Health and Lifestyle Blood Test Sample Type Blood Sample Tests Included 20 Biomarkers Results 3 Working Days Is it for you? Do you think your lifestyle could be healthier? Do you want to know which health risks apply to you so that you get motivated to improve? Or are you looking to confirm that changes you've already made are having a positive impact on your risk factors? If you want an easy, affordable test that covers many of the main lifestyle risks to health, then this Health and Lifestyle Blood Test is for you. Medichecks Terms and conditions apply. Over 18s only. Proteins Proteins are vital to the functioning of cells and tissues as well as for building muscle. Proteins in the blood are measured to help diagnose liver or kidney disease as well as other conditions. Proteins also carry other molecules around the blood (e.g. hormones) so are often measured to help calculate how much of a particular hormone is bound to protein or free and therefore available to your cells. Raised proteins are often caused by dehydration but can also indicate other conditions. Low proteins can indicate severe malnutrition or malabsorption. Liver Health Your liver is one of your body's most important organs and has many functions including breaking down food and converting it to energy, getting rid of waste and toxins and manufacturing and regulating some hormones. Your liver can become inflamed and progressively damaged through excessive food intake, alcohol consumption and viral hepatitis. Your liver has amazing powers of regeneration, but once inflammation has led to scarring (cirrhosis) then liver disease is irreversible. Blood tests measure the level of different enzymes which, if raised, can indicate that your liver is inflamed. Bilirubin: Bilirubin is a product of the breakdown of haemoglobin from red blood cells. It is removed from the body via the liver, stored and concentrated in the gallbladder and secreted into the bowel. It is removed from your body through urine and faeces. Bilirubin causes the yellowish colour you sometimes see in bruises, due to red blood cells breaking down underneath the skin. Cholesterol Status Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood that plays an essential role in how the cells in the body work. However, too much cholesterol in the blood can have a serious effect on your health as it increases your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. There are many factors which raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and we are learning more all the time about the complex biological processes which lead to a heart attack. High levels of cholesterol have long been known to increase your risk but, even then, it is not that simple – there are different types of cholesterol and some are more dangerous than others. Cholesterol is manufactured in the liver and also comes from the food we eat. Diet, family history, obesity and lack of exercise can all adversely impact cholesterol levels. Kidney Health Your kidneys are responsible for removing waste products and excess fluid from your blood. How well they are doing their job can be measured by examining the levels of waste product in the blood as well as levels of electrolytes which regulate fluid in the body. Kidney disease has few symptoms in the early stages so it is important to monitor kidney function, especially if you are a diabetic, have raised blood pressure or a close relative with the disease. Iron Status Iron is an element that we require for several different bodily processes such as creating new red blood cells, carrying oxygen around the body and strengthening our immune system. Most of the iron in our bodies is found in haemoglobin, a protein in our red blood cells. A smaller proportion is stored in a protein called ferritin that is responsible for controlling the release of iron when levels are too low or high. Iron status tests measure the total amount of iron in the blood with a view to diagnosing anaemia or iron overload (haemochromatosis). They also test your body's ability to absorb iron as well as the amount of iron stored in your body. Vitamins Vitamins are essential nutrients that your body needs to function properly. You cannot make them yourself, so they need to come from the food you eat. Vitamins divide into two types: fat soluble and water soluble. Fat soluble vitamins, like vitamins A, D, E and K are found in oily foods, whether animal or plant-based. They are stored in the fatty tissue in your body as well as the liver, and therefore you don't need to eat them daily. Most water based vitamins like vitamin C are not stored in the body, and therefore you need to eat foods which contain them more frequently. You should get all the vitamins you need from a balanced diet. Sometimes, however, dietary choices or health problems can lead us to be deficient in some vitamins. Muscle Health Creatine kinase (CK) is an important enzyme in tissues that have a fast metabolism, including muscle tissue. Sport and competitive training imposes substantial mechanical stresses on your body and one of the most prominent by-products of this is CK, which leaks into the blood when your muscle fibres are damaged from repeated, intense contractions. Traditionally in medicine, CK has been a marker of serious muscle injury due to a variety of mechanisms. High levels can be dangerous and can accumulate to cause a nasty condition called ‘rhabdomyolysis’. This is when so much muscle breaks down that the CK by-product can make you sick and even cause kidney failure and heart attack. However, for the athlete muscle breakdown is key to the anabolic process and so instead of breaking your muscle down by accident, you're breaking it down on purpose and as a result an athlete’s body adapts to deal with far higher levels of CK than the average person. An understanding of healthy CK levels is important as it can give measures of capacity for increased training load or flags about over-training and need to reduce load. If you are a muscle building athlete and your CK level is on the low side of the normal range, then technically you can increase your workload for faster, larger gains in performance without overloading your system (from a CK point of view!). If you CK level is too high then it’s an important alarm bell to reduce your training load to prevent severe muscle injury, overtraining syndrome and possibly kidney damage. To make sure you get the right result always ensure you test your CK level at least 2 days post-heavy exercise to get your baseline. Inflammation Inflammation occurs when your defence system is activated to rid your body of foreign invaders or irritants and to protect against tissue damage. Typical signs of inflammation include heat, redness, swelling and pain. Inflammation can be acute or chronic. Acute inflammation is often caused by infection or injury, and it flares up and disappears within days. Chronic inflammation is caused by longer-term conditions such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or asthma. Inflammation causes levels of certain proteins in the blood to rise and these can be measured to assess the extent of inflammation as well as in some instances the cause. Pre Sample information CRP levels can be affected by infection, inflammation, and illness. If you are taking this test because you have recently developed symptoms or they are worsening you should discuss these with your doctor. We suggest taking your test when any short-term change in your symptoms have settled. Fasting is optional for this test. Eating fatty foods might affect the results of a small number of blood tests so we may advise a retest when you are fasted. If you are interested in your triglyceride or LDL levels, then we do recommend fasting. Avoid heavy exercise and eating meat-rich meals for 48 hours before your test. Do not take biotin supplements for 2 days prior to this test. If you are taking prescribed biotin you should discuss this with your doctor. You should take this test before you take any vitamin or mineral supplements. Do not take vitamin B12 for two weeks prior to this test. If your B12 is prescribed ask your doctor whether you should stop before testing. Book Appointment