Blood Drug Testing

How long before a blood test will the food affect your blood test results?

in other words, if you eat a lot of something the night before a blood test will that affect the results? or does it take time for food to process and affect the blood work? anyone who knows this kinda stuff please answer!!! 10 big points and a smile to clarify: this is not a fasting blood test-they told me i don't need to fast

Public Comments

1. alcohol stays in my blood for many days raises my sugars. but I think it depends on the test. fasting is not harmful just hurts! at lest 8 hours but maybe you will want to fast longer.
2. You need to fast a minimum of 8 hours before certain lab tests, and 12 is even better. Different foods absorb at different rates, so that really varies. For example: Patient eats bacon and eggs 3 hours before a cholesterol test. The result will not be valid. The reason is that we cannot be certain that the meal has not affected the test. We don't want to make a guess, we want solid numbers. Glucose tests are different as well. Smoking and chewing sugarless gum during a fasting glucose can affect these numbers. Eating high sugar foods and carbs the night before, even 3 days before can affect the results of a fasting glucose test. In most cases it is acceptable to drink water before a fasting test. It makes venipuncture easier. As I said, different foods absorb at different rates, so to get accurate results always fast when required. If you don't, you may end up taking meds you don't need.