Blood results

[clubby29]

Hi BH results not sure about folate,b12,VitD. Any opinion welcome. Weird that I work outside and the weather has been sunny?

Folate 9.07. (8.8-60.8)

VitD. 68. 50-175

B12. 371. pmol

Ferritin. 212 (30-400)

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

clubby29

Folate 9.07. (8.8-60.8)

Extremely low but your GP wont be interested because it's within range. Folate should be at least half way through range.

B12. 371. pmol

BH do Total B12 I believe. You haven't given the range but 371pmol is the same as 502.7 pg/ml.

According to an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:

"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".

"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."

If those were my results I'd be supplementing with a good, bioavailable B Complex such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B. I would choose Thorne as it has less B12 in the recommended dose at 400mcg, Igennus has 900mcg in their recommended dose, and you need Folate increasing far more (400mcg in both at suggested dose) than you need B12 increasing.

VitD. 68. 50-175

The Vit D Council recommends a level of 125nmol/L and the Vit D Society recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L.

To reach the recommended level from your current level, based on the Vit D Council's suggestions you could supplement with 3,500 - 4,000iu D3 daily.

Retest after 3 months.

Once you've reached the recommended level then you'll need a maintenance dose to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

Doctors don't know, because they're not taught much about nutrients, but there are important cofactors needed when taking D3 as recommended by the Vit D Council.

D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.

D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking D3 as tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray.

Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.

Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds if taking magnesium as tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

afibbers.org/magnesium.html

Don't start all supplements at once. Start with one, give it a week or two and if no adverse reaction then add the next one. Again, wait a week or two and if no adverse reaction add the next one. Continue like this. If you do have any adverse reaction then you will know what caused it.

Ferritin. 212 (30-400)

Ferritin is recommended to be half way through range so this is a good result.

[clubby29]

Hi thanks for fast reply,no B12 range given. My magnesium is top of range so should be ok. Would there be any merit in a stand alone folate supplement rather than a B complex.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to clubby29]

clubby

no B12 range given.

My surgery's range for B12 in pmol/L goes up to 725. But it doesn't matter, I've converted it to pg/ml and you can see what is recommended in my reply above.

Would there be any merit in a stand alone folate supplement rather than a B complex.

Personally I wouldn't. A B Complex will keep all the B vitamins in balance. And as you can see from my previous answer, your equivalent level in pg/ml is on the lowish side. I still think Thorne Basic B is your best bet, it has the recommended amount of methylfolate at 400mcg but only 400mcg methylcobalamin so not over the top on B12 but enough to boost your level.

My magnesium is top of range so should be ok

Testing magnesium is unreliable. So testing what's in the blood isn't giving an accurate picture of our magnesium status.

[clubby29 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi thank you for your advice