Inflammation is the activation of the body’s immune cells in response to injury or infection. It’s crucial to the body’s healing process, but if it persists, it can contribute to the development of inflammatory-related health problems, including heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, autoimmune disease, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer.

This is what the test will measure:

hs-CRP

High-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) is one of the biomarker screens used to detect chronic inflammation. When inflammation becomes chronic, it leads to changes in your blood vessels making them more permeable to fat and cholesterol and leading to the formation of plaque on the blood vessel walls. Chronic inflammation can cause a thickening of the arteries and heart attacks, and elevated levels of CRP are associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

Studies have shown correlations between elevated hs-CRP and increased risk of future heart attacks, ischemic stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. Overweight, obese, insulin-resistant, and diabetic individuals typically have elevated hs-CRP levels; elevations in hs-CRP levels have also been found to predict the development of diabetes. Lifestyle changes such as aerobic exercise, weight loss, and smoking cessation lower hs-CRP levels.

Homocysteine

A homocysteine test measures the amount of the amino acid, homocysteine, present in a sample of your blood.

Our homocysteine levels normally stay low because your body uses vitamins B12, B6, and folate to quickly break down homocysteine and change it into other substances that your body needs. High levels of homocysteine in your blood may be a sign that this process isn't working properly or that you're lacking certain B vitamins.

High levels of homocysteine may damage the lining of your arteries (blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood throughout your body). High levels of homocysteine can also lead to blood clots or blood vessel blockages.

Vitamin D

Most people are familiar with vitamin D’s role in helping the body absorb calcium from the diet. Vitamin D has many important roles in the body, including bone formation and maintenance and recently, research has shown that vitamin D is important in protecting the body from a wide range of diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It is widely thought that vitamin D also plays an important role in the modulation of the inflammation system by regulating the production of inflammatory proteins and immune cells, which are crucial for the development of many immune-related diseases. Recent evidence suggests that low vitamin D concentrations are associated with increased levels of inflammatory markers.