The longevity-focused nutrient panel. Most people supplement blindly, this panel tests what you're actually deficient in. Vitamin D, the core B vitamins (B12, folate), key minerals (magnesium RBC, zinc), and a full iron-status workup (iron, TIBC, ferritin). Atlas AI compares your levels against optimal ranges and builds a targeted supplement protocol based on real data instead of guesswork.
The Longevity Nutrients panel measures eight blood markers in three groups, vitamins (Vitamin D 25-OH, Vitamin B12, folate), minerals (magnesium inside red blood cells, zinc) and iron status (iron, TIBC, ferritin). It fits adults who want a measured baseline for energy, recovery, immune function and iron stores rather than guesswork from symptoms.
This page is educational and not medical advice. Nothing here diagnoses anything, and a licensed clinician should review your results with you before you change a medication or anything else.
It measures eight markers from a single blood draw, grouped as three vitamins, two minerals and three iron-status markers.
| Group | Markers | What they show |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamins | Vitamin D (25-OH), Vitamin B12, Folate | Circulating vitamin D status, plus the two B vitamins central to one-carbon metabolism, red blood cell formation and nerve maintenance |
| Minerals | Magnesium (RBC), Zinc | Magnesium held inside red blood cells rather than the small fraction floating in serum, and zinc, which supports immune signalling, skin and wound repair, and many enzyme reactions |
| Iron Status | Iron, TIBC, Ferritin | Iron circulating at the moment of the draw, the blood's capacity to carry iron, and the size of stored iron reserves |
Vitamin D is reported as 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the circulating form that labs regard as the general indicator of vitamin D status. B12 and folate are measured together because they work in the same metabolic pathway and because a low value in one can mask or mimic a low value in the other. Magnesium measured in red blood cells reflects the intracellular pool, which is where most magnesium in the body actually sits. Zinc is a trace mineral with wide enzymatic reach.
Iron needs three numbers rather than one. Serum iron is a snapshot that moves with recent meals and time of day, TIBC describes how much transport capacity is available, and ferritin estimates stored iron.
Because each marker helps interpret the others, and a single value read in isolation is easy to misread. Ferritin is a storage protein and also an acute phase reactant, so inflammation, infection or recent injury can lift it while actual iron stores stay low. A review of interpretation pitfalls in micronutrient blood testing makes exactly this point, that inflammation and timing shift several nutrient markers independently of intake 1. Reading Ferritin next to Iron and TIBC gives a far steadier picture than any one of them alone.
Iron status also connects outward. Research indicates that iron, along with iodine and selenium, is required for normal thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism, so low iron stores sit upstream of symptoms people often attribute only to thyroid function 2. That is one reason an energy complaint is rarely answered by a thyroid test on its own.
The minerals matter for the same structural reason. A systematic review of minerals and sarcopenia in older adults reports associations between mineral status, including magnesium and zinc, and measures of muscle mass and strength, although the authors describe the evidence as mixed rather than settled 3. Another systematic review suggests that mineral status is associated with aspects of female fertility, again as association rather than cause 4. Measuring Magnesium RBC and Zinc puts numbers against those questions.
On the vitamin side, Vitamin D (25-OH) speaks to bone, muscle and immune biology, while Vitamin B12 and Folate are read as a pair because supplemental folate can normalise a blood count while a B12 problem continues underneath. Eight markers, read as one set, is the whole point of the grouping.
Adults who want a nutrient baseline rather than a guess, and people whose life stage, diet or history makes nutrient status a reasonable thing to check. That includes people training hard or carrying a heavy recovery load, people on restricted or plant-forward diets, people planning a pregnancy, older adults thinking about muscle and bone, and anyone with a family history of anemia or iron disorders.
Absorption is the other common reason. Research describes a higher burden of micronutrient deficiency in people with inflammatory bowel disease, driven by intake, losses and inflammation together 5, and later work reinforces that nutritional status and disease course are intertwined in that population 6. Evidence also shows that people after bariatric surgery need ongoing micronutrient monitoring, including iron and B12, because the surgery changes how nutrients are absorbed 7.
Symptoms people often want to look into with these markers include persistent fatigue, poor exercise recovery, low mood, hair shedding, frequent minor infections, pins and needles, or heavy menstrual bleeding. None of those symptoms confirms a nutrient problem, and none of these markers confirms a cause. They simply give a clinician something measured to work from. Nobody is told they need this test, and an abnormal result anywhere else in your records still deserves attention from your own clinician.
You order the panel online, the lab requisition is emailed to you, and you take it to a Quest or partner lab location for a standard blood draw. Locations are available nationwide, so most people can find a draw site close to home or work.
Any fasting requirement, along with the current turnaround time for results, is listed in the panel details on this page, so follow what is shown there rather than a general rule. Once results are released, Atlas, FitScript's AI health advisor, reads every marker against optimal ranges and explains what each value shows in context with the others, instead of leaving you with a column of numbers and a flag. If you add other panels, they can be run from the same sample, which saves a second trip to the draw site.
Members test repeatedly rather than once, with 150+ biomarkers tested per year, which is what turns isolated values into a trend line.
Follow the preparation and fasting instructions shown in the panel details on this page, drink water normally, and try to book your draw at a consistent time of day. Serum iron in particular drifts across the day and after meals, so a morning draw repeated at a similar time makes comparisons between tests more honest.
Supplements are the most common source of surprise. A dose of iron or B12 taken shortly before a draw can raise the circulating value without telling you much about stores, and high-dose biotin, often taken for hair and nails, can interfere with some immunoassays, including assays used for B12 and ferritin. Tell the lab and your clinician what you have been taking and when. If you want a picture of your baseline rather than your most recent capsule, discuss a sensible pause in supplements with your clinician first.
Keep taking prescribed medication as directed unless the prescribing clinician tells you otherwise. Recent illness, injury or a hard training block can also raise inflammatory activity, which research suggests can distort several nutrient markers for a period, so it is worth noting those on the day as well 1.
Read each value three ways, what the number shows, what it might reflect, and what is worth raising with a clinician. A standard lab reference range describes where most results in a reference population fall, and it is built to flag disease, not to describe where someone feels and functions best. An optimal range is narrower and is used as an optimization target, which is why a result can sit inside the standard range and still be described as suboptimal. Optimal ranges are targets for discussion, not diagnostic cut-offs, and reference ranges themselves vary by laboratory, assay, age and sex.
A worked example helps. Suppose ferritin is low to normal, serum iron is low and TIBC is high. The observation is a pattern consistent with low iron availability. What it may reflect ranges from low dietary intake to blood loss to malabsorption, and the panel cannot separate those. The next step is a conversation with a licensed clinician who can take a history, consider other testing, and decide what follows. If a value is well outside the standard range, that is worth discussing with a clinician promptly rather than waiting for the next test.
One draw is a snapshot. Vitamin D and ferritin change slowly, serum iron changes within a day, and a single reading taken during an illness can mislead. A clinician decides the retest interval based on the marker, the starting value and whether anything has changed. Never ignore an abnormal result because a range on a website looked reassuring.
It cannot diagnose a condition, and it cannot tell you why a value is low. Blood markers describe status, not cause. Low iron stores can come from intake, absorption or loss, and separating those may require a history, further laboratory testing, imaging or a procedure that only a clinician can arrange. Questions about bleeding, persistent symptoms or cancer screening belong in that conversation rather than in a panel result.
The panel also covers eight markers, not every nutrient. It does not measure what you eat, how well you absorb it, or nutrient levels inside every tissue, and blood values do not always track tissue stores closely. Research in other settings makes the general point that nutrient status shifts with the clinical situation, for example the ongoing micronutrient monitoring described after bariatric surgery 7. Finally, nothing here is a treatment decision. A licensed provider evaluates whether any therapy is appropriate.
This panel sits between a broad vitamin check and a focused iron workup. For a wider look at vitamin status across more markers, the Vitamin Levels panel is the option built for that question. For a deeper look at red blood cells and the iron picture behind fatigue or heavy periods, the Iron & Anemia panel goes further into that territory.
The Longevity Nutrients panel is the mixed option, three vitamins, two minerals and three iron-status markers in one draw, for people who want breadth across nutrient categories rather than depth in one. Panels can be added to the same sample, so the choice is about which questions you want answered, not about which panel is better.
The current price is listed in the panel details on this page, along with what is included. The panel is HSA and FSA eligible, so it can usually be paid for with those funds.
Serum magnesium only reflects 1% of your body's total magnesium and is tightly regulated, it can look normal even when you're significantly depleted. RBC magnesium measures the magnesium inside your cells, giving a much more accurate picture of your actual status. Up to 50% of Americans are magnesium deficient.
Skip your supplements on the morning of the draw to get your true baseline levels. If you take them the morning of, some markers (especially B12 and folate) will be artificially elevated and won't reflect your actual stores.
Ferritin alone can mislead, it rises with inflammation even when iron stores are low. Pairing iron, TIBC, and ferritin shows your true iron status: whether you're deficient, overloaded, or have inflammation masking a deficiency. Low iron is one of the most common drivers of fatigue, hair loss, and poor exercise recovery, especially in women and athletes.
A micronutrient test is a blood test that measures circulating or cell-level markers of specific vitamins and minerals. The Longevity Nutrients panel covers vitamin D, B12, folate, RBC magnesium, zinc, iron, TIBC and ferritin. Results describe current status, they do not diagnose a condition, so a clinician should interpret them.
A micronutrient blood test measures markers that reflect nutrient status rather than what someone eats. This panel reports vitamin D as 25-OH vitamin D, B12 and folate for one-carbon metabolism, magnesium inside red blood cells, zinc, and three iron markers showing circulating iron, transport capacity and stored iron.
A micronutrient panel groups several nutrient markers into one draw so they can be read together. This one includes three vitamins, two minerals and three iron-status markers. Reading them as a set matters because ferritin can rise with inflammation and B12 and folate overlap, which complicates single-marker interpretation.
Fasting instructions for this panel are listed in the panel details on this page, so follow what is shown there. Drinking water is generally fine and helps the draw. Keep taking prescribed medication unless the prescribing clinician says otherwise, and mention recent supplements, since some can shift results.
A clinician decides the retest interval, because it depends on the marker, the starting value and whether anything changed. Vitamin D and ferritin shift slowly, so rechecking soon after a change usually adds little. Members have ongoing testing across the year, which makes trend reading easier than one isolated snapshot.
No. Blood markers describe status at one moment and can be pushed around by inflammation, recent supplements and timing. A low or suboptimal value is a reason to look closer with a licensed clinician, who may order further testing, review symptoms and history, and decide what, if anything, should change.
Ferritin is both a storage protein and an acute phase reactant, so infection, injury or ongoing inflammation can raise it while stored iron stays low. That is why TIBC and serum iron are read alongside ferritin rather than on their own.
Adults who train hard, follow restricted diets, are planning a pregnancy, are older, or live with conditions affecting absorption often want this picture. The panel is optional, and it replaces guesswork about nutrient status with measurement a clinician can review.