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Your provider should let you know whether you need to fast prior to having your blood drawn. If youâre not sure, confirm any requirements with your provider beforehand. Fast Smartly. Fasting for a blood test entails avoiding all food and beverages (except for water) for 8 to 12 hours prior to the test. Drink plenty of water and take your medications as usual.
Fasting for a certain length of time before a blood test is one way of ensuring that your test results are not contaminated by the food you've eaten. The Mayo Clinic notes that fasting may not be necessary to get an accurate reading on a cholesterol test, but most doctors will still ask that you fast for at least 12 hours before your appointment. For certain other kinds of tests, such as a blood glucose test, fasting is necessary. This test is done to check for diabetes, and it requires that you abstain from any food intake for at least eight hours before the blood is drawn. There are alternatives to this test for diagnosing diabetes, but according to howstuffworks.com, the blood glucose test is easy, fast, and inexpensive. Other types of blood tests do not require that you fast prior to the blood draw.