If you’ve been following me for a while, you know my health journey well and how I am constantly seeking answers and solutions. I’ve been lucky to have a family doctor who has been checking on my blood work frequently and ordering scans every time I’ve felt pain (it’s how I ended up with a partial hysterectomy!). I know not everyone has that benefit so I thought I’d test out the NiaHealth services when one of their online ads caught my attention. I learned a lot about my own health after taking NiaHealth’s panel of tests — even though I regularly get standard bloodwork through my family doctor. Read on for my honest NiaHealth review, where I share what the process was like and what stood out. Who knows — it might just be the nudge you or someone you know needs to take a more proactive approach to your health.
Disclosure : I reached out to NiaHealth for a coupon but, as always, opinions are TOTALLY mine!
What is Exactly is NiaHealth?
At its core, NiaHealth is a digital platform that gives you quick, easy access to your blood test results — and, most importantly, breaks them down in plain English. No confusing medical jargon, no guessing games. You visit their website, answer a few health-related questions, and receive a requisition for bloodwork. After getting your blood drawn, you’ll receive a detailed, easy-to-understand report that explains what’s going on inside your body.
NiaHealth tests include heart, thyroid, metabolic, kidneys, liver, nutrients and more. NiaHealth does not replace your doctor-keep this in mind. Instead, it empowers you as a more informed patient. Membership includes over 35 biomarkers tested annually, along with detailed insights from leading doctors based on your results. Each set of lab tests is reviewed by a clinician and you get a report, which you’re encouraged to share with your doctor or healthcare team. Behind the scenes, NiaHealth’s team of clinicians analyzes your biomarkers, biometrics and medical history to build a comprehensive health profile. It’s all science-backed and personalized (well — mostly. I’ll share one marker I was less impressed by later).
According to their website, NiaHealth aims to make proactive healthcare accessible by becoming the world’s leading virtual-first health partner. Their mission is clear: offer comprehensive blood testing, personalized health insights and tailored recommendations to reduce the biggest threats to your long-term health — your healthspan, not just your lifespan.
If you want to read my Journey to Health series click here! Learn about my previous struggles and surgeries!
Do You Have to Pay to use NiaHealth?
Yes you do. There is an annual fee depending the tests you want/need. I tested out the entry level “Essential Plan” which costs $299 for the one time test. There are other plans which provide additional opportunities to test and additional biomarkers. You can see the plans here. I also noticed a NiaHealth coupon for 10% off – NiaFamily10.
I will point out that NiaHealth is an HSA-eligible expense (in addition to CRA-eligible medical expense) so you could check with your insurer to see if it works with your health spending account if you have private health insurance through work.
I am eyeing the Gut Microbiome testing in Optimum plan because that sounds like it would be great for globetrotters like myself who may have picked a bug or two during our foodie adventures!
Who Should Use NiaHealth?
Technically, any adult living in Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island can use NiaHealth’s services. But who will benefit the most?
If you already have a proactive family doctor who regularly runs comprehensive blood tests and takes the time to explain your results clearly, you may not gain much extra value here.
However, if you don’t have a family doctor, or you feel your current provider isn’t offering the depth of testing or clear explanations you need — NiaHealth fills that gap beautifully. It’s especially useful for anyone looking to better understand their health, track specific markers or take a more proactive approach to wellness.
It’s also a smart option if you have family visiting from abroad who don’t have access to testing back home — NiaHealth makes it easy to get important health data, fast.
NiaHealth Review and Process
So what was the process like? After I signed up, I spent about 15 minutes answering questions to populate my heath profile.
As soon as the health profile was completed, I received a requestion to get the bloodwork done. I was told to fast and I lucked out by finding a Dynacare location right by me in downtown Toronto. One thing I noticed on the form was that the physician listed on the paperwork was from Edmonton and not anywhere in Ontario.
6 days later, I received the following notice in my email.
Now comes the fun stuff!!! Just look at the reports below.. don’t judge my health okay?
Each of the snapshots can be clicked through for more details. Remember that biomarkers are ordered and reviewed by an authorized medical provider licensed to practice in your province. This means that my results were analyzed by a REAL clinicians and the recommendations are based on science. NiaHealth includes 3-4x more lab tests than your average annual checkup in Canada and I think there were some tests done that weren’t part of the regular repertoire of tests ordered by my family doctor. I’ve written about heart health before and definitely didn’t know my heard was getting a “D grade”!!! The colour coding really helps too, doesn’t it?
What I can tell you is that these results kicked my butt into gear. My family doctor would often say something along the lines of “yes there’s some concerns here but keep working out and eating healthy and we can check again”. So I didn’t think anything was in DIRE need of attention. Getting failing grades on my bloodwork freaks out the student inside of me!
So what was that one marker I wasn’t so sure about? That would be my blood pressure. I say this because no one at the lab took my blood pressure. The test results are based on a reading I did at home which I don’t think is very accurate.
So, what did my family doctor think of the NiaHealth tests? We’ve only had a brief phone call so far, but she did flag one thing — she suggested I get my copper levels tested. I’ve since done that and am waiting to follow up with her in a few weeks. Interestingly, she hadn’t raised any concerns when I did bloodwork through her just a month before the NiaHealth panel, so I don’t think that test would have been ordered otherwise.
Below are some of the actionable steps NiaHealth recommended — and yes, I’ve already started making a few changes!
I didn’t take these failing grade reports to my doctor- NOPE! NiaHealth provides a more formal looking traditional copy to share with your doctor. So it doesn’t look like a school project (I need school project like reports to understand so I am happy they provide both). According to their website, NiaHealth is designed to enhance your doctor’s time and help you take control of your health journey – that certainly is true in my case! I was equipped with the meaning behind the various biomarkers which enabled me to have an informed conversation with my doctor.
