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*