Zinc, Selenium and Vitamin Tests: What They Show and When They Are Needed

You take an "all-in-one test" and a day later receive a sheet with a dozen numbers, half of which are unclear even to you, a person with a higher education. Sound familiar? Let's figure out what such tests actually measure and when they are truly needed.

What a blood test for vitamins and trace elements shows

Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that the body receives in small amounts in order to function properly and stay healthy. Most people get everything they need from a varied and balanced diet. Insufficient intake of vitamins compared with their expenditure is called hypovitaminosis; it can be exogenous, when there are few vitamins in food, and endogenous, when metabolism in the body is disrupted. Hypovitaminosis is not the same as avitaminosis: avitaminosis is a serious disease caused by an acute lack of a vitamin, such as rickets, beriberi or scurvy. The main point: the number on the form is a fragment of the picture, not a diagnosis.

Zinc: why it is needed and how deficiency manifests

Zinc is an important trace element; by concentration in the body it is second only to iron. It is needed by the immune system, participates in cell division, growth, wound healing and carbohydrate breakdown, supports smell and taste, and during pregnancy, infancy and childhood — growth and development. Signs of zinc deficiency include frequent infections, hair loss, poor appetite, problems with taste and smell, skin lesions, slow wound healing, impaired night vision, in men — hypogonadism, in children — slow growth. Plant foods are poorer in zinc because it is absorbed worse from plants than from animal sources; therefore low-protein and vegetarian diets are prone to zinc deficiency.

Which tests are included in a vitamin and mineral panel

What exactly is included in the examination is decided by the doctor based on complaints and diet. Vitamins and minerals include vitamins A, B group, folic acid, C, D, E, K, calcium, iodine, iron, copper, potassium, zinc. For vitamins A, D and E, international units (IU) are sometimes used, and milligrams and micrograms are converted to them differently depending on the vitamin. What will be included in your set is decided by the doctor.

• Vitamins A, D, E and B group
• Folic acid
• Iron and zinc
• Calcium, iodine, copper, potassium

Should you take a test for all vitamins at once

Which specific indicators to check is determined by the doctor, taking into account complaints and diet. If you are thinking about a lack of vitamins, start with a conversation with a doctor, not with a laboratory price list.

When to see a doctor

You should see a doctor for frequent infections, hair loss, poor appetite, problems with taste and smell, skin lesions, slow wound healing, impaired night vision, slow growth in a child. The doctor will assess nutrition, complaints and decide which examinations are needed.

A suspicion of a lack of vitamins is not in itself a reason to call an ambulance. Call 103 or 112 for life-threatening conditions: serious injuries, stroke, heart attack, when a person suddenly feels severely and gravely unwell.

This material is for reference: it helps to understand the logic of tests, but does not replace a doctor's consultation, since the doctor looks at you, not at a laboratory form.

This content is for reference and does not replace a doctor's consultation. Medical disclaimer