Anything to change about diet based on blood screen results?

[wrench]

Hey Gang,

Long time lurker first time poster (created my account just for this post). Quick background: 1 year vegan (mostly whole food plant based variety) and 4 years of a mix of power lifting and HIIT for workouts. So far I am a huge fan of the vegan diet but I have noticed that I seem to get winded or run out of gas earlier in my work outs than when I was on my standard American diet (particularly during the HIIT portion). Additionally, my tongue has had a sight tingling feeling with minor swelling for about a month. (Google seemed to point towards being a sign of some sort of vitamin deficiency induced anemia but open to suggestions).

I recently completed a blood screen to check for any vitamin deficiencies and other than vitamin D (will start supplementing) everything else was in the normal range. Since normal ranges for health aren't necessarily indicative of optimal ranges for athletic performance I was curious if anyone had any input on my results below and any needed changes to my diet. Reference ranges are from the test results and not from any research on my own. TL;DR, please review my blood test results below and provide any feedback for improved cardio performance.

Test Name
Result
Flag
Ref Range

Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy
27.5
LOW
30.0-100.0 ng/mL

Folate (Folic Acid), Serum
>20.0
NORMAL
>3.0 ng/mL

Homocyst(e)ine, Plasma
7.6
NORMAL
0.0-15.0 umol/L

Calcium
9.4
NORMAL
8.7-10.2 mg/dL

Iron
61
NORMAL
38-169 ug/dL

B12
479
NORMAL
232-1245 pg/mL

Zinc
85
NORMAL
56-134 ug/dL 0

Ferritin, Serum
115
NORMAL
30-400 ng/mL

White Blood Cell Count
4.7
NORMAL
3.4-10.8 x10E3/uL 01

Red Blood Cell Count
4.65
NORMAL
4.14-5.80 x10E6/uL

Hemoglobin
14.2
NORMAL
13.0-17.7 g/dL

Hematocrit
43.0
NORMAL
Hematocrit

 

[jlindgaard]

@wrench Are you eating enough calories or tracking food intake? With powerlifting, you should be gaining weight, if you aren't you might just not be eating enough.

 

[noah007]

@wrench What is your thyroid levels like? What is your TIBC? Do you get enough iodine? What are you eating? Whole foods plant based can mean a lot of things. Do you eat enough carbs to fuel your workouts? Have you had a food allergy/sensitivity test done? Have you had a micro nutrient test done? Do you supplement B12? Do you have an MTHFR enzyme mutation (which makes absorbing and utilizing b12/folic acid a bit harder) which can go on to effect other things like iron absorption, etc.

Have your workouts changed at all? Are you sleeping enough? Do you prioritize recovery? HIIT and powerlifting are strenuous activities. What is your stress levels like?

There are so many questions that are left unanswered. It will be hard for anyone here to know what is going on. I would suggest seeking a professionals help. They can dive deep into your health background, do some testing and see what comes up. Your tongue tingling and swelling is not normal. You need to address that.

 

[wrench]

@noah007 Thanks! A lot of good things to think through. I have iodine in my daily multi vitamin, I switched to iodized salt from sea salt about 6 months ago and I've been incorporating more seaweed in my diet (Nori) for about a month but I haven't tested that or thyroid function so that may be something to consider. I'd like to take a few stabs at diet changes to sort things out but will definitely go to a professional if things don't improve.

 

[jeanxon]

@wrench Have you been bleeding? Donating blood? your test doesn't show it but your symptoms are a indicator of low iron. where you having those symptoms when you had the blood draw? Supplement your vitamin d (most people in the northern hemisphere should be supplementing right now. Make sure you are eating enough calories.

 

[wrench]

@jeanxon I would say iron intake has been fairly consistent as well as symptoms. Def plan to start supplementing vitamin D. Thanks!

 

[daninch]

@wrench Increase iron intake (eat iron-rich foods with vitamin C to increase absorption of iron, avoid tea/coffee). Are you getting enough fat?

 

[wrench]

@daninch Thanks! I tracked a typical week in Cronometer and I consistently hit 2x the RDA and I've been eating Vit C rich foods (Clementine usually) with them (a fact I learned from this community so keep preaching!). I also hit the fat targets Crono gave me for a 2K kcal diet. Doesn't look like more iron could hurt based on my numbers so I may bump that up.

 

[daninch]

@wrench Do you have low blood pressure? That could also cause light headedness/breathlessness

 

[dawn16]

@wrench You could try supplementing iron. My friend has mentioned that even though her iron level is in normal range according to the test, her body's "normal" range starts higher. Not sure if it makes sense.

And definitely supplement vitamin D! Make sure to get D3 and not D2.

BUT the tongue swelling etc...might be an allergy! This week I have read multiple posts from people talking about how they found out 'that it's not normal for the mouth to go numb or hurt' after eating bananas or tangerines, etc. and that they were actually allergic to these products. Just to take into consideration.

 

[personalizedbook]

@wrench Looks good to me. What amount of D are you planning on supplementing with? You are barely below the cutoff so I would shoot for 1000 or maybe 2000, but certainly not more than that. Then get re-tested in six months and see where you sit. Also take your D with a source of fat to help improve absorption (I throw mine in my morning smoothie).

 

[wrench]

@personalizedbook Good advice. Thanks!