What’s Your Cellular Age?

As much as we’d all like to flee from aging, it is inevitable. Just as your car or a favorite clothing item will wear out over time, so too does the human body. Of course, the rate at which aging happens is different for each person and is based on a number of factors such as genetics, diet, exercise and stress.

On a cellular level, however, the rate of aging is measurable. Measurement is possible because of the telomeres that are connected to the end of your cells. Every time cells divide, the length of the telomere becomes shortened. The shorter the telomere is, the more times that particular cell has been copied. Over time, the telomere becomes so short that the cell no longer reproduces and is “retired”. This shortening of the telomere is known as cellular aging.

Through the use of a telomere test, labs are able to measure the length of the telomere in one’s body. This measurement is then compared to the expected length of telomeres in those of a similar age bracket, which helps determine overall cellular age.

While cell division and its subsequent retirement are natural processes, there are ways in which one can slow the process down. Among these are:

• Minimizing consumption of processed, surgery or fatty foods.
• Reducing body fat to 22 percent for women and 16 percent for men.
• Exercising for at least an hour a day.
• Reducing stress.
• Quitting smoking and other tobacco consumption.
• Sleeping eight hours a night.
• Increasing consumption of raw fruits and vegetables, Omega-3 fatty acids, vegetable protein, cold-water fish and fiber.
• Evaluating the need for nutritional supplements.

Next time you worry about getting older, consider monitoring the rate at which your cells age. With monitoring, you will be better able to make the lifestyle choices that are necessary to slow cellular aging, and potentially the onset of age-related diseases. Walk-in to Any Lab Test Now to ask for your Telomere Test today.

This Valentine’s Day: A ‘Test’ Of True Love

 What will you do this Valentine’s Day to show the one you love the most how much you really care? How much money will you spend? How long will it last? Roses fade, chocolates are devoured, and the memory of a romantic night out fades away. So what can you do that will show how much you care?

On the surface, we admit that a heart health lab test from Any Lab Test Now might not seem like the grandest romantic gesture, but it really is the perfect way to let someone you love know just how important their heart is to yours!

But first, a little background

Remember, February isn’t just about Valentine’s Day; it’s also American Heart Month. The annual celebration began in 1963 as a way to encourage Americans to join in the battle against heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. Every year, 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease. Many of those deaths can be prevented if people know where they stand heart-health wise. They can begin to make healthier choices to manage their conditions and take control of their health.

For that special someone

Consider a gift of his and hers lab tests from Any Lab Test Now this Valentine’s Day. The Comprehensive Male and the Comprehensive Female Panels both provide an abundance of information about your overall health, including important details about your heart. Both of the panels include the Cholesterol (Lipid) Panel — which can determine if you have abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. Both are important because they can help you and your doctor determine if you’re at risk for heart disease or any other coronary illnesses.

Both the Male and Female Comprehensive Panels also include the Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) test. Many people don’t realize the crucial role that their thyroid (and the hormones it produces!) plays in their heart health. A dysfunctional thyroid creates imbalances in your body that could make you more susceptible to heart disease.

An array of other tests are included in the Comprehensive Male and Female Panels which will round out a complete picture of your overall health and set you and your doctor in the right direction and help you keep your ticker in tip-top shape.

Cupid in a lab coat

So, this Valentine’s Day give a gift of romance AND good health. Head to your nearest Any Lab Test Now location and pick from any of our heart-healthy options. Hold off on the chocolates, champagne or fancy dinners, as you’ll have to fast for this test. It’s true love available in a test.

The skin you’re in – and the role your hormones play

When you think about your skin and how it looks, chances are you think externally. You probably think about things like:

• Products that can cause acne
• Sun damage from lack of sunscreen
• Lines and wrinkles associated with aging

You should definitely consider all of these issues and take them seriously, but we also need to be aware of what is occurring INTERNALLY. Many people aren’t aware of the huge role your hormones play in your skin’s overall health.

Looking Good; Feeling Confident

Any Lab Test Now realizes that feeling confident about your appearance can play a huge role in your mental health. All you have to do is turn on a television set or open a magazine, and you’ll see how much an attractive and youthful appearance is valued. If you feel you aren’t looking optimal, it can begin to eat away at aspects of your self-esteem. That’s why it’s important to consider the role your hormones play in your appearance.

The Beauty of Balance

Having the proper balance of hormones is critical to the health and vitality of your skin. Your skin is the largest organ you have, and hormones affect a wide range of skin issues. We’re talking about things like collagen content, skin lipid levels, elasticity, moisture content — even wound healing, facial hair and acne.

As we age, our hormone levels change (Think teenage acne!). Low hormone levels can mean dry and thinning skin that is losing its elasticity and increasing the appearance of wrinkles. Low thyroid hormones can mean increased hair loss. On the flip side, high levels of hormones, particularly estrogen and progesterone, can contribute to dark, blotchy patches on the skin. Too much testosterone can mean adult acne, male pattern baldness or even unwanted facial hair.

Better Skin Begins at Home

Knowing the role skin health can play in helping you look and feel your best, Any Lab Test Now offers an option that will help you and your dermatologist have a better understanding of your hormone health. The Skin Vitality Take Home Hormone Kit can provide you with the information you need to get to the bottom of any unusual changes in your skin, by providing you with information about your body’s levels of seven key hormones and one skin-tastic vitamin.

The Skin Vitality Take Home Hormone Kit

1. Estradiol (E2)
2. Estriol (E3)
3. Progesterone (Pg)
4. Testosterone (T)
5. DHEA-S (DS)
6. Diurnal Cortisol (Cx4)
7. Thyroid Stimulating Hormones (TSH)
8. Vitamin D (D2, D3)

Knowing the levels of these specific hormones can help you and your doctor understand and better treat conditions like dry, blotchy skin or oily, acne-prone skin. There are many topical hormone therapies that can help relieve skin conditions. And remember, understanding your hormone levels can help to uncover hidden deficiencies or issues that impact not only the health of your skin but your overall health as well.

Take Control of Your Health

The Skin Vitality Take Home Hormone Kit doesn’t require any fasting. It starts with a simple dried blood spot test that will accurately measure your thyroid hormones and vitamin D levels. There are also four saliva tests that will need to be performed throughout the day; these tests will reflect the highs and lows of steroid and adrenal hormone production. The Skin Vitality Take Home Hormone Kit will help you identify hormonal imbalances that are contributing to skin problems and will help you and your doctor take control of your health and determine the best treatment. To find the nearest Any Lab Test Now location to you, click here. It’s the first step to looking and feeling your best in “the skin you’re in”!

Top Health Issues Facing Women: Living Longer but Not Living Healthier

There is no better time than now for women to step up and put their health first. We know it’s a tall order, women have been so conditioned to always put themselves last. But as we celebrate the 19th Annual National Women’s Health Week May 13 – 19, it is worth noting that although women are living longer lives, they are not living healthier lives. It’s time for that to change.

Women, on average, live five years longer than men, with a current life expectancy of 81.1 years. But sadly, those aren’t quality years. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reports women’s health in the U.S. is suffering from impaired mobility, hearing, vision and pain due to a growing number of years living with disabilities (YLD).

Leading causes of YLD in the United States for women

1. Low back pain
2. Other musculoskeletal disorders
3. Major depressive disorder
4. Anxiety disorders
5. Neck pain
6. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
7. Diabetes mellitus
8. Migraine
9. Age-related and other hearing loss
10. Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

*Source: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Musculoskeletal conditions are pervasive and take a heavy toll on women as the most common cause of severe long-term pain and disability. Pain and reduced physical function seriously diminish a woman’s quality of life as she ages. Low back pain, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are at the top of the list. At Any Lab Test Now, the Osteoporosis Risk Panel, Arthritis Screening, and even Thyroid Panel, which can detect an imbalance that could make a woman more susceptible to osteoporosis, heart disease (No.1 killer), infertility and fatigue, can provide early flags that allow women to take control of their health instead of letting health conditions control them.

Stress

Anxiety is a normal response to stress and women have plenty of that. It’s no surprise women are more than twice as likely as men to get an anxiety disorder. However, researchers believe hormonal changes, genetics, and traumatic events play a role. Anxiety can also affect other health problems common in women, like depression, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain, cardiovascular disease and asthma. Of course, severe anxiety can become debilitating. At Any Lab Test now, the Adrenal Stress Test measures the master stress hormone which can uncover hidden imbalances of key hormones tied to mental, emotional or physical energy. Getting enough sleep is a healthy habit that can keep cortisol (the “stress” hormone) and melatonin working in concert, so women can manage the stress of normal day-to-day activities. Melatonin levels are believed to decrease as we age, adding to the oxidative stress that contributes to disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. The Sleep Balance Kit, an easy take-home urine test from Any Lab Test Now, can detect imbalances of melatonin and cortisol and results can be used to develop treatments or lifestyle changes to improve the sleep/wake cycle for optimal health and wellness.

Diabetes

In the last 30 years, YLD from diabetes alone increased by more than 112 percent in women, making it not only a leading cause of death but also a leading cause of disability for women. At Any Lab Test Now, six different diabetes lab tests are available, including, the Diabetes Maintenance Panel and the Insulin Lab Test, which is especially crucial for women at risk for type 2 diabetes or who have already developed symptoms associated with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, excess weight and/or higher than normal glucose levels.

Any Lab Test Now joins the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health and encourages women to make their health a priority and start building positive health habits today by doing these six things:

• Get regular well-woman checkups
• Start preventive screenings, available at Any Lab Test Now location
• Get active
• Eat healthy
• Pay attention to mental health, including getting enough sleep and managing stress
• Avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, texting while driving, and not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet

What steps will you take towards better health?

Resolution #1…A More Balanced YOU!

Resolution #1…A More Balanced YOU!

Ellie loved the jolly jingle of the holidays; and making warm and wonderful memories for her family. She hasn’t enjoyed the stress, weight gain, and lack of energy that ushered in the new year though. Truth be told, she’s been battling those feelings, and a host of other “issues” for some time, but chalks it up to a busy life, not enough exercise and a less-than-ideal diet. She’s determined that her New Year’s resolutions THIS year will change all that. But wait. Could there be more to Ellie’s feelings of an imbalanced life? It is possible fluctuating hormones are the culprit.

Hormones affect everything, from sleep quality to hair loss to libido. Hormone health is very important and an imbalance can wreak havoc in every area of your life. Hormone imbalances can occur at any time in a woman’s life — especially during puberty, menopause or perimenopause. A good first step in achieving balance and ensuring your hormones are working in harmony is to find out what you are dealing with.

Any Lab Test Now knows how important women’s health is and how often women care for themselves LAST. That’s why we offer Take Home Hormone Kits that can be picked up at Any Lab Test Now and completed at your convenience. Return shipping and materials are included, and results are received in days.

• Dry, Discolored or Wrinkled Skin?
  Loss of elasticity, collagen and moisture can take the luster off your skin. The Skin Vitality Take Home Hormone Kit is a simple dried blood spot and saliva test that can get fast results. If you discover an imbalance, it’s possible that topical hormone therapies may be just what the doctor ordered to restore your skin’s gentle glow
• Disturbed, Fitful or No Sleep?
  Try the Sleep Balance Take Home Hormone Kit. Melatonin and cortisol should be working in concert to help you sleep and wake on normal cycles. If that’s not the case, this simple dried urine test determines if your levels of either are out of whack. Test results can help you make the lifestyle changes you need to catch more ZZZs.
• Stressed, Tired, Wired and Anxious?
  Adrenal is the “master stress” hormone and if yours is not at optimal operation you could experience allergies, anxiety, irritability, infertility, sugar cravings, decreased energy — the list goes on and on. Results of the Adrenal Stress Take Home Hormone Kit, a simple saliva test, can be used to begin relieving your symptoms and reducing long-term disease risks.
• Lethargic, Gaining Weight, Depressed?
  Try The Elements-Thyroid Take Home Hormone Kit. An estimated 60 percent of people with thyroid disease don’t realize it. This dried blood spot and dried urine test measures thyroid hormone levels and tests for deficiencies of beneficial elements as well as the presence of toxic elements. With your results, you can work with your physician to restore optimal thyroid function.
• Persistent Weight Problems and Low Metabolism?
  Sadly, the U.S. ranks as the fattest nation in the world with the highest prevalence of obesity among adults over 40. If you struggle with maintaining a healthy weight, the Weight Management Take Home Hormone Kit, a dried blood spot and saliva test, measures hormones, vitamins and insulin. Your results will help you and your physician create a roadmap for achieving a healthy weight and avoiding long-term health risks.

Armed with information these tests provide, you are empowered to feel better, think better, and live your best life. Make your New Year’s resolution a more hormonally-balanced YOU!

Call or visit your Any Lab Test Now location to ask about getting a Take Home Hormone Kit today.

Take Control of Your Nutrition in the New Year

With the new year upon us, many people have set resolutions to embark on a journey to a healthier, happier life. In fact, eating healthier is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions each year. Unfortunately, it’s often quite difficult to follow through with those goals. According to Business Insider, 80 percent of resolutions fail by the second week of February, and only 8 percent of people successfully keep their resolutions for the entire year. The key to success is setting up realistic goals with actionable stepping stones. Instead of thinking of your new diet as a restrictive, miserable experience, view it as a lifestyle change for the better.

Eat at Home

Eating at home can be a fun (and economical) approach to hitting your weight loss goals while still getting the nutrients your body needs to thrive. By cooking your own meals, it’s easier to control your portion sizes. ABC News reports that American serving sizes have grown over the past 20 years, contributing to the obesity epidemic. Consuming smaller portions combined with a higher intake of fruits and vegetables will help you hit your wellness goals in no time – and your wallet will thank you, too!

Drink More Water

According to Harvard Medical School, drinking fluids is vital to your health for a multitude of reasons. Every system in your body, including your brain, muscles and heart, needs water to function. Fluids carry nutrients to your cells and flush bacteria from your body. Without proper hydration, your body may have trouble fully processing nutrients. Unfortunately, for many health enthusiasts, drinking enough water can be challenging! It’s recommended to drink 1 – 1.5 liters of water per day – no easy feat! Luckily, there are some techniques you can use to increase your water intake. Try setting an alarm on your phone to periodically remind you to drink water. There are also apps that can help you track how much you drink in a day. Finally, buying a new water bottle can help keep you motivated. Through proper hydration you’re likely to see an improvement in your digestion, energy and even in your skin.

Get Your Nutrition Levels Tested

Before you begin a new and improved healthy diet, it’s important to consult a healthcare professional. You should understand what exactly your body needs and adjust your diet from there. Nutrition tests are a great option for learning more about your body. They can provide you with your current nutrient levels so you can better develop a proper meal plan that will set you up for long-term success. Even if you are eating generally well, you may still be missing out on important vitamins, minerals and nutrients. By adjusting your meal plans to fit your specific body’s needs, you’ll be feeling your best in no time.

The best part? You don’t need to spend hours trying to make an appointment or sitting in a waiting room to get your nutrition tested—you can stop by your local Any Lab Test Now location and be seen promptly. Any Lab Test Now offers an extensive nutritional panel called the MicroNutrient test. This test will provide a snapshot of your current nutritional status and how you can improve it in the upcoming year. To learn more about the MicroNutrient , find your local Any Lab Test Now location at AnyLabTestNow.com.

Don’t let diabetes sneak up on you

Here at Any Lab Test Now, we believe you should have the ability to take control of your health. That’s the same message being shared this November for National Diabetes Month. This year’s theme: You Are the Center of Your Diabetes Care Team. Any Lab Test Now wants to make it easy for you and your doctor to not only diagnose your diabetes, but also to treat it. That’s why we offer a wide range of options that can help you and your physician in understanding if you have the disease and make sure you are managing it properly as well.

Understanding Diabetes

Let’s start with a brief understanding of just what diabetes is. Diabetes is a group of diseases that occur when your blood glucose (also called blood sugar) is too high. That’s bad because it can begin to cause all kinds of health problems, like heart disease, nerve damage, kidney disease, even blindness. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that 30.3 million people in the United States have diabetes as of 2017. An even more frightening fact: Twenty-three percent of those people don’t even know they have diabetes!

Risk Factors and Symptoms

So how can Any Lab Test Now help? Well, we can help on two fronts. The first is diagnosis. There are a number of risk factors that could lead you down the path to diabetes. According to the NIH, some are related to your genetics, others to your lifestyle. They include:

• Family history
• Over age 45
• African American, American Indian, Asian American, or Hispanic/Latino
• Have high blood pressure
• Have a low HDL level or high triglycerides
• Are not physically active
• Have a history of heart disease or stroke

Take all these risk factors into consideration as well as these symptoms as you start to ponder your own diabetes status.

• Increased thirst and urination
• Increased hunger
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Numbness or tingling in the feet or hands
• Wounds that do not heal

It’s important to note that many people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms, or they’re so mild that people don’t notice them. That’s one of the reasons it’s important to know the risk factors as well.

Take Control of Your Diabetes

At Any Lab Test Now, we offer a total of six lab tests designed to help you and your doctor diagnose and manage your diabetes.

1. The Diabetes Maintenance Panel includes four tests: Complete Blood Count, Glucose-Serum, Hemoglobin A1c, and a Diabetic Urinalysis. This is an effective panel for both diabetics and for those who want to see if they have diabetes.
2. The Diabetic Urinalysis (Microalbumin) will test for the protein albumin in your urine. It’s something that the kidneys usually filter out, so if it shows up in the results, it can alert you and your doctor to potential diabetes complications like kidney disease.
3. The Glucose Blood Test is the most common test used to diagnose diabetes. Additionally, diabetics self-conduct this test multiple times a day to monitor their blood glucose levels.
4. The Glucose Tolerance Test is a way to check how your body metabolizes sugar. Your blood will be collected then you’ll be given a cup of glucose to drink. After that, your blood will be collected again every 30 to 60 minutes. It usually takes up to three hours to complete the test and can confirm diabetes.
5. The Hemoglobin A1c is useful in helping diabetics determine if their disease is under control. It’s a valuable measure of the overall blood glucose levels over a period of several months. The test can also help detect pre-diabetes and diabetes.
6. The Insulin Lab Test can let you know if your body is producing too much or too little insulin. Too little insulin, also known as insulin resistance, is often associated with type 2 diabetes. If you have pre-diabetes, this test can be used to monitor whether diet and lifestyle changes are having a great enough impact to reverse or improve your condition.

All of these tests can provide you and your doctor with the knowledge necessary to properly treat and manage your condition. Don’t let diabetes sneak up on you. Know your risk factors and your symptoms and take control of your health through walk-in testing. Your local Any Lab Test Now location can help you do that.

Do You Know What’s Up?

Since 1995, National Health Education Week has been celebrated during the third full week of October. It is hosted by the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), and its purpose is to increase national awareness on major public health issues while promoting a better understanding of the role of health education. This year, October 16 – 20 marks National Health Education Week.

The week’s theme celebrates “Scaling New Heights: Health educators know what’s up.” It aims to get people talking about how the role of a public health educator is changing and how modern-day public health professionals impact community health issues. From Tuesday’s Twitter discussions (Interested? Follow #NHEW at 1 PM EDT.) to Wednesday’s webinar on the importance of advocacy, the week is packed full of information and online events. Professionals are also encouraged to create and promote local events that are tied to National Health Education Week.

At Any Lab Test Now, we’re doing our part to spread the word about contemporary health issues and how health education specialists work to solve them by raising awareness on topics such as teen drug testing, increased levels of cholesterol and hormone imbalances. Like health professionals with other areas of focus, Any Lab Test Now strives daily to be a dependable and convenient resource for your health and wellness education.

We’re here to help you Take Control of Your Health®. Any Lab Test Now offers testing that will allow you to establish a health baseline through our precise lab analysis. The tests will help you uncover “what’s up” with your own health so that you can work with your doctor to feel your best each day.

We offer health solutions specifically tailored to your needs:

Women’s Health: You keep the household running on all cylinders, but are you taking care of your health? At Any Lab Test Now, we offer lab tests you need to monitor your health, including but not limited to Hormone Tests, Vitamin D Levels, Menopause Screening Panel and Hemoglobin A1c.

Men’s Health: We get it: The doctor’s office isn’t your preferred hangout spot. Any Lab Test Now takes pride in getting you in and out as efficiently as possible. Our testing includes Diabetes Screening, Testosterone Test, Micronutrient Test, Thyroid Panel and so much more.

In addition to personalized testing, Any Lab Test Now recognizes that many of our customers are faced with having no insurance or high deductibles. Our lab tests are both affordable and transparent — you know what you must pay up front instead of receiving a surprise bill later.

This October, join us in recognizing National Health Education Week by stopping in to your local laboratory testing center to discover “what’s up” with your health. It’s for the betterment of the community and the environment, as well as you and your family!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month: What Can You Do to Help Fight Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer affects us all, one way or another. Whether you have had it, know someone who has had it or know anyone worried about having it in the future, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is meant for you. Every October, people across the nation take steps to raise awareness about breast cancer and what can be done to help the millions of people affected by breast cancer every year. This year, we invite you to participate in Breast Cancer Awareness Month by getting screened for breast cancer, or encouraging someone else to do the same.

Screening Saves Lives

Over 220,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and of those women, it is estimated that about 40,000 will die from the disease. One of the best ways to fight breast cancer is to get screened for it yourself, and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Finding breast cancer early through mammograms and other screenings could reduce the number of breast cancer deaths by as much as 40 percent! Think of the lives that could be saved if you make a habit of regular breast cancer screenings while bringing awareness to others in your life as well.

If you are a woman, it is recommended that you be screened for breast cancer every year after the age of 40. However, there are reasons a woman under 40 may want to consider a breast cancer screening as well, including:

• Having a strong family history of breast cancer.
• Having a personal history of breast cancer.
• Having the gene mutations BCRA1 or BCRA2.

Though it is less likely, men can get breast cancer too, with about 2,470 new cases diagnosed each year in the U.S. If you are a man with certain risk factors for breast cancer, such as a strong family or an inherited gene mutation, it is a good idea to get screened for breast cancer. If you are concerned about your risk for breast cancer, talk with your doctor about options for early detection and what you can do to lower your risk.

Schedule a Breast Cancer Screening Now

Any Lab Test Now offers several testing options for those who are concerned they may have breast cancer or simply want to become better informed about their breast health.

The Cancer Screen and Tumor Marker Panel for women is a great option for women who are concerned they might have cancer. This panel tests for the most common cancers.

If you have already been diagnosed with breast cancer, the Breast Cancer Monitoring Panel can help you and your physician monitor your cancer treatment and recovery process.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let’s try to beat breast cancer, one screening at a time — starting with yourself! Contact the experts at Any Lab Test Now to learn what testing options are right for you, and encourage others in your life to get screened for breast cancer, too. Remember, early detection saves lives!

Iron Deficiency

About three million of us suffer needlessly from a condition that seriously and negatively impacts our quality of life. But it doesn’t need to be that way.

The condition is called anemia. It is when your body lacks enough red blood cells to carry oxygen to your tissues. Anemia can sound frightening because it involves your blood. Yet the treatment can be as easy as changing what’s on your plate for dinner. And finding out if you are anemic can be done quickly and easily with a simple test from Any Lab Test Now! The answer to the test can help you and your doctor put you back on the path to feeling better.

Anemia Symptoms

The symptoms can often be so mild that they go unnoticed or seem like they are just “part of life.” Do any of these things sound familiar? Fatigue, weakness, pale or yellow skin, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness or lightheadedness, chest pain, cold hands and feet, headache, irritability — these symptoms of anemia are often dismissed or ignored. Often, the fatigue becomes overwhelming. Dr. Allen Nissenson, nephrologist and professor of medicine at UCLA, says it doesn’t have to be the norm for the millions with anemia.

Nutrition and Anemia

In order to make enough healthy red blood cells, your body needs an adequate supply of iron, folate and vitamin B-12. Of course, not everyone consumes the right quantity of these nutrients. For this reason, the most common type of anemia is caused by poor nutrition, according to Dr. Nissenson. Our increasing obsession with diets — and the growing number of strict vegetarians and vegans — is adding to the problem. That’s why the Anemia Panel from Any Lab Test Now checks not only your blood count, but also your iron, folate and vitamin B-12 levels.

Whether the anemia is iron deficiency anemia or vitamin deficiency anemia, the treatment is likely as simple as supplements and a change in diet. The best sources of iron are meat, poultry and egg yolks. To a lesser extent, you can get iron from eating green leafy vegetables, dried fruits, dried beans and peas, and enriched whole-grain cereals and bread. You need to also eat foods rich in Vitamin C, like citrus fruits, to help your body absorb the iron. The dark green leafy veggies are also your best source of folic acid. You’ll only get vitamin B-12 by eating animal foods — especially meat, fish, eggs and milk. That’s a real challenge to those following a strict vegan diet.

Who is at Risk?

Your diet isn’t the only thing that can put you at risk of an iron deficiency. You may eat all the right foods but have an intestinal disorder — like Crohn’s disease or celiac disease — that keeps you from properly absorbing the nutrients you eat. Other causes of anemia include:

• Significant blood loss
• Heavy menstrual periods
• Possible reactions to birth control
• Kidney disease

Importance of Treatment

Anemia may not sound threatening, but there can be complications if you don’t treat it. In addition to severe fatigue, anemia can cause pregnancy complications. And if left unchecked too long, it can eventually lead to heart problems because the heart needs to pump more blood to compensate for the lack of oxygen in the blood. That can ultimately lead to an enlarged heart or even heart failure.

Finding out if you have an iron deficiency takes just a few days. The professionals at your local Any Lab Test Now location can help you find out if you need to take the next step with your doctor to boost your iron and change your health for the better.