Bloods & Lab Tests

Bloods & Lab Tests

How to read your results: iron, B12, vitamin D, thyroid, lipids, inflammation and more. 10 evidence-based guides, each written in plain English with UK context and real citations.

Bloods & Lab Tests

ApoB and the lipid panel: what actually predicts heart risk

ApoB and non-HDL cholesterol often predict heart risk better than LDL alone. What your lipid panel, trig:HDL ratio and Lp(a) mean, plus NICE and GP tips.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

B12 and folate deficiency in the UK: why it is missed and how to read the tests

B12 and folate deficiency are missed when tests read normal. Why serum B12 misleads, how active B12, MMA and folate fit, who is at risk, and UK treatment.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

Homocysteine, MTHFR and methylation: what is real and what is overhyped

Homocysteine, MTHFR and methylation, explained plainly: the B-vitamin link, the honest trial evidence, and why most commercial methylation hype overreaches.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

How to read a full blood count (FBC)

Learn to read a full blood count the way a clinician does: what haemoglobin, MCV, the white cell differential, platelets and RDW mean, with UK ranges shown.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

Iron Deficiency and Ferritin: Why a "Normal" Result Can Still Be Too Low

Why a normal ferritin can still be too low: UK guide to functional vs lab ranges, symptoms beyond anaemia, causes, and how to treat iron deficiency safely.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

Lipoprotein(a): the inherited heart risk most people never test

Lipoprotein(a) is a genetic, mostly fixed cholesterol particle that raises heart attack, stroke and aortic stenosis risk. Why to test it once, in nmol/L.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

Reading inflammatory markers: CRP, hs-CRP, ESR and ferritin

What CRP, hs-CRP, ESR and ferritin measure, why high-sensitivity CRP flags heart risk, how ferritin masks iron deficiency, and how to read them together (UK).

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Bloods & Lab Tests

The omega-3 index: testing, dosing and what the evidence shows

The omega-3 index measures EPA plus DHA in red blood cells. See target ranges, the dose to raise it, the REDUCE-IT vs VITAL vs STRENGTH split and UK guidance.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

Vitamin D in the UK: dose, blood levels, testing and the K2 question

UK vitamin D guide: the 10 microgram (400 IU) dose, deficiency rates, adequate versus optimal nmol/L, the K2 and magnesium question, testing and safe limits.

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Bloods & Lab Tests

Zinc, copper and the ratio that matters

Zinc powers immunity, skin, taste and testosterone, but long-term high-dose zinc causes copper deficiency. UK doses, safe limits and the zinc-copper balance.

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