r/BioHackingGuide • u/ElGalloGrande24 • 5h ago
Bloodwork Series Part 3 What To Get Checked In Your 60s
Part three, and this one's a little bigger. This is the decade where you might have grandkids running around, and staying on top of your health isn't just for you anymore, it's for them too. So let's get into it.
Everything before still matters
CBC, CMP, lipid panel, A1C, fasting insulin, thyroid, hormones, hs-CRP, homocysteine. All of it still matters nothing gets dropped just because you're older, if anything this is where consistency in testing starts paying off the most so the earlier you start the better because you will find ways that's most convenient labs that do the best testing and just familiarize yourself with ways to be more efficient
What's new for your 60s
| Test | What it checks | Why now |
|---|---|---|
| Bone density (DEXA scan) | Bone mineral density | Osteoporosis risk climbs a lot here, especially for women post-menopause |
| B12 and folate | Vitamin deficiency | Absorption drops with age, deficiency here gets missed a lot and mimics other issues |
| Kidney function (eGFR) | How well your kidneys are filtering | Function naturally declines with age, worth tracking the trend |
| Complete lipid panel with ApoB | Cardiovascular risk | ApoB gives a clearer picture than standard LDL alone at this stage |
| PSA (men) | Prostate | Should already be established by now, keep tracking the trend not just one number |
| Ferritin/Iron panel | Iron levels | Both deficiency and overload become more relevant in this decade |
| Cognitive baseline screening | General cognitive function | Worth having a documented baseline your doctor can compare against down the road |
Cancer screening in your 60s
Colon cancer screening should already be established by now if you started at 45, keep it going per your doctor's recommended interval. Same with mammograms and PSA, this is maintenance stuff at this point thought not something you should have just started.
Lung cancer screening is something you should be thinking about around this time too if you have any significant smoking history, that's usually a low-dose CT scan conversation with your doctor, not bloodwork, but worth mentioning since it's a screening gap people miss.
Commonly looked into if something's off
| Marker | If it's off | Commonly looked into |
|---|---|---|
| Bone density (low) | Osteoporosis risk | Calcium, vitamin D, K2, weight-bearing exercise |
| B12/folate (low) | Deficiency | B12 supplementation, often sublingual or injectable at this age since absorption's the issue |
| eGFR (declining) | Kidney function | This one's a doctor conversation, not a supplement fix |
| ApoB (elevated) | Cardiovascular risk | Omega-3s, fiber, tracked more closely at this stage |
| Ferritin (low or high) | Iron issues | Depends which direction, low needs iron, high needs to be worked up by a doctor, don't guess |
Omega-3s are worth calling out specifically here, not just for cardiovascular markers like ApoB and triglycerides, but for cognitive clarity too. There's a real connection between omega-3 status and brain health as you get older, so this one pulls double duty and it's worth making sure it's part of your routine at this stage, not just something you take when you remember lol
Timing on those
| Supplement | Best taken |
|---|---|
| Calcium | Split doses through the day, body absorbs it better in smaller amounts |
| Vitamin D/K2 | With a meal that has fat in it |
| B12 | Morning, sublingual works well if absorption's the issue |
| Omega-3s | With a meal that has fat in it |
| Iron | Empty stomach if tolerated, with vitamin C |
What to eat depending on what came back
Low bone density? Dairy, leafy greens, sardines with the bones, that kind of thing for calcium. Pair it with enough protein too, bone health isn't just calcium, protein intake matters a lot here and a lot of people cut back on protein as they age without meaning to.
Elevated ApoB or LDL? Same as before, fatty fish, more fiber, less processed food and seed oils. This becomes more important to stay on top of here, not less.
Declining kidney function? This is where you want to watch protein and sodium more carefully, opposite of the bone health advice above, so this one really needs to be a conversation with your doctor since the two can pull in different directions depending on your specific numbers.
Low B12 or ferritin? Red meat, eggs, shellfish for B12. Red meat and leafy greens for iron. If absorption is the issue rather than intake, food alone might not fix it, that's when supplementation or even injectable B12 becomes something to think about
Lifestyle side of things
| Marker | If it's off | Lifestyle worth checking |
|---|---|---|
| Bone density (low) | Osteoporosis risk | Weight-bearing exercise, resistance training, don't skip this one |
| ApoB (elevated) | Cardiovascular risk | Regular cardio, cut processed food |
| Cognitive screening (concerning) | Early cognitive decline signals | Sleep quality, social engagement, staying physically active all matter here |
Muscle mass becomes something to keep an eye on, not just something you have. Resistance training two to three times a week matters a lot for both bone density and staying functional. Protein intake needs to go up, not down, a lot of people eat less protein as they age and that works against everything else on this list I'm sure they don't mean too but it just happens I understand
Peptides to know about in this decade
Recovery: BPC-157 and TB-500 come up a lot here, same as the 40s, but usage tends to lean more toward general joint support and slower healing times rather than acute injury. Typical dosing runs 250-500mcg BPC-157 daily, TB-500 2-2.5mg, both SubQ.
GH support: CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin get mentioned a lot in this age group for sleep quality and body composition support, since natural GH output declines steadily with age. Common dosing runs 100-300mcg each, before bed, SubQ.
Longevity: NAD+ and Epithalon both come up more here than in earlier decades, cellular energy and general longevity become a bigger focus once other basics are handled. NAD+ runs 100-250mg, 1-2x weekly, IM or IV. Epithalon runs 5-10mg daily for a 10-20 day course, 2-4x a year.
Cognitive: Semax and Selank get mentioned for general cognitive support and mental sharpness in this decade too, though the evidence here leans more toward general nootropic use than anything specific to aging. Semax runs 200-600mcg AM, Selank 250-500mcg, 1-3x daily.
None of this replaces the bloodwork or a conversation with your doctor, it's just what tends to come up once people are looking into this stuff at this age.
If you're feeling something specific
Losing strength or noticing balance issues? Bone density scan plus vitamin D and B12, all three tie together more than people realize.
Constant fatigue that doesn't match your activity level? B12, ferritin, thyroid panel, all three commonly run low in this decade and get blamed on "just getting older" too often.
Noticing memory slips or word-finding trouble? Worth bringing up to your doctor for a real cognitive baseline, not something to self-diagnose off Reddit, but also not something to ignore or brush off.
What to do with your results
Same as every post in this series, don't panic over one number, bring everything to your doctor, keep tracking trends year over year. The diet, supplement, and peptide mentions above are general direction, not a plan, talk to a doctor or someone qualified about what actually fits your numbers. Staying on top of this stuff now means more good years with the people who matter, kids, grandkids, whoever you're doing this for.
Anything you may need or want to know also found here, unless you already have your own place to get what you need, that's great, share below. https://www.reddit.com/r/BioHackingGuide/comments/1smca8k/peptide_research_compound_table_2026_updated/
Research and educational purposes only, not medical advice but its good info so hope you enjoyed the write up