Blood count

Hematocrit (HCT) — optimal range for vegans & vegetarians

Volume fraction of red blood cells.

Optimal range

38–50 %

How a value is read

Women

Deficient< 36 %
Below optimal36 – 38 %
Optimal38 – 48 %
Above optimal48 – 50 %
Markedly high> 50 %

Men

Deficient< 40 %
Below optimal40 – 42 %
Optimal42 – 52 %
Above optimal52 – 54 %
Markedly high> 54 %

Bands are given in the marker's canonical unit; values in other units are converted automatically.

Why it matters on a plant-based diet

The red-cell fraction of blood. Falls with anemia (including iron/B12 deficiency). Read together with hemoglobin and MCV.

A single marker decides nothing

Deficiencies mask one another: high folate hides low B12, inflammation inflates ferritin, low zinc mimics iron deficiency. VEGALYSIS reads the whole picture and explains the links.

Analyse my labs

Units

  • %
  • L/L× 100 %

VEGALYSIS accepts any of these units and converts the value to the canonical one.

Names seen on lab reports

hematocrit · hct · haematocrit · гематокрит

Sources

Related markers

Educational material; not a substitute for a clinician's advice.