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Your Basic Health Check-Up Explained: 11 Tests and How to Keep Them Out of the Red

By Satyavadan Prakhya · November 1, 2026 · 11 min read

Once a year, many families abroad book a "basic package" – a handful of blood tests and a urine test. A few days later the report arrives, and some numbers are printed in red or marked H or L. Panic, Google, more panic.

This guide explains the 11 tests that appear in most basic check-ups, the ranges labs commonly use, why each one tends to get flagged in Indian vegetarian families, and the everyday habits that lower the chance of seeing red next time.

Important: this is general health education, not medical advice. Reference ranges differ between labs, countries, ages and for pregnancy, and your doctor may set different targets for you – especially if you have diabetes, heart, kidney or thyroid conditions. Always go by your own report and your doctor. Never start, stop or change medicine based on this article.

Why this matters more for South Asians

People of South Asian origin tend to develop type 2 diabetes and heart disease earlier and at a lower body weight than many other groups. That's why many guidelines use lower thresholds for South Asians – for example a BMI of 23 or more counted as overweight (rather than 25), and a waist size above roughly 90 cm for men and 80 cm for women as a warning sign. A "normal-looking" person can still have high sugar or cholesterol, so regular tests are worth it.

Quick reference table

India and the US usually report in mg/dL; the UK, Canada, Australia and many Gulf labs use mmol/L. Both are shown. These are commonly used adult ranges – your lab's own range is printed on your report and is the one that counts.

Note: in the UK, prediabetes is usually defined as HbA1c 42–47 mmol/mol (6.0–6.4%), slightly different from the US range above.

Before the test: avoid "false reds"

Some red marks have nothing to do with your health – they come from how you prepared.

• Fast 10–12 hours if your lab asks (water is fine). A late dinner of biryani and sweets can push triglycerides and sugar up.
• No alcohol for at least 24 hours – it raises triglycerides.
• No heavy workout for 1–2 days – intense exercise can temporarily raise creatinine and change urine results.
• Drink normal amounts of water. Being dehydrated can concentrate the blood and urine.
• Tell the lab about supplements – high-dose biotin (common in hair and nail supplements) can interfere with some lab tests; creatine powders raise creatinine.
• Women: avoid the urine test during your period, as it can show blood.
• Collect urine "mid-stream" in a clean container to avoid false pus cells.
• Ask your doctor whether to take regular morning medicines before the test.

Test by test: how to lower the risk of red

1. Hemoglobin

Why it's flagged: Low hemoglobin (anaemia) is very common in Indian vegetarian women and teenage girls – usually from low iron, sometimes from low B12 or folate, or heavy periods.

• Eat iron-rich foods daily: dals, chana, rajma, keerai/spinach, ragi, sesame, jaggery, fortified cereals.
• Add vitamin C to the same meal – lemon on sundal, tomato in rasam, amla, an orange.
• Keep tea and coffee away from meals (about an hour gap).
• Cooking in a cast-iron kadai or tawa adds a little iron.
• Heavy periods, fatigue or breathlessness → see a doctor; iron tablets should be taken only on advice.

2. Vitamin D

Why it's flagged: Low vitamin D is extremely common – in cold countries from lack of sunshine, and in the Gulf because most of the day is spent indoors. Darker skin also makes vitamin D more slowly.

• Get daylight on your arms and face when it's safe and comfortable – a short midday walk helps.
• Choose fortified milk, yoghurt or cereals.
• In many countries supplements are recommended (for example, the UK's NHS advises a daily 10 microgram supplement in autumn and winter). If your level is very low, your doctor may prescribe a higher dose for a few weeks – don't self-dose high amounts, as too much is harmful.

3. Vitamin B12

Why it's flagged: B12 comes mainly from animal foods, so vegetarians – especially those who eat little dairy – often run low. Some medicines (such as metformin for diabetes and long-term acid-reflux tablets) can also lower B12.

• Have dairy every day: milk, curd, buttermilk, paneer.
• Use B12-fortified foods – some cereals, plant milks and nutritional yeast (check labels).
• Many vegetarians need a supplement; ask your doctor about the right dose and form.
• Tingling in hands or feet, tiredness or memory problems → mention them to your doctor.

4. Triglycerides

Why it's flagged: The South Indian "big plate of white rice + sweets + fried snacks" pattern is a classic cause, along with sugary drinks, fruit juice, alcohol and being overweight around the belly.

• Halve the rice, double the vegetables and dal. Use the plate rule: ½ vegetables, ¼ dal/paneer/curd, ¼ rice or chapati.
• Swap some white rice for millets (ragi, foxtail, little millet), brown rice or chapati.
• Cut sweets, juices and soft drinks – these raise triglycerides fast.
• Limit alcohol.
• Walk 30 minutes most days; even losing a few kilos helps a lot.
• Add omega-3 plant sources: ground flaxseed, walnuts, chia.

5. Total cholesterol and 6. LDL ("bad")

Why they're flagged: Saturated and trans fats (lots of ghee, butter, coconut oil, palm oil, vanaspati, bakery items and shop-fried snacks), low fibre, little exercise – and genes. Some people have high LDL even with a perfect diet.

• Use ghee and coconut oil as flavour in small amounts, not as the main cooking fat; cook mainly with oils like groundnut, mustard, sunflower, rice-bran or olive oil – and use less oil overall.
• Avoid trans fats: vanaspati, reused frying oil, many packaged biscuits, puffs and namkeens.
• Eat more soluble fibre, which helps lower LDL: oats, barley, millets, dals, rajma, chana, okra, brinjal, apples and a spoon of isabgol (psyllium).
• A small handful of unsalted nuts most days.
• Keep deep-fried food (vada, bajji, murukku) for occasional treats.
• If LDL is very high (around 190 mg/dL / 4.9 mmol/L or more) or there's early heart disease in the family, see a doctor – diet alone may not be enough, and that's not your fault.

7. HDL ("good")

Why it's flagged: Low HDL is common in South Asians, and goes with inactivity, belly fat, smoking and high-carb diets.

• Regular aerobic exercise is the most reliable way to raise HDL – brisk walking, cycling, swimming, badminton.
• Stop smoking.
• Reduce refined carbs and sugar; lose belly fat.
• Replace trans fats with healthier oils and nuts.

8. HbA1c and 9. Fasting sugar

Why they're flagged: Large rice portions, sweets, juices, low activity, belly fat, poor sleep and stress – and a strong family history in many Indian families.

• Walk for 10–15 minutes after meals, especially after dinner. It's one of the simplest ways to blunt sugar spikes.
• Rice portion: one small bowl, not a heap. Eat dal and vegetables first, then rice.
• Prefer whole foods: millet dosa, pesarattu, adai, chapati, brown rice.
• Fruit is fine whole – skip juices and dried-fruit sweets.
• Sleep 7–8 hours; poor sleep raises sugar.
• Get your waist under ~90 cm (men) / ~80 cm (women) if you can.
• Note: iron-deficiency anaemia can make HbA1c read higher than your true sugar level, so a low hemoglobin and a borderline HbA1c should be discussed together with your doctor.

10. Creatinine

Why it's flagged: Sometimes it's simply dehydration, a heavy workout, a high-protein meal or creatine supplements. Longer-term, uncontrolled blood pressure and diabetes are the most common causes of kidney damage.

• Drink enough water through the day – your urine should be pale yellow.
• Keep blood pressure and sugar under control – the most important kidney protection.
• Reduce salt: pickles, papad, appalam, chips and instant noodles are big sources.
• Don't take painkillers like ibuprofen regularly without advice.
• A single high reading should usually be repeated – your doctor will look at your eGFR and trend over time.

11. Urine routine

Why it's flagged: Sugar in urine usually means high blood sugar. Protein can point to kidney strain from diabetes or high BP. Pus cells suggest infection – or a contaminated sample.

• Collect a clean, mid-stream morning sample.
• Stay hydrated; don't hold urine for long hours at work or study.
• Keep sugar and BP controlled.
• Burning, fever or frequent urination → see a doctor; infections need proper treatment.
• If you have diabetes or high BP, ask about a urine albumin–creatinine ratio (ACR) – it catches early kidney strain that a routine test can miss.

A "green report" South Indian day

For more ideas, see the 7-day South Indian vegetarian meal plan and our vegetarian nutrition guide.

How often to test

Many doctors suggest a basic check-up once a year for adults, and earlier or more often if you're over 30–35, overweight, or have a family history of diabetes or heart disease. If something was red, your doctor will usually recheck it after about 3 months of changes – HbA1c in particular needs about 3 months to reflect new habits.

Track your numbers

Keep a simple record so you can see the trend, not just one report:

When to see a doctor quickly

• Fasting sugar 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or more, or HbA1c 6.5% or more
• LDL around 190 mg/dL (4.9 mmol/L) or more, or triglycerides above 500 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L)
• Hemoglobin well below range, or with breathlessness or dizziness
• Raised creatinine, low eGFR, or protein or blood in urine
• Any result your lab marks as "critical"

The bottom line

Most red marks on a basic report in Indian vegetarian families come from a short list of causes: too much white rice and sugar, too little protein and fibre, too little movement and sunshine, and low B12. Small, steady changes – smaller rice portions, more dal and vegetables, daily dairy, a walk after meals and a sensible supplement plan with your doctor – move most numbers back into the green.

Keep reading

• Protein, B12, Iron and Vitamin D: A Nutrition Guide for Indian Vegetarians Abroad
• Brain Food for Exam Season: A South Indian Vegetarian Study Diet
• A 7-Day South Indian Vegetarian Meal Plan for Students Living Abroad