Before a nutrient level blood test, how essential is it to .

[dc10]

... stop all supplements several days before your bloods are drawn?

After showing anemia - low red cell count, low white cell count, low haemoglobin, in October and December of last year (when on the Wahls diet 100% strictly- i now eat gluten-free grains), i am due to have new bloods drawn next week for:

Bone profile
Full blood count
Ferritin
Haematinic screen (b12/folate)
Liver function test serum
Thyroid function test serum
Urea electrolyte serum
Vitamin D 25OH (vit d serum)
Zinc serum
Copper serum

also my copper levels were slightly low out of range in October , so since November have been taking 2x 2mg copper supplements daily - i also take 50mg zinc picolinate daily too
My other daily supplements are: Calcium 250mg, Magnesium 375mg, Fish oil 2000mg, Vit B50, C 1000mg, D3 10,000IU, Dried kelp 300mg, Selenium 200mcg

Before my last tests i stopped all my above supplements for 5 days before bloods were drawn, but im not sure if i should do this again, as its not a true representation of my diet, as i take supplements daily, strictly
Especially as living in the UK i rarely get daily sunlight, so would need the vit d3, just not sure if my recent increase from 1x5000mg daily, to 2x 5000mg daily is necessary, its just my last 25OH D3 test last year (where i stopped D3 supp 5 days before bloodtest) showed me in the range just in the middle (Serum Vitamin D result= 122 / nmol/L / range = 50 - 200 )
so im going to see how 2x 5000IU affects my levels, hopefully i will be closer to 200 nmol/L



So does anyone feel it would be a problem or not recommended to continue on all my supplements, i just won't take them on the day of bloods being drawn

[jimmylegs]

i'm sure you already know what i think ;) but all the same:
my early b12 bloodwork was totally compromised by taking tests too close to supplements. my b12 deficiency almost slipped under the radar because of it.

i was certainly NOT taking daily b12 at the time, so the situation is different from yours.

regardless.. these days, i do a wash out every time, more to get a sense of retention and absorption. to assess how i do with diet alone. good stuff to know.

[dc10]

hi JL.
I understand your reasoning for the washout,
its just being in the UK I get very little sunlight, so i would supplement with D3 regardless,
and as i already had my levels tested when taking 5000 IU (including 5 day wash out) it would be good to know my D3 levels when taking 10,000IU without the 5 day washout i done last time

in the 25OH D3 test i had September 12' i showed Serum Vitamin D =
122 / nmol/L / range = 50 - 200

so as i was in the middle of the range, i wonder if being at the upper end of the range, closer to 200, that this would be better for me?

i had my vitamin b12 and folate levels tested in October 12' when on the Wahls diett 100%:
Vitamin B12 - 765 pg/mL - 191 - 663 - HIGH
Serum Folate - > 20.00 ng/mL - 4.6 - 18.7 HIGH

Now for the last 2.5 months i've been following my revised version of the wahls diet, (i still eat 12-13 cups of organic veg daily) but now eat gluten free soaked grains with every meal 3x daily, and keeping fats low with no red meat, it will be interesting to see new folate, B12 levels, Full blood count.
i dont think it will show low red/white cell count/haemoglobin = anemia, this time as my symptoms are improving fairly from October/December

[jimmylegs]

glad to hear your symptoms are improving. are you gaining weight?

personally, having tripled my dose response to d3 after zinc repletion, i would NEVER advocate 10,000IU per day of d3 to someone who had been working on improving zinc status AND taking 5000IU daily. you need to know what your regimen has accomplished on the zinc side of things, and how d3 levels might have been affected. not change it up at the last minute. that's just my 2c. it's not like i died when my d3 went up to 271 nmol/L.

(update: probably the work i had done on magnesium status was a more important factor in my much improved dose response to vit d3)

[dc10]

yes, in about 6 weeks i've gained 20 lbs (now weigh 130lbs) from the 3x daily gluten-free grains, this was my weight before starting the wahls diet in April 12'

but as i'm 5'11" i ideally want to get up to 140lbs, so i will be increasing the amount of g3 grain i eat


i have already had my zinc and copper levels tested in Dec 12' which included a 5 day washout,
Zinc: 14.4 umol/l, 11-24
Copper: 10.7 umol/l, 11-20
i have always taken 50mg zinc picolinate and 2mg copper daily, so it will be interesting to see the results of not having a washout (only on day of blood test i wont take supps):

i increased from 5000iu daily to 10,000iu daily 2.5 weeks ago, by the time my bloods are drawn

[jimmylegs]

hey that's great re weight gain, dc!

hopefully your zinc and copper have made it up to around 18-19, and 17 respectively. and hopefully your d3 levels are healthy and safe

[dc10]

thanks JL for the continued support

[jimmylegs]

np.. but i still think washout is best 'cma' ;P

[jimmylegs]

so how's the last month been?