General Health Blood Test

All 20 markers, grouped by what they tell you:

Whether your liver is under strain from alcohol, weight, medication or fatty liver; how well your kidneys are filtering; your cholesterol profile and the heart-disease risk that goes with it; whether you are low in iron or storing too much; and whether uric acid is high enough to cause gout. These are the areas a GP checks first in a routine check-up, and they account for a large share of preventable illness in the UK. It does not include thyroid, HbA1c, vitamins or a full blood count; our Essential and Advanced Well Man and Well Woman tests add those.

The common findings are raised cholesterol, raised liver enzymes, reduced kidney function, low iron or ferritin, high ferritin suggesting iron overload or inflammation, and raised uric acid. Most people with an abnormal result feel well, which is the point of testing. What a routine panel will not show is pregnancy, HIV or other infections, most cancers, thyroid problems or diabetes, unless those tests are specifically included; this panel does not include them.

Not directly. No general health panel is a cancer test. Liver and kidney markers can be affected by disease and prompt further investigation, and a full blood count can show changes worth following up, but a normal routine panel does not rule cancer out and an abnormal one rarely means cancer. Symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, bleeding or a persistent change in bowel habit should go straight to your GP regardless of any blood result.

It will not measure alcohol itself, but it will show the effect of regular drinking on your liver. Gamma GT is the enzyme most sensitive to alcohol and rises with sustained heavy drinking; ALT and bilirubin rise as strain increases. Raised triglycerides and uric acid are also common in heavy drinkers. If you drink regularly, this panel is a straightforward way to check whether your liver is coping, and repeating it after a period of cutting down shows recovery within weeks.

Yes. We ask you to fast for 8 to 12 hours before you take the sample, so take the sample first thing in the morning and have nothing but water from the evening before. Fasting keeps the triglyceride and glucose-related results comparable with the reference ranges. Take any regular medication as normal unless your GP has told you otherwise, and eat as soon as it is done.

You can ask, but NHS GPs order tests to investigate symptoms or monitor a known condition, not for a general check in someone who feels well. If you have no symptoms, the request is usually declined, or limited to the NHS Health Check for 40 to 74 year olds, which covers blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI. A private general health test gives you the liver, kidney, cholesterol, iron and gout picture for £69, and the GP report can be shared with your own GP if anything needs following up.

The kit arrives in the post with lancets, a small collection tube, plasters, instructions and a prepaid return envelope. First thing in the morning, after fasting overnight, wash your hands in warm water, prick the side of a fingertip and fill the tube to the line, seal it, complete the form and post it back the same day. All 20 markers are measured from that one sample. It takes about ten minutes.

£69 at Goodbody Clinic, including the kit, prepaid return postage, laboratory analysis of all 20 markers and a GP report. Comparable home general health kits in the UK cost £50 to £100, and the doctor's review is sometimes extra. If you want a wider panel taken for you at a clinic, the Advanced Well Man and Well Woman tests start at £175.

Once a year is a sensible rhythm for most adults: it gives a baseline and shows trends in cholesterol and liver markers before they become problems. Under 40 and feeling well, every two to three years is reasonable. Repeat sooner if a result was borderline, if you are changing your diet or drinking, or if your GP report suggests it.

Start here if you want the core check at the lowest price and the convenience of a kit. Step up if you also want thyroid, vitamins, hormones, HbA1c or a full blood count:

Results are emailed within 3 to 5 working days of your sample reaching the laboratory, with a GP report that explains every marker and what to do next. Post the sample the same day you take it, Monday to Thursday if you can, so it does not sit over a weekend.