What Your Blood Test Isn’t Telling You – How to Use It to Optimise Health

Introduction: You Can't Manage What You Don’t Measure

You can feel fine and look fit, yet still carry underlying issues such as nutrient deficiencies, inflammation or hormonal imbalance that will not show up in the mirror. Blood tests are one of the few tools that can objectively measure your internal health. They can detect problems early, guide personalised interventions and help you track improvements over time.

Yet most people receive vague feedback like “everything’s normal,” with no explanation of what was tested or why it matters. This article explains how to extract real value from your blood test by understanding key markers, identifying trends and using the results to guide your health decisions.

Why Blood Tests Are More Than a Medical Formality

Blood tests are not just for diagnosing illness. They can:

• Identify early-stage nutrient deficiencies or hormonal imbalances

• Reveal silent risk factors such as low-grade inflammation or insulin resistance

• Track how your body responds to diet, supplements or training over time

When reviewed properly, blood data offers insight into how your body is functioning, even if you feel fine.

However, a single “normal” result does not tell the full story. Most lab ranges are broad, based on population averages, and do not reflect what is optimal for performance, wellbeing or long-term health.

Three Blood Markers Commonly Overlooked or Misunderstood

Ferritin — Your Iron Storage, Not Just Intake

Ferritin shows how much iron your body has stored. It is vital for energy production, oxygen transport and immune function. Low ferritin is common in menstruating women, endurance athletes and those on plant-based diets. It often causes fatigue, poor recovery or reduced exercise tolerance (Lemaire et al., 2024).

Crucially, you can have low ferritin without being anaemic. This means symptoms may be dismissed if only haemoglobin is tested. This marker is often excluded from basic panels and missed in standard assessments (Cabalar et al., 2024).

Vitamin B12 — Essential for Cognitive and Nerve Health

Vitamin B12 supports the nervous system, red blood cell production and DNA synthesis. Mild deficiency can cause fatigue, poor memory, tingling sensations or low mood, even when blood values remain above the clinical threshold (Obeid et al., 2019).

Yet borderline results are frequently ignored. Supplementing when B12 is low-normal, especially in older adults or plant-based eaters, can significantly improve energy and mental clarity.

hs-CRP — A Marker of Hidden Inflammation

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) measures low-grade, chronic inflammation that is linked to cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction and age-related decline (Banait et al., 2022).

Even modest elevations in hs-CRP are associated with long-term health risk. However, unless levels are extremely high, this marker is rarely flagged or discussed (Cabalar et al., 2024).

Why “Normal” Is Not the Same as “Optimal”

Lab reports compare your results to reference ranges based on the general population. However, these ranges are often derived from broad datasets that include individuals with chronic conditions or suboptimal health. They may not account for your age, sex, ethnicity or physical activity level. A result can fall within the “normal” range, yet still be suboptimal for your energy, recovery or long-term wellbeing (Whyte & Kelly, 2018).

For example, a ferritin level of 20 µg/L might be labelled as adequate, but could still contribute to fatigue in an active individual. Similarly, a fasting glucose reading of 5.6 mmol/L may not trigger concern in isolation, but could reflect early-stage metabolic dysfunction if it is trending upward over time.

So What Should You Do with This Information?

This does not mean blood tests are unreliable. The issue lies in how they are typically interpreted — quickly, broadly and without personal context. You should still use blood testing as a valuable tool, but with greater awareness and initiative. Here’s how:

• Get a copy of your full results. Review each marker individually, not just whether it was flagged.

• Go beyond “normal”. Ask your healthcare provider, or use a qualified tool, to interpret your results in the context of your lifestyle, age, and goals.

• Monitor trends, not just one-off results. A single test is a snapshot. True insight comes from watching how your numbers shift over time.

• If your clinician offers limited explanation, seek a second opinion or work with someone who uses a more personalised, preventative approach.

Why a Single Test Does Not Tell the Full Story

More important than any single value is the trend. Small shifts in markers such as glucose, cholesterol or thyroid hormones can show which direction your health is moving.

One-off results lack that context. Long-term tracking allows you to:

• Spot slow deterioration before symptoms appear

• See how diet, sleep, stress or supplementation affect your physiology

• Make evidence-based adjustments to lifestyle or training

Without this perspective, you are reacting to illness rather than managing health.

Why Most People Do Not Understand Their Results

In a UK-based study of GP consultations, many patients were unclear on why blood tests were ordered, what markers were tested and what their results meant. The feedback was often oversimplified, such as “nothing to worry about,” with no explanation of potential risks or next steps (Watson et al., 2022).

This lack of transparency creates uncertainty and lost opportunity. A borderline result might be brushed off as “fine,” when early action could prevent further decline. Most people want to understand their results; they just lack the support to do so.

How VitaVault’s Biomarker Quiz Helps

VitaVault bridges the knowledge gap. Our Biomarker Quiz helps users interpret their blood results based on current research and personal context. It provides:

• Clear explanations of what each marker means

• Insight into whether values are trending towards risk

• Personalised suggestions for improvement, from nutrition to lifestyle

Rather than giving generic advice, it transforms your results into a usable plan for health improvement.

 Right now our quiz is in the early stages of its development giving set recommendations and actionable steps to take immediately. We are constantly improving and refining our answers with the latest research.

Final Takeaway: The Right Information, Used the Right Way

You do not have to wait until something is wrong to start paying attention to your blood. Used proactively, blood tests help you detect imbalances early and adjust your lifestyle to support energy, resilience and long-term wellbeing.

Looking healthy does not guarantee that you are healthy. Blood work, interpreted correctly, provides the evidence you need to take control of your health from the inside out.

Reference list

Abdulrahman, A. and Enezi, A. (2022). The Role of Laboratory Testing in Disease Diagnosis: A Comprehensive Review. Migration Letters, [online] 19(S8), pp.608–617. Available at: https://migrationletters.com/index.php/ml/article/view/9790 [Accessed 21 Jan. 2025].

Banait, T., Wanjari, A., Danade, V., Banait, S. and Jain, J. (2022). Role of High-Sensitivity C-reactive Protein (Hs-CRP) in Non-communicable Diseases: A Review. Cureus, 14(10). doi:https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30225.

Cabalar, I., Le, T., Silber, A., O'hara, M., Abdallah, B., Parikh, M. and Busch, R. (2024). The role of blood testing in prevention, diagnosis, and management of chronic diseases: A review.

Lemaire, B., Frias, M.A., Golaz, O., Magnin, J.-L., Viette, V., Vuilleumier, N. and Waldvogel Abramowski, S. (2024). Ferritin: A Biomarker Requiring Caution in Clinical Decision. Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), [online] 14(4), p.386. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14040386.

Obeid, R., Heil, S.G., Verhoeven, M.M.A., van den Heuvel, E.G.H.M., de Groot, L.C.P.G.M. and Eussen, S.J.P.M. (2019). Vitamin B12 Intake From Animal Foods, Biomarkers, and Health Aspects. Frontiers in Nutrition, 6(93). doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00093.

van Bokhoven, M.A., Pleunis-van Empel, M.C., Koch, H., Grol, R.P., Dinant, G.-J. and van der Weijden, T. (2006). Why do patients want to have their blood tested? A qualitative study of patient expectations in general practice. BMC Family Practice, 7(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-7-75.

Watson, J., Whiting, P.F., Salisbury, C., Hamilton, W.T. and Banks, J. (2022). Blood tests in primary care: A qualitative study of communication and decision‐making between doctors and patients. Health Expectations, 25(5). doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13564.