1. Diab L, Krebs N. Vitamin Excess and Deficiency. Pediatrics in Review. 2018;39(4):161-179.
2. Bouma S. Diagnosing Pediatric Malnutrition. Nutrition in Clinical Practice. 2016;32(1):52-67.
3. Holick M. The vitamin D deficiency pandemic: Approaches for diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders. 2017;18(2):153-165.
4. Stabler S. Vitamin B12Deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine. 2013;368(2):149-160.
5. Hernando-Requejo V. Patología neurológica por déficit de vitaminas del grupo B: tiamina, folato y cobalamina. Nutrición Hospitalaria. 2018;35(6).
6. Pasricha S, Tye-Din J, Muckenthaler M, Swinkels D. Iron deficiency. The Lancet. 2021;397(10270):233-248.
7. Reid I, Bolland M, Grey A. Effects of vitamin D supplements on bone mineral density: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. 2014;383(9912):146-155.
8. Holick M. Vitamin D Deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;357(3):266-281.
9. Holick M, Chen T. Vitamin D deficiency: a worldwide problem with health consequences. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2008;87(4):1080S-1086S.
10. Sahota O. Understanding vitamin D deficiency. Age and Ageing. 2014;43(5):589-591.
11. Palacios C, Gonzalez L. Is vitamin D deficiency a major global public health problem?. The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 2014;144:138-145.
12. Czeizel A, Dudás I, Vereczkey A, Bánhidy F. Folate Deficiency and Folic Acid Supplementation: The Prevention of Neural-Tube Defects and Congenital Heart Defects. Nutrients. 2013;5(11):4760-4775.
13. Sijilmassi O. Folic acid deficiency and vision: a review. Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. 2019;257(8):1573-1580.
14. Alshahrani F, Aljohani N. Vitamin D: Deficiency, Sufficiency and Toxicity. Nutrients. 2013;5(9):3605-3616.
15. Straub D. Calcium Supplementation in Clinical Practice: A Review of Forms, Doses, and Indications. Nutrition in Clinical Practice. 2007;22(3):286-296.
16. Zimmermann M, Hurrell R. Nutritional iron deficiency. The Lancet. 2007;370(9586):511-520.
17. Correia M. Nutrition Screening vs Nutrition Assessment: What’s the Difference?. Nutrition in Clinical Practice. 2017;:088453361771966.
18. Zohoori F. Chapter 1: Nutrition and Diet. Monographs in Oral Science. 2019;:1-13.
19. Lukaski H. Vitamin and mineral status: effects on physical performance. Nutrition. 2004;20(7-8):632-644.
20. Tardy A, Pouteau E, Marquez D, Yilmaz C, Scholey A. Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients. 2020;12(1):228.
21. Chang S, Lee H. Vitamin D and health - The missing vitamin in humans. Pediatrics & Neonatology. 2019;60(3):237-244.
22. Rizzo G, Laganà A, Rapisarda A, La Ferrera G, Buscema M, Rossetti P et al. Vitamin B12 among Vegetarians: Status, Assessment and Supplementation. Nutrients. 2016;8(12):767.
23. Smith A, Warren M, Refsum H. Vitamin B12. Advances in Food and Nutrition Research. 2018;:215-279.
24. Cappellini M, Musallam K, Taher A. Iron deficiency anaemia revisited. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2019;287(2):153-170.

Studies have shown that up to 90% of vegetarians and vegans might be deficient in vitamin B12, since this is only found in animal products. So if you are following a plant-based diet, it is important to regularly check up on your vitamin B12 levels with a nutrition blood test. If depleted, you may need to take supplements of vitamin B12.

Additionally if you do not eat dairy products, alternative sources for calcium should be found e.g. leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale, soybeans, or fortified foods. Again vitamin and mineral deficiency testing can help monitor changes here. (1-6)
 

If you don’t have time to book an appointment for UK vitamin or mineral deficiency testing at a clinic, you can simply test yourself at home with a nutrition blood test kit that you can order online.

Home vitamin and mineral test kits usually allow you to test for several vitamins and minerals at once. The Vitall vitamin and mineral test consists of collecting your blood sample with a finger prick lancet provided in the kit and sending it in an envelope back to the laboratory for professional accredited analysis. 

Your results will be sent to you securely online usually within 24 hours, showing your vitamin and mineral levels as well as the normal range of values and whether your results are within this normal range. If your vitamin or mineral levels are too low or too high, this will be detailed along with a brief summary of your health based on these results. 

If you have abnormally low or high albumin levels in your blood, this can make the calcium results falsely too high or too low. So this is also measured so that the laboratory can adjust the values in order to give accurate calcium blood test results.

Almost one billion people worldwide have low levels of vitamin D and approximately 20% of the population in the UK have a vitamin D deficiency. 60% of the population are considered as having insufficient levels of vitamin D.

As mentioned above, colder winters means fewer hours of exposure to sunlight, and less time spent outdoors. It has also been shown that people with darker skin are more prone to vitamin D deficiencies, as the higher levels of melanin block the absorption of UV light. Therefore, if you are of a darker skin tone, you should consider taking a daily supplement of vitamin D not just in winter but all year round.

If you are above 65 years of age, you should also be taking a daily supplement of vitamin D all year around. Infants who are being breast fed must also take vitamin D drops as they will not be receiving sufficient amounts of vitamin D through breast milk. Infants should receive approximately 400 IU/day of vitamin D. Throughout the winter months, you should consider taking vitamin D supplements as there is not enough vitamin D found in the foods that we eat. You should consider taking at least 400 IU/day of vitamin D during winter season to improve your bone health and your immune system, especially as the seasonal flu occurs around the same time.

A vitamin D test is included in several of our home tests, including the advanced bone health test and the Vitall complete vitamins and minerals test. For further information on vitamin D we recommend reviewing the NHS guidance here.(7-11)

Ideally you should be getting the nutrients your body needs through a balanced diet, in which case, you don’t need to take vitamin or mineral supplements.

However, if you are living in a cold environment where you are not exposed to enough sunlight, taking vitamin D supplements is highly recommended in autumn and winter, as not very many foods are rich in vitamin D. Taking at least 400 UI/day is recommended to the entire population during these seasons.

If you are vegetarian or vegan, you are at a higher risk of having a vitamin B12 deficiency or an iron deficiency, so taking vitamin B12 supplements is recommended and if test results show that you are iron deficient, your doctor might advise you to take iron supplements as well. It is not recommended to take iron supplements before testing for an iron deficiency, as too much iron could do more harm than good.

If you are planning to get pregnant, it is important to check your vitamin and mineral levels before taking vitamin B9 (folate) supplements, as this can mask the symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency.

As high levels of supplementation can lead to issues, monitoring your blood levels using a nutrition blood test every 6 - 8 weeks is recommended to monitor your progress (21-24).

There are different signs and symptoms of vitamin and mineral deficiency. If you have any of the symptoms below, inform your doctor. A vitamin or mineral deficiency could be caused by an underlying condition or could lead to other medical conditions. 
If you are experiencing symptoms of fatigue, bone aches, muscle weakness or cramps, depression, hair loss, and falling ill more often, you might have a vitamin D deficiency.

Folic acid (vitamin B9) plays an important role in the making and repairing of DNA and contributes to the production of your red blood cells. If you are deficient in folic acid, you might experience fatigue, mouth sores, greying hair, tongue swelling and possible growth problems. If left untreated, you can develop anaemia and begin to experience anaemia related symptoms due to folic acid deficiency, such as irritability, palpitations, paleness, shortness of breath and lethargy, as well as damage to your nervous system, which can affect your balance and coordination and cause blurred vision. These symptoms are also found amongst people with a vitamin B12 deficiency.

A calcium deficiency is more difficult to notice unless you are severely deficient in calcium, which is when you will start to have symptoms such as bone fractures, muscle cramps and spasms, brittle nails, depression, numbness in your hands and feet and even your face. You will tend to have slow hair growth, fragile nails, and less elastic skin. In the most severe cases, as calcium is involved in the transmission of chemicals that trigger muscle contraction, seizures can occur. 

Another common mineral deficiency is iron deficiency. You can also have a ferritin deficiency – ferritin is a protein that stores iron and releases iron when you need it. Iron in your red blood cells carries oxygen to your entire body. If you are showing symptoms of iron deficiency, your doctor might request that you have your ferritin levels measured. An iron or ferritin deficiency can be characterised by constant fatigue, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, headaches and dizziness, irritability, and ringing of your ears. 

Symptoms of vitamin and mineral deficiencies are vast, and you can experience different symptoms from one person to another, so it is important to get a vitamin and mineral test if you are experiencing unusual symptoms and to see which vitamin or mineral is lacking. Be sure to address any deficiencies with your doctor. (12-16)

If you are at a higher risk of having vitamin or mineral deficiencies, you should test for the vitamins or minerals that could be compromised. For example, if you are above the age of 65 years old, you are post menopause, or you are not exposed to the sun often, it is important to measure your calcium and vitamin D levels.

Likewise, if you are a woman at a childbearing age and you are feeling tired more often than not, you should measure your iron levels. If you are following a vegan or vegetarian diet, you should also be checking your iron levels, as well as your vitamin B9 and B12 levels. It is very common to have at least one vitamin or mineral deficiency at some point in your life, and it is very often the vitamins and minerals that are mentioned above.

However, there are many other vitamins and minerals for which you could have a deficiency, and it really depends on your diet, your lifestyle and other risk factors, so getting a full blood test from time to time is also recommended. The Vitall vitamin and mineral test kit is designed to give a comprehensive overivew of your current nutritional status. (17-20)

We are all prone to deficiencies, whether it is because of our genetics or our environment and lifestyle. It is important to know if you are at a greater risk of having vitamin deficiencies. For example, in the UK, you will have less hours of sunlight than say a country along the equator. With long winters, you won’t be receiving enough sunlight, which can cause a vitamin D deficiency. This is why a lot of individuals take vitamin D supplements during the winter season to compensate for the lack of sunlight they are exposed to.

Adolescents very often experience vitamin and mineral deficiencies because transitioning into an adult sees physical growth, puberty, and cognitive changes, all which affect nutrition. 

Iron deficiencies are extremely common amongst all ages. There are 2 types of dietary iron: heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron is much better absorbed that non-heme iron and is only found in animal foods. Young children, menstruating women, vegetarians, and vegans are prone to having an iron deficiency, which can lead to anaemia. If you are feeling constantly lethargic and tired, you should check your iron levels, as these are typical symptoms of anaemia. Deficiency in vitamin B9 can also lead to anaemia. Vitall offer a specific anaemia home test to help identify these deficiencies.

Folic acid is the natural form of vitamin B9, and it is an extremely important vitamin for women at a childbearing age who wish to get pregnant, as folic acid plays an important role in making and repairing DNA. If you are considering having a child, it is important to eat foods rich in vitamin B9, or take vitamin B9 supplements before and during pregnancy, in order to prevent birth defects. You should regularly check your vitamin B9 levels to make sure you are getting the right amount in your diet or through supplements.

Your lifestyle is also very important in preventing vitamin and mineral deficiencies. A balanced diet that are rich in nutrients is key to preventing deficiencies. If you are vegetarian or vegan, make sure that you are taking the necessary supplements that are not provided to you in your diet.

If you are taking one or more medications on a daily basis, you are also more prone to having vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Finally, if you are suffering from a chronic disease, you should frequently check your organ functions, and take a vitamin and mineral test to see if your condition is affecting your vitamin and nutrient levels.(1-6)

Seniors are at a higher risk of developing vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to the physiological and metabolic changes that occur in their bodies. Not only that, but also the fact that they are more prone to living alone, being less physically active, and having sensory changes in terms of taste and smell, can decrease their intake of food, leading to many nutrient deficiencies. 

Calcium and vitamin D deficiencies are very common, which can lead to osteoporosis and a weakened immune system since Vitamin D also enables the body to better absorb calcium and maintain bone density.

This is particularly common in menopausal women, as the decrease in oestrogen leads to reduced calcium, which leads to calcium being drawn out of the bones to compensate for the deficiency. Women lose 10% of their bone mass within the first few years of their menopause, and calcium supplements are therefore extremely important for preventing the development of osteoporosis. Vitall also offer a bone health home test kit to help you assess this risk, and a menopause bood test to measure female hormone blood levels.

Note that seniors are also prone to being deficient in vitamin B6 and B12.  (1-6)