Nutrition & Brain Health

Most of us only think about blood tests when something feels wrong. But by the time symptoms show up, the underlying change has often been building for months or years. An annual blood screen gives you a baseline, a way of spotting gradual shifts before they become clinical problems. This isn't about replacing your GP or second-guessing the NHS. It's about filling a specific gap: routine monitoring for people who feel well but want to stay that way. What the NHS Health Check

When someone visits their GP with low mood, anxiety, fatigue, or brain fog, the conversation often moves towards psychological explanations. Stress, sleep, work pressure, relationship difficulties. Those causes are real and common. But several common biochemical deficiencies produce symptoms that closely mimic depression and anxiety, and they don't always get checked. I've seen this repeatedly in clinic. A patient referred for counselling who actually had a TSH of 12 and an u

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons people visit their GP, and one of the hardest to investigate. The list of possible causes is long. You might be told to get more sleep, reduce stress, or that your blood tests are "normal". But in many cases, the right blood tests haven't been done, or the results haven't been interpreted with enough clinical depth. This article is a practical guide to the blood tests that are genuinely useful when fatigue is your primary symptom. Not

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons people visit their GP, and one of the hardest to investigate. The list of potential causes is long, and standard blood tests do not always capture the problem. One frequently overlooked marker is ferritin — a measure of your iron stores that can explain persistent tiredness even when your haemoglobin is completely normal. What Is Ferritin? Ferritin is a protein that stores iron inside your cells. When your body needs iron — to make

Between October and March in the UK, the sun sits too low in the sky for your skin to produce any meaningful vitamin D. That's roughly half the year where your body relies entirely on stored vitamin D and dietary intake to maintain adequate levels. And the evidence is clear that for most people, stored vitamin D and dietary sources aren't enough. The UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) reviewed the evidence in 2016 and concluded that a significant proportion

B12 deficiency can cause neurological damage before anaemia appears. Dr Coleman explains the updated NICE diagnostic thresholds, neurological warning signs, and when to test.

You can be iron deficient with a normal blood count. Dr Coleman explains why ferritin matters, who's at risk, and when to test. Results in 2-3 working days.

Full Blood Count The full blood count (FBC) is the single most frequently requested blood test in the UK. It's included in virtually every routine blood panel and screening assessment. Despite that, most people who receive FBC results have little understanding of what the various components mean. In my experience, patients are often alarmed by a single slightly out-of-range marker that turns out to be clinically insignificant, or reassured by a "normal" result that actually w

Around 13% of the UK population is clinically vitamin D deficient, with rates far higher in certain ethnic groups. Here's what your blood test levels mean, who's most at risk, and when to act.