Vitamins and minerals check

Low vitamin or mineral levels rarely announce themselves clearly. They tend to show up as tiredness that won't shift, weaker hair, nails that break, or training sessions that feel harder than they should. These are the situations where your levels most often change:

• You eat little or no animal food. B12 is only found naturally in animal foods, and the iron and zinc in plants are absorbed less well than those in meat or fish.
• You spend your days indoors. Spain has sunshine to spare, but your skin makes vitamin D from direct sunlight, and the light coming through the office window doesn't count.
• You train hard. You lose zinc and magnesium in sweat, and endurance sport increases how much iron your body uses.
• You have heavy periods. Iron is lost every month, and your stores can drop little by little.
• You take certain medicines every day. Metformin and stomach-acid medicines, taken for years, can reduce how well you absorb B12.
• You already take supplements. It's the best way to see whether your dose is working, falls short or goes too far.

• Vitamin D (25-OH): the form that reflects your stores. It plays a role in your bones, muscles and immune system.
• Vitamin B12: needed to make red blood cells and for a healthy nervous system.
• Folate: works alongside B12 to form red blood cells.
• Ferritin: shows your iron stores, which usually drop before your haemoglobin changes.
• Magnesium: involved in muscle function, nerve function and energy production.
• Zinc: important for your immune system, skin, hair and wound healing.
• Calcium and albumin: calcium supports your bones, muscles and nerves. Albumin is the protein that carries much of the calcium in your blood, so measuring it helps read your calcium correctly.
• Full blood count: red blood cells, haemoglobin, white blood cells and platelets. It shows whether your body is making blood well with the iron, B12 and folate it receives.

Nutrients work as a team, and a single result only tells half the story. B12 and folate do the same job in your bone marrow, so it makes sense to see them side by side. Ferritin tells you how much iron you have stored, and the blood count shows whether that iron is reaching your red blood cells. Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium, and albumin lets your calcium be read accurately.

You skip building your own list of tests, since the combination is already chosen to make sense side by side, and each result shows where it sits in the laboratory's reference range, so you can see straight away what looks good and what deserves a closer look.

More isn't always better. Vitamin D builds up in your body fat, and taking high doses for months can push your level above the range, and your calcium with it. This test measures both. Zinc works in a similar way: taking too much for a long time brings no extra benefit.

That's why this panel doesn't only show what you're missing. It also shows whether a level sits above the range, so you can adjust your dose with real numbers and stop paying for a bottle your body doesn't need.

Which vitamins and minerals does this blood test measure?

Vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, ferritin (iron stores), magnesium, zinc and calcium. It also includes albumin, which helps read your calcium, and a full blood count.

Why measure ferritin and not just iron?

Iron in the blood changes a lot from one day to the next, and even across the same day. Ferritin reflects how much iron you have stored, so it gives a steadier picture of your reserves.

Is this test useful if I'm vegan or vegetarian?

Yes. It includes the nutrients that change most on a plant-based diet: B12, iron, zinc and vitamin D. It's a practical way to check whether your food and supplements cover what you need.

Can I see if I'm taking too much vitamin D?

Yes. The test measures vitamin D and calcium, and each result comes with the laboratory's reference range, so you can see whether your level is low, in range or above it.

I already take B12. Is it worth measuring?

Yes. It's how you find out whether your supplement is actually raising your level, especially if you eat plant-based or take medicines that reduce how well you absorb it.

The results of this test are for guidance only and are not a diagnosis. Talk them through with your doctor.