood vessels. A vessel is better than an artery as it takes blood that contains oxygen instead of carbon dioxide.

Your doctor will then send this sample to a laboratory for testing.

Usually, it will be tested using chemicals, but the testers might look at it under a microscope under some circumstances.

The laboratory will then contact your doctor, who will contact you to let you know your results.

If you have too many, or not enough, of any of the things discussed above, it could be wise to talk to your doctor about the best course of action.

Other blood tests

Full blood count (FBC)

The tests measure your blood type and number of cells, including blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The information provided can help you understand more about your health and provide useful clues about health problems that may occur.

The test also tries to identify inflammatory diseases.

Blood glucose (blood sugar) tests

A number of tests are commonly used when diagnosing diabetes by checking blood glucose levels. Blood sugar tests can be used at home. Your blood is tested by just one pin-prick of blood.

Coagulation tests

A coagulation test can be done by checking if you are experiencing bleeding. It can also be the result of bleeding disorders like haemophilia and von Willebrand disease. Various types of anticoagulation tests such as international normalised ratios (INRs) are used for determining the dosage of anticoagulation agents like warfarin and checking the dose. Find out what to watch out for when using anticoagulants.

Blood cholesterol test

Cholesterol is a fat that is most often created in our body when we eat fats in the diet, and is essential to a normal body function. In the United Kingdom, cholesterol levels may increase the risk for serious health issues such as stroke. The cholesterol level is easily assessed using a blood sample. You may need to stop eating for 12 to 15 minutes before your test (which normally occurs while you are sleeping) to ensure the entire meal was completely digested.

‘Normal' may differ between men and women

Blood tests are often different for both women and men, and you may be surprised by their difference. According to statistics, the standard reference area for red blood cell count is between 5-6 million microlitres for the male but for women is about 4- 5 million microlitres.

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