Electrolytes
Anion Gap
What This Marker Tells Us
Measures the difference between positively and negatively charged electrolytes in your blood, revealing unmeasured ions that indicate your body's acid-base balance and metabolic state.
Why It Matters
Detects subtle metabolic acidosis before symptoms appear, signaling conditions like diabetic ketoacidosis, lactic acidosis from overtraining, kidney dysfunction, or toxic exposures. It also identifies metabolic alkalosis from chronic vomiting or diuretic use. Your body's pH balance affects enzyme function, oxygen delivery, bone health, and muscle performance. Even mild chronic acidosis accelerates aging, impairs recovery, and increases inflammation.
How to Interpret Your Trends
Low anion gaps are rare but may indicate hypoalbuminemia, lab error, or certain paraproteinemias. Typical gaps (7-16 mEq/L) reflect normal acid-base homeostasis. High gaps suggest accumulation of unmeasured acids—lactate from intense exercise or hypoxia, ketones from fasting or low-carb diets, uremic acids from kidney disease, or toxic metabolites. Context determines urgency.
What Influences This Marker
Ketogenic diets and prolonged fasting increase ketones, widening the gap temporarily. Intense exercise produces lactate. Chronic kidney disease, uncontrolled diabetes, alcohol consumption, and certain medications elevate unmeasured acids. Dehydration concentrates all electrolytes, affecting calculations. Adequate hydration, balanced macronutrients, and metabolic flexibility maintain normal ranges.
How Your Team Uses It
Your team uses anion gap trends to assess metabolic health, recovery capacity, and dietary intervention effects. Unexpected elevations trigger deeper investigation into kidney function, glucose metabolism, or overtraining. It informs fueling strategies around training and fasting protocols.
Related Signals We Also Review
Blood pH, bicarbonate, lactate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, creatinine, and albumin complete the metabolic acid-base picture alongside your training load and nutrition patterns.