Blood test timing

This topic contains 6 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by leevee 10 years, 3 months ago.

Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

johnfe

9:57 pm
19 Sep 13
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Hi all, new to the forum and to the fast diet. My question is how has everyone been timing there blood tests relative to fasting days. Are you doing the normal 12 hour fast before the blood test or getting the blood test after a fasting day of the diet. I see on the TV show dr Michael has a blood test at the end of the 4 days fast he does, before eating anything. Wouldn’t that almost guarantee better test results having not eaten for 4 days. He never mentions the timing of the blood test after the 5 weeks of the 5:2 diet. I just want to be sure I’m getting valid numbers from the blood tests to compare to the past.
Thanks
John

Couscous

10:26 pm
19 Sep 13
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Hi johnfe, the short answer is NO, as far as I am concerned. However in his programme one of the Professors does state that in order to maintain the post 4 day fast blood results he, Michael would have to continue to repeat the fast on a regular basis, (every two or three months I believe). I would suggest that even on a 4 day fast over time blood readings would slowly alter until the next fast. To be fair to Michael he does say that benefits are achieved and maintained on the 5:2 diet over its lifetime until a maintainance period is reached, 6:1. Taking bloods etc at the same time after a fast after several weeks, say every 12 weeks for a year I suggest should show an indication whether the fasting lifestyle is effective or not. That is if you have the funds and facilities to do this which most of us do not.
Good Luck.

memstarina

7:32 am
23 Sep 13
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Hi there,

I had my test before the fast and I will retake the tests again after 12 weeks I think that it would not matter when the test is taken for the blood test you normally have to fast for at least 8 hours before having the test so I think that after 12 weeks the blood tests would have a fair indication if the 5:2 lifestyle has made a change I agree with couscous ‘Taking bloods etc at the same time after a fast after several weeks, say every 12 weeks for a year I suggest should show an indication whether the fasting lifestyle is effective or not’

Hope this helps

rockyromero

1:04 pm
23 Sep 13
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@memstarina
“you normally have to fast for at least 8 hours before having the test …Hope this helps”

Yes, this helps.

I will take a second blood test this week after fasting overnight. The first blood test was done after eating within a few hours.

What should I be asking from the blood results?

➰

drdan

3:09 am
1 Dec 13
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Hey, I’m 13 weeks into this, have lost 14 pounds and seem to have leveled out at what i think is a good weight for me. My thoughts are that we are shifting our metabolism over to where we are using some of the biochemical pathways that get energy out of storage. That takes a few weeks to ramp up, that’s why it got easier after a few weeks. At least it did for me. I don’t think a few hours make any difference at all. You just have to fast long enough that the lipemia in the blood sample doesn’t mess with the ability of the tests to run. My HDL went up from 54 to 65, my Triglicerides dropped to 40 from 114, but my LDL went from 140 to 180 which I thought was depressing. I know they say triglicerides below 70 indicate more buoyant LDL than the smaller, more detrimental variety, but I was expecting all of my numbers to improve. Not cholesterol heading to 250 from 220. Bummed

hermajtomomi

11:23 am
1 Dec 13
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Since cholesterol/triglicerides are measured differently on either side of the Atlantic, could some kind person – either an American based in the UK or a Brit based in the US, or anyone else who just happens to know – how one system equates with other. For example, what would my UK 4.8 be in the US and how can you translate a US reading into its UK equivalent? I ask because a lot of online info on cholesterol comes from US websites and I’d like to understand these better.

leevee

6:55 pm
23 Jan 14
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I found this site
http://www.onlineconversion.com/cholesterol.htm
and managed to change my uk numbers to ones which compare (badly) to drdan’s
It lets you choose total, LDL, HDL and triglycerides
I’m off now to research the meanings of my numbers!