Nutrient & Mineral Tests

Nutrient deficiency

Why should you undergo a nutrient deficiency test? Ideally, a balanced diet provides us with all the nutrients that our body needs. In reality, however, our body can often lack nutrients, with vitamins such as vitamin D and B12, minerals such as magnesium, zinc, iron or iodine, or the essential Omega 3 fatty acids.

Not everyone feeds the best they can, and often a stressful everyday life, bad habits or allergies and intolerances can get in the way. Diseases can also cause us not to absorb or excessively consume certain vitamins and minerals. As one example, if you do a lot of sports, you usually consume more minerals. With magnesium serving as a fuel for the muscles and zinc being lost in sweat, athletes need more of both than other people. Vegetarians and vegans, on the other hand, often ingest too little vitamin B12, which is mainly found in animal foods.

A special case is vitamin D. Our body needs the UVB radiation present in sunlight to produce this vitamin. Since we spend a lot of time in enclosed spaces these days, live in northern latitudes, and especially in winter receive only a small amount of sunshine, deficiency is widespread in our society.

Recognise nutrient deficiency

A lack of nutrients is only very clearly apparent in rare cases - for example, when an acute magnesium deficiency can lead to the dreaded nocturnal leg cramping. Often symptoms such as headache, fatigue, dry skin and hair loss occur. We often do not associate this with nutrients until serious health problems arise from the deficiency.

For example, vitamin B12 deficiency develops over years while the stores of the vitamin are slowly depleted. We usually do not perceive this, but over time, the deficiency can lead to anaemia, nerve damage and depression. It is similar with many other deficiency symptoms.

Test for nutrient deficiency

The cerascreen® nutrient tests are simple self-tests that can be conducted at home. Using the test kit that you receive you will then take a blood or urine sample (depending on the test) and dispatch it to our specialist laboratory. Once your sample has been evaluated, you will then receive a detailed results report. The results report will tell you the blood or urine level of the respective nutrient and whether it lies within the expected healthy range. You shall also be given recommendations on how to improve your diet.

If the test results indicate a nutrient deficiency, you can actively counteract this by changing your diet. In the case of an iodine deficiency, for example, habitual use of iodine-containing salt may suffice. An iron deficiency requires a bigger dietary shake-up, since a lot of iron is contained in eggs, liver, legumes and whole grains. Some nutrients can best be added by taking supplements, such as vitamin D, which is scarcely found in foods. Since a severe deficiency can also be a sign of disease, you should consult with your doctor or therapist in case you have any doubts.