Vitamins and Your Body

It’s no surprise the top New Year’s resolution is to be healthy and get fit. As many people start on their fitness journey, it’s easy to focus only on exercise and diet. Something that usually doesn’t occur to people is a possible vitamin deficiency. Starting a diet or working out while being vitamin deficient could slow or stall your progress, but it also could make the act of working out or dieting significantly less enjoyable. At Any Lab Test Now®, we offer a Micronutrient Test for a thorough exam of your vitamin levels. This test will measure your body’s ability to absorb vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients.

Vitamins and minerals are types of micronutrients that influence nearly every process in your body and are essential for your health. A varied and balanced diet usually provides enough vitamins and minerals, but deficiencies can happen for several reasons.

Those include:

Poor absorption of nutrients (celiac or Crohn’s disease)
Diet lacking in fruit and vegetables
Poorly planned vegan or vegetarian diet
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol
Pregnancy

As there’s a wide range of vitamins and minerals, the types of deficiencies vary.

Iron Deficiency

Iron is a mineral that helps our bodies function properly. It is part of our hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from our lungs to the rest of our bodies. Iron also helps our muscles store and use oxygen. If your body doesn’t have enough iron, it can’t make enough of the oxygen-carrying red blood cells. When the body doesn’t get enough oxygen, fatigue results.

Symptoms of an Iron Deficiency:

Weak
Tired
Dizzy
Short of breath
Heart palpitations
Headaches

Iron deficiency is very common, especially among women. A primary cause of this is due to the blood loss experienced during periods and pregnancy. You might also be at an increased risk if you’re vegetarian because plant-based irons are harder for your body to absorb.

Vitamin D Deficiency

The sun is your body’s best and most efficient source of vitamin D. The body makes vitamin D from exposure to sunlight or UV light on exposed skin, but it can also obtain the vitamin from plants, supplements, or foods fortified with the vitamin. If your body does not get enough vitamin D, you will develop a vitamin D deficiency.

Some people may be more susceptible to developing a vitamin D deficiency due to little sun exposure, diet, and other factors. Sunscreen blocks UV light from being absorbed by your skin, which is why people can sometimes over-protect themselves from the sun. People who are obese, have dark skin and those who are older than 65 are also at higher risk.

Symptoms of a Vitamin D Deficiency:

Tired
Sick often
Weak bones
Muscle pain
Anxious or depressed

A long-term vitamin D deficiency can put you at risk for any number of dangerous and even deadly health problems including coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, stroke, and diabetes mellitus. A vitamin D deficiency can also cause your bones to become thin, brittle, or misshapen over time. This is why it is important to know your vitamin D levels so you can take the steps to correct or prevent a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin B Deficiency

The B vitamin family includes vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B12, including folic acid, and each of these serves a different, but important, purpose in the body. The most commonly deficient of these are vitamin B6 and folic acid, which are important for one’s metabolism, and immune system.

Symptoms of a Vitamin B Deficiency:

Exhaustion
Weak
Mouth ulcers
Swollen and sore tongue
Blurred vision
Difficulty remembering things
Depression

New Year, Better You

Poor nutrition impacts every part of life. It contributes to costly diseases, including obesity, heart disease, and even some cancers. At Any Lab Test Now®, we want to help you be proactive to make the best choices for your health. We provide the doctor’s order to convenient and affordable lab tests to those with no insurance or high deductible insurance. Vitamin deficiency can make a huge impact on your life, especially as you get older. Let us help you take control and get a head start on proactively managing your health. Visit any of our 200+ Any Lab Test Now® locations for a test today.

The Vitamin a Day That Could Keep COVID Away

As people search for ways to protect themselves from the coronavirus, there is growing evidence that vitamin D could help protect you against COVID-19.

Research shows immune-boosting vitamin D may play a role in preventing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a common cause of death among COVID-19 patients.

Before you run out to the nearest pharmacy or nutrition store to stock up on supplements, there are some things to consider .

What is vitamin D?

Vitamin D is essential for maintaining healthy bones and teeth. It also plays an important role in helping immune systems function. Low levels of vitamin D can lead to autoimmune problems — when the immune system attacks healthy cells — and increase the chance of infection.

It is called the “sunshine vitamin” because the primary and most accessible source of vitamin D is the sun. Ultraviolet rays from the sun trigger vitamin D synthesis.

Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include frequent illness or infection, slow wound healing, fatigue, bone and back pain, hair loss, muscle pain, and depression.

An estimated 40 percent of adults in the United States may be deficient in vitamin D. Age and genetic background can play a part in how much vitamin D is present in your body.

Seventy-nine percent of African Americans are vitamin D deficient — nearly double the national average. The reason? People with darker skin pigmentation tend to have more melanin, which reduces the body’s ability to produce vitamin D. We also become deficient as we age. Our thinning skin is less efficient at absorbing vitamin D.

Vitamin D and COVID-19

Vitamin D deficiencies have long been associated with an increase in respiratory infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and bronchitis.

Now a new study highlights the vital role of vitamin D in fighting off respiratory infection, including COVID-19. They stress that a deficiency in vitamin D can be a factor in one’s deteriorating condition, should they contract COVID-19.

The study claims to find evidence that vitamin D prevents respiratory infections, especially in older adults whose vitamin D levels are low. Although its specific role in coronavirus infections is still unknown, researchers vouch for its effectiveness in boosting the immune system.

The study also displayed that patients with vitamin D deficiency and those not receiving the correct dose encountered the most benefit from supplementation.

This could be beneficial information to many people, including African-American adults who are generally at greater risk for a number of chronic and potentially life-shortening conditions such as hypertension, stroke, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and all-cause mortality, some of which is associated with vitamin D deficiency.

How can you boost your vitamin D intake?

The first and best way to boost your vitamin D is to get outside in the sun. Research shows the best time to get vitamin D from sunlight is between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the spring, summer, and fall. Vitamin D produced in the skin may last at least twice as long in the blood — compared with other forms of supplementation.

You can also build up your vitamin D levels through certain foods. The National Institute of Health recommends eating foods naturally rich in vitamin D, including egg yolks and fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, as well as beef liver and cheese.

Vitamin D is also added to milk and some breakfast cereals, orange juice, yogurt, margarine, and soy beverages. It is best to check the labels to confirm.

Of course, you can also take vitamin D supplements. It comes in two forms: vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 comes from plant sources and fortified foods, while vitamin D3 comes from animal sources. The recommended daily dose for adults aged 19–70 is 15 mcg (600 IU), according to the National Institutes of Health.

It is important to take the recommended daily allowance because it is possible to overdose on vitamin D.

Get Tested

The only way to know if your level of vitamin D is low is to get tested. Vitamin D testing is offered at Any Lab Test Now®. No fasting is required, and you do not need a doctor’s order to get the test done. Test results generally take between 24 to 72 business hours after your specimen is collected.

Click here to learn more about Any Lab Test Now’s Vitamin D Testing.

Be at Ease

At Any Lab Test Now, we are very mindful about people’s fears about going to a healthcare facility and possibly encountering a coronavirus patient. You can be at ease at Any Lab Test Now that we are providing you a safe and clean alternative location for lab work. Each of our 190+ stores is sanitized several times a day, in accordance with the CDC’s protocols. When you get your test results, you can easily make a telemedicine appointment with your physician and share the details. Any Lab Test Now is a committed partner in helping you manage your healthcare so you can make educated decisions that will directly affect your quality of life. We want to put you at ease during the coronavirus outbreak. We are here to help.

Find your closest Any Lab Test Now store at www.anylabtestnow.com.

African American History Month Spotlight: Vitamin D Deficiencies and COVID-19

Vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as an epidemic in the United States. When it comes to people of color, the situation is most concerning.

It is estimated that 82 percent of Blacks and 63 percent of Hispanics are suffering from a vitamin D deficiency, compared to 31 percent of Caucasians.

According to recent studies, most Americans with darker skin tones do not have optimal vitamin D. Several reasons could lead to a deficiency. However, the main reason for people of color is due to the fact that darker pigmentation reduces vitamin D production on the skin. A lack of this important vitamin can lead to a number of serious health issues, not to mention increasing the risk of contracting COVID-19.

What is Vitamin D?

Our bodies need a certain amount of vitamin D to maintain a healthy, functioning immune system. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that maintains skeletal health. It is often referred to as the “sunshine vitamin” since our bodies naturally produce it when we are exposed to the sun.

For people with lighter skin tones, only 15 to 20 minutes of sun exposure is needed to produce more than 20,000 IU (500 mcg) of vitamin D. However, it can take three to six times longer for people with darker skin tones to produce the same amount.

Melanin is a pigment that gives everyone their skin, hair, and eye color. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin tone will be. Melanin also acts as a natural sunscreen and protects the skin from sun damage. While that natural SPF is a great thing, the downside is melanin can reduce a person’s ability to make vitamin D from sun exposure by up to 99 percent.

Complications with Vitamin D Deficiency

Deficiency of vitamin D has been implicated in the development of numerous conditions, including autoimmune diseases, diseases of the heart, lungs, metabolism, or kidneys, as well as diabetes and cancer.

Statistics show people of color are more likely to experience these health complications than Caucasians. Women of color are also more likely to suffer issues during pregnancy and increased fatal outcomes due to a lack of proper vitamin D levels.

There is also growing evidence that proper amounts of vitamin D can lower the risk of viral respiratory tract infections, including COVID-19. In a recent study at the University of Chicago, patients with a vitamin D deficiency were almost twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19 compared the patients whose vitamin D levels were normal.

Other Low Vitamin D Factors

In addition to skin tone, there are several other factors that can influence your vitamin D levels.

Location – The further away from the Equator you live, the less vitamin D-producing UVB light reaches the Earth’s surface during the winter.
Air quality – The burning of fossil fuels, wood, and other materials scatter carbon particles into the air and absorb UVB rays, diminishing vitamin D production.
Weight – Studies show that being obese is correlated with low vitamin D levels and that being overweight may affect the bioavailability of vitamin D.
Age – Older people have lower levels of melanin in the skin that converts into vitamin D. Research also suggests older people are less efficient vitamin D producers than younger people.

Know Your Levels

Having your vitamin D blood levels tested is the only way to be certain. Vitamin D testing is not part of a standard doctor visit. However, it is a blood test that is offered by Any Lab Test Now®.

No fasting is required, and you do not need to visit your doctor first to get the test done. Test results generally take between 24 to 72 business hours.

Click here to learn more about Any Lab Test Now’s Vitamin D testing

Be at Ease

At Any Lab Test Now, we understand that people may have concerns about going to a healthcare facility during the coronavirus pandemic. You can be at ease knowing that we are providing you a safe and clean location for your lab work. Each of our 190+ stores are sanitized several times a day, in accordance with the CDC’s protocols. When you get your test results, you can easily make a telemedicine appointment with your physician and share the details. Any Lab Test Now is a committed partner in helping you to make educated healthcare decisions that can benefit your quality of life.

Find your closest Any Lab Test Now store at www.anylabtestnow.com.

Taking Charge of Your Health in Uncertain Times

Taking Charge of Your Health in Uncertain Times

Just one scroll through your social media feed and it does not take long to find someone with some sort of personal story about how coronavirus continues to change the world around them. You might see kids going to school via ZOOM, parents working 40 hour-a-week jobs from the dining room table or friends asking for advice about something that’s not so easy to find during a pandemic.

During this unusual time, you may have many questions about taking control of your health and maintaining your health.

When Your Health Depends on Regular Lab Testing

How often do you get blood work? Is it just for your annual checkup? If you suffer from an acute illness, like diabetes or a thyroid condition, you are probably rolling up your sleeve a lot more than once a year.

As always, you want to be sure that you have a trusted option for routine lab work, so it’s important to know that during the pandemic, Any Lab Test Now is not testing for COVID-19. If you are required to get frequent lab tests, you can rest assured that we do provide a safe and clean location.

Diabetes is not something you can take lightly. According to the CDC’s most recent report, more than 34 million Americans are living with the disease. It is essential and potentially lifesaving for diabetics to continue to monitor their condition. During the COVID-19 outbreak, many diabetics are getting a Diabetes Maintenance Panel at Any Lab Test Now instead of risking exposure at a medical provider’s office.

If you know anyone who suffers from thyroid issues, you know living with it is a constant battle to stay balanced. There are two types of thyroid disorders. Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disorder and it consists of dealing with weight gain, mood swings, fatigue and even hair loss. On the other end of the spectrum, hyperthyroidism causes you to lose weight unexpectedly. Finding a treatment that works for you is crucial in order to feel your best and avoid further issues. Most likely, your doctor is going to require that you consistently get blood tests like the Thyroid Panel at Any Lab Test Now to monitor your levels.

No matter if it is thyroid disease, diabetes, or another acute illness, we make it easy to get the required tests that you need to help you and your doctor determine whether your prescriptions need to be adjusted.

Limited Exposure

Mid-March 2020 is when most of the country started adjusting to coronavirus quarantine life. As you probably know very well by now, all that time sheltering in place limited your exposure to sunlight and now your vitamin D levels could be out of whack. If you are struggling to keep your eyes open or experiencing leg cramps you could have a Vitamin D deficiency.

Why is Vitamin D Important?

Builds strong bones
Helps to improves lung function
Protects against heart disease
Reduces risk of diabetes
Prevents depression

Low levels of Vitamin D can increase your risks for potentially fatal conditions like heart disease, vascular disease or stroke. The best way to know if you are getting enough Vitamin D is to get a specific blood test that we offer at Any Lab Test Now. You can get most test results back within 24-72 hours, and you can share those details with your physician.

If you are Vitamin D deficient, you should keep in mind Vitamin D is not a natural ingredient in many foods. You can talk to your doctor about either taking a supplement or adding foods rich in Vitamin D, like salmon, mushrooms, or yogurt to your diet.

During the coronavirus pandemic and beyond, Any Lab Test Now is a safe, affordable location for you to check your Vitamin D levels, as well as get access to more than 1,000 other lab tests that we offer.

We are committed to helping you manage your healthcare so that you can make educated decisions that can improve your quality of life. There has never been a more critical time for Americans to take control of their health. Any Lab Test Now is here to help you Be at Ease during this challenging time.

Shortage of the Sunshine Vitamin

It’s hard to imagine it, but even in the middle of summer, there are people who aren’t getting enough sunshine in their life. There could be all kinds of reasons why, but the most likely one is because they are being wise and listening to the well-placed warnings from their dermatologist about skin cancer. So, they slather on sunscreen, suit up in long sleeved shirts and pants and basically avoid the sun when possible. But some doctors are seeing an unintended consequence to this advice: vitamin D deficiency.

What is Vitamin D

According to the Vitamin D Council, D is unlike any other vitamin. Your body can make its own vitamin D when you expose your skin to sunlight. But, your body can’t make other vitamins; you have to get them from the foods you eat.

Basically, when your skin is exposed to the sun, it produces vitamin D and sends it to your liver. Your liver then changes it to a substance called 25 OH D. When your doctor talks about your vitamin D levels you’ll basically be talking about the amount of 25 OH D you have in your blood. You can also get vitamin D from supplements or even small amounts from the foods you eat.

Vitamin D at Work

Vitamin D plays a crucial role in keeping your bones strong. Your body needs it in order to absorb calcium. If you don’t have enough, your bones can become soft, thin and brittle. In children, this is called rickets. In adults, it’s known as osteomalacia. Researchers are also looking into the role that a vitamin D deficiency plays in:

Cancer
Asthma
Type 2 diabetes
High blood pressure
Depression
Alzheimer’s disease
Multiple sclerosis
Crohn’s disease
Type 1 diabetes

Are You at Risk?

A lack of sun exposure due to sunscreen use isn’t the only risk factor for a deficiency. Some people are just more inclined to it. According to the Vitamin D Council, people at risk for D deficiency include:

People with darker skin. The darker your skin the more sun exposure you need to get the same amount of vitamin D as a fair-skinned person.
People who spend a lot of time indoors during the day. For example, if you’re housebound or work nights and spend the day sleeping.
Older people, because they have thinner skin and may not be able to produce as much vitamin D as younger people.
Pregnant women and breastfed-only infants.
People who are overweight.

The symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency are so vague you might not have a clue. They can range anywhere from tiredness and general aches and pains to a pain in your bones and weakness. Some people don’t even have symptoms at all.

Testing to Know Your Levels

Testing to find out your levels of this important vitamin is as simple as going to your local Any Lab Test Now location. The test you’ll want to ask for is the Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy Test (25 OH D). It’s a simple test that requires no fasting and results generally take between 24 to 72 hours. Our experts have found that people who take the Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy Test (25 OH D) will also request one of the following relevant tests as well:

If your levels are abnormal a trip to your doctor is in order. They can talk to you about safe and sensible sun exposure and supplements. Having plenty of the “sunshine vitamin” can really be the key to feeling sunny every day!

Keeping Mom Healthy

Mother’s Day is around the corner, on May 14th. We usually give Mom a card or maybe take her to brunch. This year, you can do a little more to show your mom that you love her and want to spend many more Mother’s Days with her by talking to her about her health.

Navigating a Checkup

In fact, it’s a good idea to do an annual check-in with Mom before her annual checkup. Write down any of your mom’s questions so she can take them with her. Visit Any Lab Test Now to help provide answers she wants, quickly and easily. These will help her identify what she needs to talk about with the doctor.

Talk About Healthy Basics

Some basics to good health remain the same no matter what our age! Talk with your Mom about:

eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables,
maintaining a healthy weight,
exercising 30 minutes a day,
getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night,
not smoking,
wearing a seatbelt and
not texting while driving.

These are all good reminders when it comes to living a fulfilling and healthy lifestyle. To add even more encouragement, perhaps you could tackle one or two of these together or create a challenge with the whole family.

Changing Vitamin Needs

There are some things that do change as Mom ages. Not all of them are things we’d think about. Did you realize the vitamins you take should change as you age? A mom in her 30s still needs to be sure to take folic acid every day, whereas a mom who is older and has gone through menopause doesn’t.

Once a woman has reached 65, she should be sure to add vitamin D into her daily regimen. Along with exercise, adequate levels of vitamin D can help prevent falls. If you aren’t sure that your mom is getting enough, you can suggest she have the simple Vitamin D Test done at Any Lab Test Now! Getting enough Vitamin D can be tough — especially if you follow a strict vegan diet. Other than fortified milk, not many foods have it.

Why is Mom Tired?

Being worn out and tired is just par for the course of motherhood, right? Not necessarily. Instead of letting Mom think that she has to spend 18 (or more) years exhausted, make sure there isn’t an underlying nutrient problem, such as iron deficiency anemia. In fact, the most common symptoms of this are fatigue and weakness. A woman who has anemia is tired because her blood isn’t getting enough oxygen to her body.

Any Lab Test Now has an Anemia Panel that can determine if Mom has an iron deficiency. Then, she and her doctor can come up with a plan to have her feeling more like herself again. The solution is usually a combination of iron supplements and adding iron-rich foods into her diet. No, she isn’t going to put liver on your dinner plate. Lentils, tofu, green leafy veggies and dried fruits are all great ways to get more iron in your diet.

Your mom spends a lot of time taking care of you. This Mother’s Day, take a little time to take care of her. Help her take charge of her health care needs and get the answers she seeks so that she can continue spending happy, healthy days with you and the family.

The Dangers of Being Vitamin D Deficient

Sunny days can make us feel amazing. Studies have proven, time and again, that a little sunshine can have a serious positive impact on your mood and mental state. And the good news is the sun can also be your best source for vitamin D! But what you may not know is that if you’re using lots of sunscreen, you may actually be vitamin D deficient regardless of how much time you spend in the sun.

Applying sunscreen daily is highly recommended for preventing skin cancer, and it’s a great idea to protect your skin from damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays. But sunscreen can also block beneficial UV light that allows the skin to make vitamin D. So if you are being too careful in the sun, you may actually be causing more harm than good.

You’ve Heard of it, But What is it Really?

Vitamin D plays an important role in our body. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that our body needs for important processes such as the absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate and zinc – all nutrients your body needs to survive.

The sun is your body’s best and most efficient source of vitamin D. The body makes vitamin D from exposure to sunlight or UV light on exposed skin, but it can also obtain the vitamin from plants, supplements or foods fortified with the vitamin. If your body does not get enough vitamin D, you will develop a vitamin D deficiency.

Some people may be more susceptible to developing a vitamin D deficiency due to little sun exposure, diet and other factors. Sunscreen blocks UV light from being absorbed by your skin, which is why people can sometimes over-protect themselves from the sun. People who are obese, have dark skin and those who are older than 65 are also at higher risk. Symptoms may include tiredness, weakness, bone pain, general aches or even frequent infections. However, some people show no symptoms at all.

A long-term vitamin D deficiency can put you at risk for any number of dangerous and even deadly health problems including coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, stroke and diabetes mellitus. A vitamin D deficiency can also cause your bones to become thin, brittle or misshapen over time. This is why it is important to know your vitamin D levels so you can take the steps to correct or prevent a vitamin D deficiency.

What Can You Do About It?

A vitamin D deficiency can be treated with increased sun exposure as well as vitamin D supplements. To reach your necessary vitamin D levels, try getting at least ten minutes of unprotected sun exposure every day — but make sure to apply the sunscreen after that!

If you suspect you may have a vitamin D deficiency, it’s important to get tested to find out for sure. Any Lab Test Now’s Vitamin D Test is a great place to start if you’d like to find out more about your vitamin D levels. By equipping yourself with the knowledge you need, you can begin taking the first steps towards better health.

Vitamin D – Do You Know If You’re Getting Enough?

What do sunscreen and obesity have in common? You may be surprised to find out that they may both be leading to osteoporosis, auto-immune diseases, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Skin cancer has reached epidemic proportions even though we are all aware of the risk of tanning beds and smearing our skin with body oil for that perfect “glow”. The use of sunscreen, hats and sunprotectant clothing is on the rise, and is necessary if the goal is cancer prevention. Obesity is also increasing as more and more of us turn to fast food, either for convenience, taste or financial reasons, and we continue to find our entertainment on the couch.

Something many of us may not know is that both being obese and blocking the sun can prevent our bodies from absorbing Vitamin D. Because our main source of vitamin D is the sun, vitamin D is often called the “Sunshine Vitamin”. Avoiding the sun completely may be good for our skin, but it isn’t doing us any favors in the vitamin department. Sunscreen with 30 SPF can reduce the body’s ability to synthesize vitamin D by 95%. Obesity and gastrointestinal disorders decrease the ability to absorb vitamin D from foods.

Ideally, we would all be getting plenty of vitamin D from sitting outside at lunch and eating vitamin D rich foods like eggs, fortified milk, and fish including sardines, salmon and herring. It only takes 5 to 10 minutes of sun on bare skin to reap the benefits and absorb enough vitamin D to keep levels adequate. Those who are homebound, stay inside, have darker skin or live in northern climates are also at a higher risk of not being able to get their daily dose of sunshine.

A long term deficiency of vitamin D can lead to numerous serious health problems.
Symptoms of a deficiency are subtle ornonexistent but could be bone pain, muscle weakness, low energy and depression. The list of possible health problems includes the obvious: osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, but may also cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, severe asthma and other lung diseases, and an increased risk of cancer, specifically of the breast, colon, prostate and pancreas. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to Type 2 Diabetes and autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. There is even evidence that deficiency could lead to cognitive impairment in older adults and is associated with a larger amount of belly fat!

Vitamin D plays a critical role in the processing of calcium, which can’t be used by the body without the right level of vitamin D. Research has shown that adequate levels of the sunshine vitamin in healthy people hasa significant impact on the biological pathways that govern illnesses, cancer, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, and infectious disease. It has may be involved in weight loss: Vitamin D levels in the body at the start of a low-calorie diet predicted weight loss success, suggesting that vitamin D may play a role in weight loss.

If you aren’t sure whether you’re getting enough vitamin D, a simple Vitamin D 25-hydroxy test, or a Micronutrient test to assess levels of all vitamins and minerals in the body, can give you the right information to help you decide whether you need to make lifestyle changes, such as getting outside more, losing weight or taking vitamin supplements to keep you at your best, today and long into the future!

Are You Winter D-ficient?

Vitamin D, more popularly known as the sunshine vitamin, is essential for your health. It is a fat soluble vitamin that interacts with over 200 genes in your body. Your body produces Vitamin D after exposure to sunlight. It’s also naturally present in a few various food items and supplements and can be absorbed that way.

It’s important to test your Vitamin D levels because if they are not satisfactory your risk for coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus and calcium deficiency rises. Many other health issues can come from a lack of Vitamin D as well.

A sufficient range of Vitamin D is between 30 and 100 ng/mL. Check out what the Vitamin D Council talks about in regards to having a Vitamin D deficiency. Sometimes if you are deficient, symptoms can go unnoticed. They can include tiredness, general aches and pains or more severe pain. These symptoms can be common for various different issues, which is why it’s so important to get tested to make sure you know what is going on in your body.

Deficiency can be common in the winter months, because you may not be getting as much sun as compared to the summer months. That’s why it’s important to Take Control of Your Health® and test your Vitamin D levels to learn where your levels are.

Celebrating National Nutrition Month

Are you known in your social circle as the ‘foodie’ of the group? Who doesn’t enjoy celebrating food, right? Well all throughout the month of March you get a chance to celebrate your passion for food during National Nutrition Month and share your ‘foodie’ experience with your friends. However before you can share your love of food with your family and friends it is important that you know how to make nutritious food choices and that you incorporate them with good physical activity habits.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has given this year’s celebration the theme of “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day”, encouraging individuals to personalize their eating habits towards a healthier path and help them to identify the factors that ultimately influence their food choices. Our food choices are influenced by the events in our everyday life, busy lifestyles, cultural traditions and most importantly our health concerns. Health concerns, depending on the condition, should be a main factor in how we personalize our eating plans.

So perhaps your food choices aren’t always the most nutritious. That can be okay, as long as you balance your overall daily intake and combine it with an active lifestyle. Nutrition boils down to learning about how our bodies work and how to create an eating plan that is tailored to our lifestyle, health needs and of course our tastes. In addition knowing how our bodies will react to the meals we enjoy is key to creating a balanced healthy eating plan. Let’s say that during one of your ‘foodie’ adventures you came across a meal that your body just did not agree with. That disagreement could have been caused by a number of things. It could be that your body is intolerant or sensitive, or perhaps you are allergic to one or more of the ingredients in that meal. Even if you are eating healthy, it is still possible that your body is deficient in specific vitamins and minerals.

There is no better time to Take Control of Your Health®. ANY LAB TEST NOW® offers a variety of tests that can help you learn more about your body’s current state and help you reach nutritional wellness. In order to do that, it is important to learn about the different food ingredients your body might be sensitive, intolerant or allergic to. Understanding how your body reacts to food through lab testing can help you truly create a tailored healthy meal plan that works just for you. It is also good to know what vitamins and minerals you might be missing. Use National Nutrition Month to celebrate food in a healthy way and share with your friends and family all you have learned. Why not prepare a feast with the healthy foods you love for them and plan a fun, physical activity for everyone after the meal?

Remember you are what you eat, and ANY LAB TEST NOW® is here to help you Take Control of Your Health®. To learn more about our nutrition-based lab tests including nutrient testing, food sensitivity, intolerance or allergies visit www.anylabtestnow.com.