The AuraShield blog

Read your own cycle and lab data — and bring something useful to your doctor

Plain-language guides to what a period calendar can honestly predict, what the labs you already have can tell you about your metabolism, and how to turn both into one page a clinician reads in a minute. Sourced, and never a diagnosis.

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GuidesSeptember 16, 2026 5 min read

HbA1c vs fasting glucose — which test to ask for, and why the honest answer is usually both

HbA1c averages three months of blood sugar; fasting glucose is one morning. They disagree more often than people expect — iron deficiency and some haemoglobin variants shift HbA1c. What each test measures, the ranges clinicians use, and how to read both.

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The metabolic screening card: TyG index, TG:HDL ratio, HOMA-IR and the metabolic-syndrome criteria, each with its reference range and the date of the draw — Metabolic screening · example data

GuidesSeptember 16, 2026 5 min read

What the luteal phase does to your sleep — and what a wearable actually measures

Warmer nights, more waking, a resting pulse a few beats higher, a recovery score that dips every month. The luteal phase changes sleep in measurable ways. What the research shows, why wearables misread it, and how to read sleep in the context of your cycle.

GuidesSeptember 16, 2026 5 min read

Perimenopause or something else? What to track before you ask your doctor

Cycles getting shorter, then longer, then skipping; sleep and mood changing; a hot flush or two. Perimenopause is one explanation, not the only one — and clinicians identify it from your history, not one hormone test. What to track before the appointment.

GuidesSeptember 16, 2026 5 min read

What a period app should promise about your data — and how to check that it does

Most health apps are not covered by medical privacy law, two period trackers have settled with the FTC over sharing data, and after Dobbs, cycle data can be legally sensitive. The seven promises to look for, in plain language, and how to check each one.

How it worksSeptember 15, 2026 5 min read

Your cycle changes your metabolism. Why almost no app reads them together

Insulin sensitivity, appetite, glucose and energy all shift across the menstrual cycle. Here is what the research says, why single-day scores misread it, and how to read your cycle and your labs in one view.

GuidesSeptember 15, 2026 5 min read

Heavy periods and low ferritin — what your own data can show, and what only a clinician can tell you

Heavy menstrual bleeding is one of the commonest causes of low iron, and it is often under-reported at appointments. Learn what "heavy" means in clinical terms, what a ferritin result does and does not tell you, and how to put both on one page for your doctor.

GuidesSeptember 15, 2026 5 min read

The one page to bring to your doctor — and why most self-tracked data never gets read

Appointments are short and clinicians read in a fixed order — concern, problem list, allergies, medications. Here is how to turn months of tracked data into one page a doctor can use, and how AuraShield generates it for free.

How it worksSeptember 15, 2026 5 min read

Why a period prediction should show how sure it is

Every period app predicts your next period. Almost none tells you how confident it is. Here is how prediction bands work, why they widen three cycles out, and why a calendar anchored to your logged periods beats a textbook 28 days.

GuidesSeptember 15, 2026 5 min read

Prediabetes hides for years. Here is the two-minute screen that needs no blood test

Most adults with prediabetes don't know they have it. The FINDRISC questionnaire — eight questions, validated over a decade of follow-up — gives a first read of type 2 diabetes risk with no bloodwork at all. Here is how it works and what to do with the result.

GuidesSeptember 15, 2026 5 min read

How to read the labs you already have — TyG, TG/HDL, HOMA-IR and the five metabolic-syndrome criteria

A routine blood panel holds more than the numbers it reports. Learn what the TyG index, the TG/HDL ratio, HOMA-IR and the five metabolic-syndrome criteria are, how they are calculated, and what they can and cannot tell you.