checks current Vitamin D levels and identifies deficiency as well as risk of deficiency
Vitamin D Test I Results within 1-3 days online I Swiss lab
CHF 89
Vitamin D Test I Results within 1-3 days online I Swiss lab
CHF 89
Vitamin D Tracking
CHF89
provides treatment recommendations in case of deficiency or risk of deficiency
samples are taken at home and evaluated by Swiss lab
The Vitamin D test is a medical test specifically designed for home use and your sample will be evaluated by a Swiss lab.
With the Vitamin D test, we assess the levels of Vitamin D in your blood. Your test will be analysed by Synlab, a leading Swiss lab. Learn more about the test>.
Vitamin D is important for a wide range of bodily functions such as DNA synthesis and brain health. Learn more about Vitamin D >
Who should get tested
People living in Central Europe
Your body requires sunlight - more specifically a UV index of >3 - to produce Vitamin D. In central Europe, that is only possible for 6-7 months of the year. Hence, we all have a high risk of vitamin D deficiency in the winter.
Pregnant or breastfeeding women
During pregnancy, your body requires more Vitamin D.
Also, with a deficiency, your breast milk might not contain enough Vitamin D for your baby.
Overweight
people
If you are overweight, your body cannot produce Vitamin D very well.
With a BMI of >30, your body is only half as effective at doing that as with a BMI of <25.
People older than
65
Aging reduces the body´s ability to create Vitamin D.
Compared to a younger adult, you will produce 50 to 70% less Vitamin D.
How it works
Step 1
Order your Vitamin D test online
- if you order before 5:30pm, your test will arrive the next working day
- if you order after 5:30pm it arrives on the 2nd working day
- all tests arrive with Swiss Post
Step 2
Activate test and take your sample
- activate your test online using the code in your test box and then take your sample
- put the sample into the Retourbox and return it to our Swiss lab by dropping the box into any mailbox
Step 3
Get your test results online
- log in to view your results online within 1-3 days
- results tell you if you have a Vitamin D deficiency or if your are at risk of developing one and tell you what to do if that is the case
Step 4
Treat deficiency if necessary
- get treatment if it turns out you have a Vitamin D deficiency
- get re-tested after 2-3 months to monitor treatment results
- routinely test every fall to avoid a deficiency in wi
Why our Chief Medical Officer takes a Vitamin D test in the fall
As the body is not able to produce Vitamin D during the winter months due to the too low UV-Index in Switzerland I want to make sure that blood levels and consequentially body storages are fine during the winter. If not I would start to supplement to avoid symptoms.
Dr. Robert Döring, Chief Medical Officer @ Health Yourself
What tests results tell you
Current Vitamin D status & recommendations for action
- Test results will tell you if your Vitamin D levels are
- normal
- too low or at risk of being too low
- too high or at risk of being too high
In case your Vitamin D levels aren´t normal, results will also provide you with recommendations on what to do to get back on track!
Treatment options for vitamin D deficiency
-
More sun exposure
-
Supplements
Get more sunshine!
Your body can only produce Vitamin D if you get enough sun light. The ideal way to do that is to hang out in the sun without having your head and your upper body covered and without wearing sun screen.
Important: only do that for about 20 minutes at a time to avoid sunburn, heat stroke and any other unwanted side effects of too much direct sun exposure.
Vitamin D supplements
If you have a Vitamin D deficiency, the easiest and fastest way to treat it is to take Vitamin D supplements. Most commonly, those are Vitamin D drops.
Good to know: Especially in areas with little sunlight during the winter, it makes sense to routinely take supplements during that time to avoid deficiency.
About Vitamin D
What does vitamin D do in my body?
Vitamin D has multiple functions in your body.
It is is not only essential for keeping your bones strong and healthy, but also plays a role in regulating muscle contractions and keeping your immune system working well.
Where is vitamin D found?
-
- About 80% of Vitamin D is produced by your body and 20% is taken in through your food.
- Your body creates Vitamin D in two steps: first, it creates so called ProVitamin D3 from cholesterol in your liver. Then it converts the ProVitamin D3 into Vitamin D using UV light - aka sunshine. The upshot: no sunlight, no Vitamin D for you. That is why people living in regions such as Switzerland with little sunshine during the winter months are at a high risk of Vitamin D deficiency.
- Foods that contain Vitamin D are for example some types of fish like hering, Lebertran (ugh) and mushrooms which have been exposed to UV-light.
What are symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency?
-
Common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency range from always being tired and feeling low or depressed to issues with the structural integrity of your bones, being susceptible to infectious diseases - noone wants that in the middle of a pandemic! - or even having problems with fertility.
What causes vitamin D deficiency?
The major cause of Vitamin D deficiency is not getting enough sun: Our body needs UV light from sun rays to produce Vitamin D.
If we don´t get enough of that light, no Vitamin D for you. In Central Europe, we bascially never get enough sun during the winter, because from October to March, the local UV-Index is too low for our body to be able to use it to synthesize Vitamin D. If you on top of that spend a lot of your time indoors or only go out with sun protection like clothes, hats and sun screen, you have an even higher risk of getting a Vitamin D deficiency.
How can you treat vitamin D deficiency?
The natural way to treat your Vitamin D deficiency, is to get more sun exposure to your body can create enough Vitamin D (you remember, no sunshine, no Vitamin D production). The best way to do that, is to spend 15-20 minutes in direct sunlight 2-3 times per week without covering your head and ideally your upper body and without sun screen. Emphasis is on 15-20 minutes (!) - otherwise you are at risk of sunburn, skin cancer and all those not so nice things.
Beyond that, you can also take Vitamin D supplements to replenish your Vitamin D levels. Most commonly, that is done with drops.
How can you prevent vitamin D deficiency?
Most important thing about Vitamin D: your body cannot produce it if you do not get enough sunlight. So the best way to avoid Vitamin D deficiency, is to make sure, that you get enough sun exposure.
During the summer, recommendation is to spend 15-20 minutes in direct sunlight 2-3 times per week without covering your head and ideally your upper body and without sun screen. Emphasis is on 15-20 minutes (!) - otherwise you are at risk of sunburn, skin cancer and all those not so nice things.
However, in Central European countries like Switzerland, from about October to March, the sun is not strong enough for your body to be able to use it to produce Vitamin D. So during winter, it might be necessary to take Vitamin D supplements. We recommend to get tested in the fall to check if your Vitamin D levels are already low and incorporate supplements into your routine if that is the case.
About the test
Who analyses my sample?
Your sample is analysed by Synlab, an accredited, large Swiss lab.
What do the results tell me?
- The test will tell you, if your vitamin D levels are in a normal range or not. In case they are not, we also provide you with recommendations on how to proceed.
How does taking my sample work?
With the test kit, you receive all necessary sampling materials which you need to take a few drops of blood from your finger.
To do that, you prick your finger with a lancet and collect the blood drops in a small vial which we send you.
After collecting the blood, you put the sample in the Retourbox which we provide and drop it off in any Swiss post mailbox.
Want to know more? Here you can find the link to the instruction video of how to take the sample: yourself.health/pages/mytests.
How reliable is the test?
As long as you do the sampling correctly - so follow the instructions we provide - the reliability of the test is comparable with a test you take at the doctor´s office.
How often should I get tested?
We recommend to get tested once a year.
Often, people get tested in the spring to make sure, that they did not develop a deficiency during the winter.
However, we think it makes much more sense to get tested in the fall to check if you have sufficient Vitamin D levels to get you through the winter.
If it turns out your Vitamin D levels are low, you can take supplements and avoid a deficiency during the winter.
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