Fasting Insulin Test Kit (B-207)– Check Your Insulin Levels at Home
Concerned about insulin resistance, persistent cravings or difficulty managing your weight? Our fasting insulin test at home offers a convenient way to understand your insulin levels and take an informed next step for your metabolic health.
Collect a finger-prick blood sample at home and send it to ZRT Laboratory for analysis. Fasting insulin can provide useful information even when blood glucose remains within its normal range.
- Test ID: B-207 Fasting Insulin Test
- Sample Type: Dried Blood Spot
- Test Method: Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA)
- Results: 3–5 Working Days
- Laboratory: ZRT Laboratory – CLIA Certified
- Report: Specialist Doctor Comment Included
- Suitable For: Adults and Children
- Collect Sample At Home: No Clinic Visit Required
- Preparation: Fast for 10–12 hours overnight; water only
- Kit Validity: 12 months from purchase
- Important: Must Be Collected Fasting
What Does This Insulin Test Measure?
This test measures fasting insulin, reported in μIU/mL.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps move glucose from your bloodstream into cells for energy. When cells become less responsive to insulin, the pancreas may produce more to keep blood glucose under control.
This means insulin levels can rise while blood glucose is still normal. Measuring fasting insulin can help identify this pattern and support assessment of insulin resistance.
Your result provides useful information to discuss alongside your symptoms, health history and any glucose or HbA1c results.
Who Should Consider a Fasting Insulin Test?
This insulin test kit may be helpful if you:
- Experience frequent food or sugar cravings.
- Feel tired or notice energy dips after meals.
- Have excess weight around your waist.
- Find weight management difficult.
- Have a family history of type 2 diabetes.
- Have PCOS or concerns about insulin resistance.
- Have prediabetes, fatty liver, raised triglycerides or high blood pressure.
- Want additional insight into your metabolic health despite normal blood glucose results.
- Want to monitor fasting insulin as part of a healthcare-led diet, activity or treatment plan.
These symptoms and risk factors can have different causes. Testing gives you a measured insulin result to help guide your next steps.
Why Check Insulin When Blood Sugar Is Normal?
Blood glucose and insulin tell you different things.
Blood glucose shows how much sugar is circulating in your blood. Insulin helps explain how your body is managing that sugar. In early insulin resistance, increased insulin production may keep glucose levels within the normal range.
A fasting insulin test can therefore add useful information to your metabolic health assessment. It can help you and your healthcare professional make informed decisions about nutrition, physical activity, weight management and follow-up testing.
ZRT Fasting Insulin Reference Ranges
| Population | Reference Range | Optimum Range |
|---|---|---|
| Women | 1–15 μIU/mL | 2–6 μIU/mL |
| Men | 1–15 μIU/mL | 2–6 μIU/mL |
These are ZRT Laboratory’s published fasting insulin ranges. The optimum range provides an additional point of comparison within the broader reference range.
Results should be interpreted in context: a value outside the optimum range does not, by itself, diagnose insulin resistance. For children, interpretation should account for age and development rather than automatically applying adult ranges.
How Your Insulin Test at Home Works
Order your kit
Receive your collection kit with the materials and instructions needed to collect your sample.
Collect your sample at home
Fast overnight for 10–12 hours, drinking water only. Collect your finger-prick blood sample within one hour of waking.
Dry and return your sample
Allow the collection card to dry completely, complete the paperwork and post your sample to ZRT Laboratory in the USA using the return instructions provided.
Receive your results
Your results are delivered by email, typically 3–5 working days after the laboratory receives your sample. Postal transit time is additional.
Preparing for Your Fasting Insulin Test
A little preparation helps you collect a good-quality sample:
- Three days before collection: follow ZRT’s instructions to avoid biotin/vitamin B7 supplements, including hair and nail formulas, and anti-ageing/anti-wrinkle facial creams.
- The night before: fast for 10–12 hours. Drink water only during the fasting period.
- On the morning: collect within one hour of waking, before breakfast, tea, coffee or other drinks.
- Complete your form: list your current medicines and any hormone treatments.
For children or anyone taking insulin or other glucose-lowering medicines, arrange fasting and medication timing with the treating clinician. Do not change prescribed medication yourself.
For insulin-only testing, you do not need to time collection to a particular menstrual-cycle day. If you are also testing reproductive hormones, follow the relevant timing instructions for those tests.
Read the complete Dried Blood Spot Collection Instructions before collecting.
How to Collect a Good Blood Spot Sample
Your kit uses a finger-prick sample collected onto a special blood spot card.
- Write your name, collection date and time on the card.
- Wash your hands with warm water and soap, then dry with a clean towel.
- Clean the selected finger with the alcohol wipe and allow it to air-dry.
- Use the lancet as instructed and wipe away the first blood drop with the supplied gauze.
- Let a large drop form and apply it to the centre of a collection circle.
- Use one drop per circle, allowing the blood to soak through to the back of the card.
- Leave the card open to dry for at least four hours before packaging.
Aim for several large, evenly saturated spots. Avoid small spots, smearing or adding another drop on top of an existing spot.
ZRT’s guide lists two laboratory punches for B-207 insulin testing. These are small sections taken by the laboratory from your dried sample—not two finger pricks. Follow the collection instructions and provide several good-quality spots so the laboratory has sufficient material.
See the illustrated Blood Spot Reference Guide for examples of suitable samples.
Storing and Posting Your Sample
Once the blood spots are completely dry, close the card and keep it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight until posting.
Aim to return your sample promptly. If you cannot ship within 24 hours, ZRT’s Blood Spot Reference Guide advises placing the dried collection card in a clean, unused zip-lock bag and storing it safely in the freezer.
Include your completed test requisition form and any required shipping paperwork. Follow the return instructions supplied with your kit.
What Is Included in The Fasting Insulin Test Kit?
- At-home dried blood spot collection kit.
- Sample collection instructions.
- Laboratory analysis of fasting insulin.
- Your numerical result with laboratory reference information.
- Laboratory interpretive comments to help explain your result.
- Results delivered by email.
The laboratory analysis fee is included in the price. You are responsible for the cost of posting your sample to the laboratory.
Why We Use ZRT Laboratory
ZRT Laboratory is a CLIA-certified diagnostic laboratory, founded in 1998 by David Zava, PhD.
With more than 11 million tests performed and tests used by individuals and healthcare professionals in 96 countries, ZRT has extensive experience in hormone and wellness testing.
Its dried blood spot testing makes laboratory analysis accessible through convenient home sample collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I test my insulin levels at home?
Yes. This insulin test kit allows you to collect a finger-prick blood sample at home. You then send the dried sample to ZRT Laboratory for analysis. No clinic appointment is needed for collection.
Can this test help if I suspect insulin resistance?
Yes. Fasting insulin can provide useful evidence of increased insulin levels, including when blood glucose is still normal. It supports assessment of insulin resistance alongside your health history and other results. It does not diagnose or exclude insulin resistance on its own.
Why do I need to fast?
Insulin changes in response to food. Fasting allows your result to be compared with ZRT’s fasting insulin ranges. Follow the recommended 10–12-hour overnight fast, drinking water only.
Can I drink coffee or tea before collecting?
No. During the fasting period, drink water only, including on the morning of collection.
How is fasting insulin different from HbA1c?
Fasting insulin measures your insulin level after an overnight fast. HbA1c reflects average blood glucose over approximately the previous three months. They provide complementary information: insulin may be elevated while glucose measures remain normal.
Does this kit also measure glucose or HbA1c?
No. B-207 measures fasting insulin only. If you want a broader assessment, contact Hormone Lab UK about additional tests or a cardiometabolic profile.
Is this insulin test suitable for children?
Yes. The kit is suitable for adults and children. For a child, a parent or guardian should assist with collection and confirm an appropriate fasting plan with the child’s healthcare professional.
How soon will I receive my results?
Results are typically available 3–5 working days after your sample reaches the laboratory. Shipping time is additional, and incomplete paperwork or a sample requiring further assessment may cause delays.
Does the price include laboratory testing?
Yes. The laboratory analysis fee is included. Return postage to the laboratory is paid separately by the customer.
How long is my test kit valid?
Your Hormone Lab UK test kit is valid for 12 months from the purchase date, giving you time to plan your collection.
What if I have extreme thirst or frequent urination?
Arrange prompt medical assessment rather than waiting for a home insulin result, as these symptoms may require blood glucose testing.
Take the Next Step for Your Metabolic Health
If you suspect insulin resistance or want to understand your fasting insulin level, this home test offers a straightforward starting point.
Order your fasting insulin test kit today—collect at home, receive laboratory results and make informed decisions about your health.
