The benefit of before and after blood testing

Ever put your heart and soul into a fitness programme or a diet plan and been disheartened by not seeing the physical changes you wanted to? We look at the importance of before and after blood testing when committing to a fitness programme or making dramatic changes to your diet and lifestyle.

What are the advantages of blood testing for runners?

Blood testing is one of the most powerful ways of understanding your health and what is going on inside of your body, it is just as important as tracking your daily step count, if not more. Although blood testing comes with a periodic medical check-up, they are often reserved for when you already have a medical problem.

However, having your blood work done on a regular basis can provide you with a significant amount of information about the state of your overall health. This information can be used in several ways including improving sports performance or to see the real benefit of making a lifestyle change such as giving up alcohol and checking your levels of vital nutrients.

Several athletes, including marathon runners, Anna Boniface and Gill Bland that we work with here at Medichecks have started their own blood testing journey by taking our Ultimate Performance and Endurance Fitness Blood Test during the run-up to key marathon events.

Having their blood work done provides these athletes with an insight into the important biomarkers which could affect the outcome of their upcoming season and allows them to adjust their diet and supplementation correctly to optimise their performance. Taking a close look at their biomarkers can also help them to overcome injuries and to understand why they may be lacking motivation and energy.

We spoke to Gill Bland after she had taken her most recent test to see how she had benefited from having her blood work done and she said:-

“The tests confirmed that all my hormones were within the correct levels which had been a problem in the past. Having my cholesterol levels checked identified a problem which I hadn’t been aware of and enabled me to work out what was going on. As a result of the test results I have been able to implement further lifestyle choices which have helped me to train as hard as ever.”

Furthermore, Anna Boniface, the first non-elite woman to cross the finish line at the London Marathon in 2017, is able to monitor her marathon training and recovery thanks to Medichecks blood tests.

Her blood testing journey started back in November 2018, after struggling to recover from her training. Her first blood test showed that her Ferritin levels were 17 ug/L - from previous experience anything below 20 ug/L had negatively affected her performance. With this vital information and ongoing blood monitoring, Anna was able to try different supplement and diet plans until her Ferritin levels were the highest they have ever been - 37 ug/L.

When we spoke to Anna about how valuable the information was to her training programme and she told us:-

“Without the information provided by the tests, I would have no idea whether the lifestyle and diet tweaks I’m making are working. Now I know that I’ve got my routine right and I’ve gone from having to drop out of races, to running personal bests in 1500m, 3000m and 5000m!.”

All-in-all, monitoring your health through your blood will transform the way you approach your health goals. It can provide you with the confidence, faith and motivation to head in the right direction – and not only that, it will empower you to succeed.

Ready to get started? Find your test today through our short online quiz. 

References

1.Olfert, M. and Wattick, R. (2018). Vegetarian Diets and the Risk of Diabetes.Current Diabetes Reports, 18(11).

2.Rizzo, G., Laganà, A., Rapisarda, A., La Ferrera, G., Buscema, M., Rossetti, P., Nigro, A., Muscia, V., Valenti, G., Sapia, F., Sarpietro, G., Zigarelli, M. and Vitale, S. (2016). Vitamin B12 among Vegetarians: Status, Assessment and Supplementation.Nutrients, 8(12), p.767.