Question: I have read a website where they claim that through an online questionnaire and a nutritional blood analysis they can determine deficiencies and which vitamins, minerals, amino acids, hormones, and antioxidants one should take. They claim they can create a customized nutritional supplement program. What is your opinion on this?
Answer: Each person has a unique biochemistry and metabolism, a unique diet, and a unique genetic blueprint. Although blood tests can be helpful, they do not necessarily reflect what is actually going on within cells. There are hundreds of minerals, vitamins, and nutritional substances that are necessary for optimal health. It is not possible to check every one of them (their levels can also fluctuate day to day) and to know the proper ratio to take based on blood levels. The whole field is extremely complicated and any website that makes these claims, in my opinion, should not be trusted. I prefer instead to focus on a healthy diet and certain basic supplements as listed here.