Minerals & Vitamins analysis

Hi everyone

I am trying as much as i can to avoid giving my son anything that contains Vitamin C after meals, but at the same time i am afraid that he might have Vit C defiency. So, is there any blood test that shows wheather your body lacks certain minerals or vitamins???

I too heard that through  hair analysis, we can know which minerals we lack. Is this true or not??

Thanks

Manal

Hair analysis is often less than reliable.

From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11150111&dopt=Abstract

Assessment of commercial laboratories performing hair mineral analysis...CONCLUSIONS: Hair mineral analysis from these laboratories was unreliable, and we recommend that health care practitioners refrain from using such analyses to assess individual nutritional status or suspected environmental exposures. Problems with the regulation and certification of these laboratories also should be addressed.

There are reliable tests for many vitamins and minerals but these are normally done using blood tests.

A simple test for vitamin C deficiency is how easily one bruises and how quickly the color becomes normal again. If you bruise easily, it is very likely you're not getting enough C, as the capillaries become weak and break easily. The problem with vitamin C in non-transfused thals is that it aids in iron absorption from the gut. The best way to avoid this is to have high vitamin C food, such as citrus, between meals, so the C doesn't aid in iron absorption. Vitamin C is very important and it also washes out of the body rapidly, creating a need to replenish it often. Don't cut it out of the diet, but watch when it is consumed. If your son is getting his C through natural means, such as oranges or juice, the only concern should be when he has them and not how much of them he eats. An average size orange has about 70 mg of C, so even 3 or 4 oranges a day would be acceptable.

Thanks Andy for your reply

There are reliable tests for many vitamins and minerals but these are normally done using blood tests.

Is there a certain scientific name for these tests?

Thanks again
manal

Hi Manal,

Most of the tests have simple names and the more common tests include, Vitamin B 12 test, Vitamin A test, and Vitamin D test. They are all blood tests.