4 Best At-Home Vitamin D Tests for 2022

Table of Content

• Which vitamins are worth testing for?
• What’s the normal range for vitamin D levels?
• How to Use a Home Test For Protein In Urine?
• Learn your vitamin D level and measure inflammation in your body that may be causing discomfort
• How can I increase my vitamin D levels?
• How Often Should I Test My Vitamin D Levels

Vitamin B complex supplements may help to prevent vitamin B deficiency. Public health aspects in the prevention and control of vitamin deficiencies. A person should not make health decisions based on the results of an at-home test without first consulting a doctor. Everlywell has a customer rating of 2.0 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. Negative reviews frequently mention difficulties in obtaining results and doing the test.

The treatment for low vitamin D levels is usually supplements and/or dietary changes. This is usually safer than getting more sun, which may cause skin cancer. The four most common vitamin deficiencies include vitamin D, B6 and B12, and folic acid. Other common nutritional deficiencies include iron, iodine, magnesium, and calcium.

Which vitamins are worth testing for?

Therefore, calcium, iron, magnesium, or zinc supplements, if used, should be taken an hour before or after the drug. “Vitamin D and hair loss are very closely intertwined,” Anna Chacon, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and hair loss expert in South Florida tells WebMD Connect to Care. “Both vitamin D deficiency, as well as vitamin D excess, may cause hair loss,” Chacon explains. The normal range of vitamin D is measured as nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).

Thanks to modern technology, going to the GP isnt your only option if you want to test your vitamin D levels, you can now do a vitamin D test at home. Home vitamin D diagnostic kit vs a blood test from your Doctor. Your results will contain your personal level of vitamin D and whether it is low, normal, or high as compared to someone who shares a similar demographic profile as you . Commonly referred to as the âsunshine vitamin,â vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and is stored in the fatty tissues of the body, which is then released when not in direct sunlight. We typically get 50-90% of our vitamin D from the sunlight itself, with the remainder coming from our diet, where it is mostly found within fatty fish , egg yolks, and fortified dairy products.

What’s the normal range for vitamin D levels?

Often, it’s advised to continue taking your regular medications, even before a fasting blood test. But, its always good to clear this with your doctor, as well as any vitamin or supplements that you take on a daily basis. Your body must have vitamin D to absorb calcium and promote bone growth. Too little vitamin D results in soft bones in children and fragile, misshapen bones in adults . When taken at appropriate doses, vitamin B-12 supplements are generally considered safe.

Once your baby is six months old, and up until they are five years, daily vitamin A, C and D supplements are recommended (unless they’re having 500ml or more of first infant formula each day). When you buy your baby vitamin supplements, make sure you read the label to check they are age appropriate. The most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test. A level of 20 nanograms/milliliter to 50 ng/mL is considered adequate for healthy people. However, it's important to feel supported in understanding your results, which will vary from company to company. "Like any other lab testing, you'll get a reference range, which doesn't tell you what optimal levels are," says Bonney.

How to Use a Home Test For Protein In Urine?

It’s worth noting that these symptoms may be subtle at first, and will escalate as the deficiency progresses - which is why it’s so important to keep an eye on your levels. An Everlywell vitamin D test involves a person taking a finger-prick blood sample. Results will show whether a person’s vitamin D levels are elevated, adequate, or suboptimal.

You can instead watch educational videos on the website or take your results to your health care provider to ask questions and discuss potential next steps. Home vitamin and mineral tests Its possible to order home vitamin and mineral test kits online and do it yourself. For this test, youll use a lancet to collect a finger-prick blood sample. Your results will be reviewed by a GP and are available for you to view online. Vitamin D has many important roles in the body, including bone formation and maintenance as well as immune function, among others.

Learn your vitamin D level and measure inflammation in your body that may be causing discomfort

The products listed below have all passed our vetting process and been approved by Healthline’s team of medical experts. We vetted the most popular at-home nutrient deficiency tests and updated our list to reflect what we believe to be a better solution set for our audience. Some reports estimate that around 31% of the United States population is at risk for at least one nutrient deficiency or anemia . Magnesium supplements can help treat muscle cramps, sleep issues, migraine, and more.

Globally, it is estimated about 50% of people have insufficient levels of vitamin D. Your vitamin D lab test result will tell you how high or how low your vitamin D level is, reported in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). You’ll also get practical suggestions—including ideas for maintaining healthy vitamin D levels —that can help you get the most out of your results. We might also suggest other lifestyle changes that are often helpful in getting your body’s levels within the recommended range. Vitamin D plays a vital role in the body’s ability to regulate the absorption and levels of calcium and phosphorus.

At-home tests can be expensive, and it may be more cost-effective to go directly through a lab. Labcorp has a customer rating of 1.4 out of a possible 5 stars on Trustpilot based on over 110 reviews. Positive reviews mention that they had great experiences in their local Labcorp center.

Acute inflammation is often a sign your body is working to fight an infection or heal itself. In contrast, when inflammation persists, or is in response to the body's own cells, it is referred to as chronic inflammation. In chronic inflammation, your body’s immune system continues to send out it’s main defenders, white blood cells, and other messengers to fight.

During the autumn and winter, we cannot produce enough vitamin D this way. It is for this reason that the Government and NHS urge people to boost their levels through dietary and supplementary means. If you are confirmed as deficient, then there are multiple ways to boost your levels including through supplementation and food. You will also notice that your skin will start to bruise easily – this is because the vitamins are needed in the body to create a shield and keep it protected from any bruising, wounds, and so on. The vitamins are needed to help your body heal faster after an injury, and keep it in perfect shape. Inspire change in life - We provide best-in-class, test-based, scientifically proven nutritional supplements, skincare and lifestyle products.

A key point here is that we do not know what an optimal levels of vitamin D is for combatting COVID-19, Hewison tells Verywell. Your results from our high-sensitivity CRP test will contain your levels of CRP and vitamin D and whether they are low, normal, or high compared to the appropriate reference ranges. Everlywell has included a vitamin D screen as part of our hs-CRP blood test.

They also provide one free physician consultation for test results outside the standard range. In addition to being among the most budget-friendly options on our list, Everlywell is one of the more well-known at-home health and wellness testing services. They offer a large number of at-home blood tests and have overall very positive reviews.

There are no expert guidelines for the use of at-home vitamin D tests, so it’s important to talk to your doctor about whether at-home testing is right for you. Some aftercare is sometimes necessary, especially if you have confusing results, so check if they have a doctor on board to help if needed. “A key point here is that we do not know what an optimal levels of vitamin D is for combatting COVID-19,” Hewison tells Verywell. He tells Verywell that he doesn’t think at-home tests are worth the effort unless you are severely deficient and are at risk of bone disease.