Vitamin D Test

About the Test

GetTested's Vitamin D test is a vitamin D blood test that checks your Vitamin D levels and helps you detect a possible deficiency. 

Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium that your body can absorb from the intestines into the bloodstream. Low vitamin D levels can increase your risk of osteoporosis and broken bones. 

About Vitamin D deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency is very common. The World Health Organization reports that nearly 1 billion people have a vitamin D deficiency, especially in regions with consistent cloud cover. When sunlight (UV radiation) hits us, our body's cholesterol converts to vitamin D, specifically the active form, D3. While UV radiation can accelerate skin ageing and raise skin cancer risks, our skin needs it to produce active vitamin D. 

What affects vitamin D levels

The amount of radiation you receive, and the subsequent vitamin D your skin produces, depends on your skin's surface area exposed, your skin colour (melanin content), the season, your geographical location, and outdoor time. Darker-skinned individuals often need more sun exposure than those with lighter skin to produce the same vitamin D levels. 

Additionally, older people have a reduced ability to produce the vitamin in their body, so they are particularly vulnerable to a vitamin D deficiency. Older people usually also spend less time in sunlight, increasing their chances of a deficiency. Older women in menopause are at a higher risk as well, as a result of lower levels of the bone-building hormone oestrogen, in combination with deficiencies of important vitamins and minerals. 

People who have anorexia are also at high risk because they tend to have nutritional deficiency, including a lack of vitamin D, and low levels of oestrogen. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, stress and physical activity are also risk factors.

How to increase Vitamin D levels

Dietary sources of Vitamin D are mainly fatty fish (such as salmon and mackerel), dairy products, egg yolks and other animal foods. Active vitamin D is not found in vegetables at all, so for those who completely exclude animals and dairy products, the risk is even greater of having a vitamin D deficiency.

It may be wise to get a Vitamin D test kit and test for vitamin D deficiency to find out, so you can assess whether you need additional Vitamin D supplements or make changes to your diet. 

Vitamin D deficiency symptoms

A normal level of vitamin D is important for cell production in the body. A low level of Vitamin D therefore, can make us less resistant and more susceptible to infections. Vitamin D deficiency can also lead to muscle and skeletal breakdown as well as high blood pressure. There are also studies that point to a strong link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease, depression, and certain forms of cancer.

Vitamin D deficiency manifests itself with many nonspecific symptoms such as:

• Fatigue / exhaustion
• Bad mood
• Sleep disorders
• Pain in the head and neck
• Muscle weakness
• Increased susceptibility to infections

How to perform the test

The Vitamin D test is a test performed from the blood (serum). After you have placed your order, we will send you a test kit that contains everything you need to be able to take the blood test at home. It is a capillary blood test, which means that you do it via a prick in your finger. Your sample is then sent to our lab for analysis and you receive the test result digitally. Quick, easy and simple!