Who and why should be tested for vitamins and how to decipher the results
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If you doubt the need for this study, most likely, you can do without it.
Who and why should be tested for vitamins
In a good way, only a therapist or other doctor who treats you should prescribe an analysis for any vitamin. And only after learning your health complaints and studying your medical history. In this case, he could assume that the cause of your illness is a lack or excess of one of the vitamins. And research is needed to confirm or refute this assumption.
Taking tests for vitamins should only be done by those people who have received a referral from a doctor.
Of course, you can inquire about the amount of these substances yourself: commercial laboratories will conduct any research without problems. For your money, of course. However, the question arises here: what is the meaning? If you don't have symptoms, checking your vitamin levels just in case is a waste of money.
But even if there are symptoms, it is better to consult a therapist, and not to self-prescribe a laboratory test. The fact is that hypovitaminosis does not have specific signs characteristic of this condition. For example, the same weakness and increased fatigue can have dozens of different causes — from long-term stress to cardiovascular disorders — and are completely unrelated to a lack of vitamins.
Only a qualified doctor can understand the clinical picture and prescribe the necessary tests (including vitamins, if it is really needed). By acting alone, you risk wasting money and losing time that could be devoted to really effective diagnosis and treatment.
What are vitamin tests
There are two options: blood test and urinalysis. Which one is offered to you depends on the specific substance. For example, the level of B vitamins can be checked in both ways. And in the case of vitamin D, the urine test is not indicative, so doctors suggest to donate blood.
Some commercial laboratories carry out a specific procedure – analysis of hair for vitamins. But toxicologist Oleksiy Vodovozov calls it “absolute divorce for money”.
First, there is no blood supply in the hair and nails. It is impossible to get information about the content of vitamins in the body from them. The second point: the hair is affected by a lot of surrounding factors. And shampoos, and gels, and paint, and air. It is simply impossible to distinguish the substances that got into the hair from the inside, from the same substances that came from the outside.
According to the expert, there is only one really working hair analysis. But it exists only in toxicology, and it is posthumous. That is, you can cut the curls, and then, based on their research, say that, let's say, a person was poisoned with arsenic for some time. However, it is impossible to determine the level of vitamins or other metabolically significant substances using a hair test.
How to decipher the result of a vitamin analysis
In general, only three options are possible:< /p>
- The vitamin level you checked is OK.
- You have a deficiency of the vitamin.
- You have an excess of the vitamin.
In the laboratory form that will be issued after processing the analysis, the result will be indicated directly. You will see what the norm of a specific substance should be and how much the level found in you differs from it. Please note that the values may differ in different laboratories: it depends on the specificity and sensitivity of the reagents used.
However, despite the fact that the answer will be obvious, only a doctor can decipher it and, if necessary, prescribe therapy. As Oleksiy Vodovozov notes, the most important rule in medicine is not to treat test results.
A low (or high) level of vitamins is not an independent disease. This is just a symptom of some processes taking place in the body. Yes, you may be hypovitaminosis because you are deficient in nutrients from your diet. But another situation is no less likely. For example, low vitamin levels can be a sign of metabolic disorders that prevent you from absorbing nutrients. Or take them out very quickly.
Also, recorded hypovitaminosis may not tell you anything about the true content of vitamins in your body.
The results we get from a blood or urine test do not always indicate how well the organs and tissues are supplied with vitamins. What we find in the samples is a kind of “side effect”, the remnants of vitamins that our bodies have already used in the process of healthy metabolism. It is quite possible that you do not have any problems with the delivery and assimilation of the substance, but there is not enough of it in the blood, let alone in the urine.
So let's repeat it again: decide whether you have problems with the level of vitamins or not , only a doctor can. And only after he analyzes your symptoms, looks at your medical history, asks about your lifestyle and excludes other possible diseases.
What to do if, according to the analysis, you have a low or high level of vitamins< /strong>
If the doctor decides that you really need to increase the level of vitamins, he will prescribe you biosupplements. In particular, such drugs may really be necessary:
- vegans. People who have limited their diet to plant-based foods often lack vitamin B12, as it is found only in animal products;
- pregnant. For example, I sometimes recommend future mothers to additionally receive folic acid (vitamin B9) in order to reduce the risk of congenital malformations in the child;
- heavy smokers. Nicotine impairs the absorption of certain vitamins, for example;
- those who suffer from various digestive disorders and food intolerances.
However, for most healthy people, to ensure normal levels of vitamins, it is enough to follow two simple rules:
- Follow a healthy diet. The diet should be varied and include fruits, vegetables, meat, cereals, and fermented milk products.
- Give up bad habits. Primarily from smoking and drinking alcohol.
Hypervitaminosis (excess of vitamins) occurs less often. But if this is your option, your doctor will likely require you to stop taking the supplements you are using immediately. This situation applies only to fat-soluble vitamins, for example, A. They accumulate in the body and at a certain level become toxic.
Most often this happens to people who, trying to overcome non-existent hypovitaminosis, prescribe themselves pharmacy vitamin complexes. This, by the way, is another reason not to engage in self-medication.
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