Gain insight into the vitamins and minerals in your body

Vitamins and minerals are molecules that are essential for the normal functioning of the body but which humans cannot produce themselves and must therefore take in sufficient amounts through diet. A special case is vitamin D that we can take in through the diet but can also produce itself in the skin under the influence of sunlight. Most people in our society have a varied and balanced diet. Nevertheless, we see that 5% to 10% of populations develop vitamin deficiencies. Some population groups are at higher risk: growing children, pregnant women, people on specific diets or medications, vegetarians/veganists and the elderly population. Women of childbearing age are also at higher risk for iron deficiency due to blood loss during menstruation. In addition, impaired bowel function can also cause reduced absorption of vitamins from the diet.

The vitamins and minerals panel tracks the most common and important deficiencies: vitamin D, vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and B9 (folic acid). Recently, this was expanded to include the fat-soluble vitamins A and E. Detecting all possible vitamin deficiencies would be too expensive and is not necessary at all: indeed, we usually see that deficiencies of several vitamins occur together as a result of a one-sided diet. In that case, we will see this by simple analysis of vitamin D/B12/B9/A/E, and the problem can be remedied by supplements or dietary modification. The panel also measures the most common deficiencies of minerals and salts: sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and zinc. The available supply of iron is also measured via determination of the iron storage protein ferritin.

Deficiencies of these vitamins develop gradually and can cause a wide variety of symptoms. A deficiency develops gradually. The first symptoms occur after a few weeks, depending on the body’s supply. Only after several months may more specific symptoms appear, depending on the vitamin(s) or minerals. Symptoms may include fatigue, lethargy or difficulty concentrating.

Deficiency of vitamin B12 causes nerve damage and anemia. Deficiency of vitamin D causes weaker bones and problems with calcium metabolism. Vitamin A deficiency can be caused by insufficient dietary intake or malabsorption in certain patient populations and can cause skin and hair abnormalities and vision problems, in addition to growth defects and immunity problems, among others. Vitamin E, whose main form is α-tocopherol, is a powerful antioxidant whose deficiency can cause edema formation, muscle weakness (adults) and hemolytic anemia (newborns).

Iron deficiency causes anemia. Folic acid is essential during pregnancy for the normal development of the baby but deficiencies also cause problems with blood cell formation. Zinc deficiency causes numerous skin abnormalities, hair loss, diarrhea and problems with baby development during pregnancy. A deficiency can only be determined with certainty after blood tests.

This blood test measures the 5 most important vitamins and 7 markers for various minerals in the body: