If you follow a plant-based diet that is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, tubers, legumes nuts and seeds, your chances of having any deficiency are extremely small. I would even say that you are more than likely getting far more vitamins and minerals than you were on an animal-based diet.
You will most probably feel great and be functioning at optimum, but because is better safe than sorry, despite the clear benefits of having a plant-based diet I still think that getting a blood test done its a good idea and that is why I’ve done mine.
When I lived in Portugal, as normal practice the doctors requested blood tests once a year, since a moved to another country, that’s not true anymore. GP’s are not really keen to give blood tests, so I decided to try one of Thriva‘s kits, that are an at-home blood test that are done with a simple finger-prick blood test. (use the code CTB50 to get 50% off on your first baseline or advanced kit)
Advanced subscription provides a checkup for signs of heart disease, liver disease and diabetes. Plus a look at four key nutrients required for optimal health, Vitamin D, Iron Profile, B12 (Total) and Folate.
After my order, I received my kit in the post pretty quickly. Inside the small box, there was everything I needed to do my test, including instructions 🙂 what was not inside the box was courage .. despite having no problems with needles, it was really hard for me to pierce my own finger ?
If you don’t have cold feet like I had the process can be done very quickly. Once I finished collecting the blood, I just went to the post office that is literary next door to my house and had it post it.
After just 1 day I received my results back and a personalised report, and I couldn’t be happier to find out that everything is fine, from the liver function, cholesterol, vitamin D, B12, iron, B9, Proteins and HbA1c.
The report was presented in a really smart and visual way, it was easy to read and understand, plus it was full of important tips and information. They also added some specific recommendations knowing that I have a vegan diet.
Overall I loved the experience and the fact that you can check your blood frequently without any fuss. It’s also useful to do it a few months before embarking in any long travel trip, making sure you have robust health. If you think you would benefit from having your blood tested you can use the code CTB50 to get 50% off on your first baseline or advanced kit.
Without wanting to get political the only thing that I didn’t really like was the company slogan “Take control of your health” for me that has scary resemblances with the Brexit campaign slogan ‘Take Back Control’. This doesn’t make the product bad just shows some lack of taste from the marketing team 🙂
*although I’m talking about a specific product I’m not being paid to write this article neither will get any compensation if you make a purchase*
Great to know and thank you for the share.
Although, I don’t agree with the view of “your chances of having any deficiency are extremely small” on a plant-based diet.
Not everyone is great on a vegetarian or a vegan diet as we’re all very different and our bodies process nutrients differently.
To give you an example, my mother was vegetarian then vegan for 40+ years and had to get regular B12 shots. As a Naturopath, she was meticulous about combining the correct foods to get optimal vitamins, minerals, etc., into her diet, but still it was not enough.
Another example is I was a vegetarian for 20+ years until I became quite anaemic and my doctor advised I should eat red meat at least once per week. (As I don’t really like the flavour, I drown meat in sauces or make stews, Goulash, etc.)
You’re right we all react differently to different diets, but so far I’ve had no problems with my diet but I do supplement occasionally with b12. But I still think that a plant base diet is healthier and better for your body 😉 thanks for stopping by xx
Olá Ana. Interessante, nem sabia que isso existia. Folgo em saber que está de boa saúde ?
Thank you for sharing your experience with an ‘at home’ test. Sounds like it’s well worth investing in every once in a while if you want to check your levels. I know even when I’ve had them done with my GP often the results are specific to one thing and don’t give you an all round overview. ??
this is great, would love to try this out myself!
I went to see my GP a couple of times now because I wanted to do some blood tests since I have a vegan diet for 2 years now and would like to know if all my levels are OK, so far no luck :/ they just don’t care unless you are dying…
I had no idea that this kind of services even existed, I’m going to check it out for sure 🙂 thanks for sharing Ana
Same here that’s why I did the test 🙂
Doctors here in France favour blood checks every 6 months which is very reassuring
Portugal is the same 😉 but not in the UK