When we were kids, our elders often told us to take our vitamins, but this advice is equally important for managing the health of adults. The latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has the following to say:
- More than 10% of Americans, 30 million of them, have a vitamin deficiency
- Vitamin B6 deficiency affects 32% of adults
- Vitamin D deficiency affects 95%
- A magnesium deficiency affects 61%
If you want to maintain your bodily health, it is essential that you go in for a vitamin and mineral test.
It does not mean you need to pay for a costly visit to the doctor for a prescription. The services we render are fast, secure, and easy for you to get your results.
Tests for vitamins are simple, but the challenge is to know which test you need to undertake and why. Our vitamin test guide can help you make an informed choice when picking which test or panel to order. Let's start by learning about vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin and Mineral Tests: What are they?
A healthy diet is one that will give you a balanced intake of both vitamins and minerals, or if you have dietary restrictions, you may need supplements. The following are the vitamins and minerals that you need:
- Vitamins: A, C, D, E, and K
- B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12
- Minerals: Magnesium, calcium, folate, iron, and zinc
A sample of your blood will be used in vitamin and mineral tests so that the levels of all these minerals and vitamins can be determined. With Ulta Lab Tests, you can visit an authorized patient service center so that a phlebotomist can draw your blood, which will then be forwarded to a national laboratory for the needed tests.
The testing begins as soon as the specimen comes to the lab, and the results will be posted in your online patient portal within a few days once the lab completes the tests.
Benefits of this Testing
Vitamins and minerals play a large part in our bodily functions, right from maintaining bone density to the functioning of the brain. They can also affect chronic diseases and other health conditions such as:
- Osteoporosis
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Anemia
- Autoimmune disease
- Bone loss
- Depression
Most people, in general, never monitor their intake of minerals and vitamins. Testing for vitamins and minerals can reveal whether you have a deficiency or are in danger of developing one.
A deficiency in vitamins can often be an early warning sign that you will develop health issues that can become serious. Catch it early, and you can avoid conditions like anemia and diabetes. It's best to catch early signs and prevent diseases than to treat them later.
Both in the U.S. and the rest of the world, heart disease has become the number one cause of death. You can mitigate these risk factors if you have a healthy intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins and Mineral Tests you can order
Ulta Lab Tests offer four test panels for vitamins and minerals:
· Vitamins and Minerals - Basic
· Vitamins and Minerals - Basic Plus
· Vitamins and Minerals - Advanced
· Vitamins and Minerals- Comprehensive
The Vitamins and Minerals - Basic panel includes four tests and six biomarkers. This panel can detect anemia with the iron and ferritin markers included in it. It also checks for folate and magnesium levels
The Vitamins and Minerals - Basic Plus panel comes with eight tests and 13 biomarkers. Besides testing for anemia, this panel includes tests for prealbumin, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B12, which can screen for a broader range of illnesses.
The Vitamins and Minerals - Advanced panel comes with 22 tests and 115 biomarkers. This panel tests for multiple deficiencies and includes a urinalysis test that will check for infections and kidney and urinary health.
The Vitamins and Minerals- Comprehensive panel, conducts 24 tests and 34 biomarkers, testing for a full range of more than twenty vitamins and minerals that are deemed essential.
Your doctor will determine whether you need just a basic panel or have to order something more comprehensive.
FAQ About Vitamin tests
It is very easy to have a mineral and vitamin test done, and it can get you many benefits. It will allow you to take active control of matters regarding your health and also ensure that you are taking the right nutrition so that health issues can be prevented from developing.
Even if you don't have any dietary restrictions and take plenty of supplements, vitamins, and minerals, tests can reveal deficiencies you were not aware of.
How Can a Vitamin Test Help?
Most Americans' diets are high in salt, sugar, and fat and are not of very high nutritional value.
Our culture is workaholic and fast-paced. It is quite normal to go in for fast food. Millions of Americans live in what can be called a food desert where there is no access to healthy food.
A person can have developmental and health problems that do not directly point to a deficiency. The symptoms can also point to a health issue that you are already aware of.
For example, depression is correlated with a deficiency in Vitamin D, but the symptoms like body aches and fatigue are the same. To know the underlying cause of these symptoms, a vitamin test is required.
Vitamin deficiencies can cause other symptoms, such as:
- Shifts in moods
- Changes in personality
- Inability to sleep or insomnia
- Muscle cramps and weakness
- Lightheadedness and dizziness
- Becoming short of breath
- Upset digestion and nausea
You may have access to plenty of food, but it may not be the best for vitamin intake. Vitamin deficiencies can develop even in countries that have low levels of food insecurity.
The most prevalent deficiency is Vitamin D, and that is why testing for just Vitamin D can benefit most adults.
What must you do if your tests reveal a deficiency? Fortunately, when your vitamin and mineral level results are low, they are easy to correct.
Minor adjustments will have to be made to your diet, or you will need to take supplements of vitamins and minerals. Your doctor may even prescribe prescription supplements. Repeat testing in a few months will reveal the impact dietary changes and supplements made on your vitamins and minerals levels.
If the deficiency points to serious health issues, the test for vitamins and minerals will also indicate any further tests that are specifically needed. Your intake can be healthy, but if the vitamins are not absorbed, it is an indication of a potential malabsorption problem.
Diseases like Chron's disease or celiac disease can affect the absorption of Vitamin B12. It is necessary to understand your test results and what they indicate about your health.
Benefits of Vitamins and Minerals tests from Ulta Lab Tests
The tests offered by Ulta Lab Tests are very accurate and reliable so that you can make informed decisions about your nutritional health. There are many things that you will find about Ulta Lab Tests that you will like, such as:
- Results that are secure and confidential
- No health insurance is needed
- No physician's referrals required
- Affordable prices
- Guaranteed 100% satisfaction
Order your vitamin and mineral tests to take control of your nutritional health. You will receive your results in your private online patient portal in 24 to 48 hours for most tests and 5-7 days for tests that are complicated.
Take charge of your health today with Ulta Lab Tests.
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