Nutritiinal Assistance Documents — Florida. Diabetes and cholesterol management can predispose you to:. Globally, around a third of pregnant women worldwide are anemic. This results in an insufficient amount of healthy red blood cells.

Nutritional deficiencies -

To help your levels return to normal, eat more magnesium-rich foods, such as almonds , cashews, peanuts, spinach, black beans , and edamame , Patton says. RELATED: What Are the Health Benefits of Magnesium?

If you suspect you have a nutrient deficiency, talk to your doctor. And if you are, your doctor can refer you to a registered dietitian or recommend supplements.

The best way to avoid or remedy nutrient deficiencies is to make sure you are eating a balanced, nutrient-rich diet, Patton says. Zive says that those at risk include the elderly, pregnant women, and individuals with either restrictive diets such as vegans and vegetarians or limited diets that lack fruits and vegetables typical of the standard American diet.

Make sure to check with your doctor if you have questions about your risk. Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy.

We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

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By Elizabeth Shimer Bowers and Moira Lawler. Medically Reviewed. Kayli Anderson, RDN of American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Next up video playing in 10 seconds. Calcium: Numb, Tingling Fingers and Abnormal Heart Rhythm Calcium is important for maintaining strong bones and controlling muscle and nerve function, according to the National Institutes of Health NIH.

RELATED: 10 Illnesses Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency 3. Potassium: Muscle Weakness, Constipation, Irregular Heart Rhythm, and More Potassium helps your heart, nerves, and muscles work properly and also delivers nutrients to cells while removing waste, according to MedlinePlus.

Iron: Fatigue, Shortness of Breath, Cold Hands and Feet, Brittle Nails, and More Iron is necessary to produce red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body, according to UCSF Health.

RELATED: 10 Healthy Foods That Are Great Sources of Iron 5. Vitamin B Numbness, Fatigue, Swollen Tongue, and More Vitamin B12 aids the production of red blood cells and DNA, and also improves neurotransmitter function, according to the NIH. RELATED: 10 Surprising Health Benefits of B Vitamins 6.

Magnesium: Loss of Appetite, Nausea, Fatigue, and More Magnesium helps support bone health and assists in energy production, and adults need between and mg, depending on sex and age, according to the NIH. From Nutrient Deficiency to Healthy Eating If you suspect you have a nutrient deficiency, talk to your doctor.

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking. Resources Calcium. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. October 6, Cleveland Clinic.

March 2, Calcium and Calcium Supplements: Achieving the Right Balance. Mayo Clinic. Supplements may help alleviate depression, but they're not a replacement for antidepressants. Don't stop taking your medication or add supplements to your regimen without first talking to your healthcare provider.

Easy bruising and bleeding can happen due to problems with blood clotting, poor healing, or collagen formation. Collagen gives strength to the walls of blood vessels.

Essential vitamin deficiencies that can contribute to easy bruising or bleeding are:. Deficiencies of these vitamins are fairly uncommon, however. If you start bruising or bleeding easily, don't just assume a deficiency is causing it. Poor wound healing means that your sores take especially long to heal.

A lot of essential vitamins contribute to the healing process. Some aid in collagen creation, others help with re-building different types of cells or tissues, and others promote cellular health through antioxidant activity.

Vitamin deficiencies that can contribute to poor wound healing include:. Vitamin E a non-essential nutrient might have a negative impact on wound healing. It can hamper collagen synthesis and antioxidant activity and may worsen inflammation.

Research also suggests it may counter the benefits of vitamin A that's taken to help with wound healing. Some vitamin deficiencies affect your immune system and can make you more likely to get infections and infectious diseases.

These include:. A vitamin A deficiency is particularly dangerous when it comes to infection risk. It can predispose you to:.

Essential vitamins that keep your bones strong and healthy include vitamins A, B6, B9, B12, C, D, and K. While research shows deficiencies in any of these vitamins can lower your bone density and lead to fractures, it's not clear whether nutritional supplements lower the fracture risk. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best ways to protect your bone health.

While enough of Vitamins A, B6, and B12 is important for strong bones, too much may actually lower your bone density and increase your risk of breaking bones, according to research. Skin color changes due to vitamin deficiency can manifest in a few different ways: loss of pigmentation in spots, darker pigmentation in spots, or generally pale skin.

Loss of pigmentation and light-colored spots may result from deficiencies in:. Darker pigmentation can be due to:. Deficiencies that can cause generally pale skin include:.

Prolonged vitamin deficiency can cause more serious health issues that may not improve, even with treatment. Severe vitamin deficiencies can cause:. Vitamin deficiency during pregnancy can be a serious problem, resulting in developmental problems that affect the growing baby. In fact, vitamin deficiency can have major effects during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, when most people do not even know they are pregnant.

A few uncommon symptoms may be associated with vitamin deficiency, including:. Often, vitamin deficiency is related to your diet. Vitamins are complex molecules present in fruit, vegetables, grains, meat, poultry, and seafood.

Each vitamin is found in more than one type of food, and some foods are fortified with vitamins. For example, milk naturally contains calcium which is a mineral, not a vitamin and it is fortified with vitamin D.

Pasta, rice, and cereal are often fortified with a variety of vitamins. In addition to dietary factors, medical conditions can affect your absorption of vitamins, even if your dietary vitamin intake is adequate.

Some diets can make you prone to vitamin deficiency. Vitamin B12 is found in meats—a vegan or vegetarian diet can increase the risk of vitamin B12 and biotin deficiency.

If you are dairy-free, then you may be at risk of becoming deficient in vitamin D. A gluten-free diet is a diet low in grains, which are naturally rich in vitamins and are also often fortified with vitamins. So a gluten-free diet can make you deficient in many vitamins, including folate, and thiamine.

A diet that is high in processed foods and low in fresh fruits and vegetables can result in vitamin E and vitamin K deficiency. It is absolutely possible to avoid vitamin deficiency if you are vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free.

However, this does require careful planning. Advice from a registered dietitian can help guide you. Vitamin D is found in foods such as seafood, eggs, and dairy products. But sunlight is also an important source of vitamin D.

And lack of sun exposure can result in vitamin D deficiency. In geographic regions that have a cold climate, this is fairly common during the winter,. A number of medical problems make it hard to properly absorb and metabolize vitamins. This can lead to vitamin deficiencies.

Common medical causes of vitamin deficiency include:. Pernicious anemia is a type of autoimmune disease that affects the small intestine, decreasing absorption of vitamin B This results in an insufficient amount of healthy red blood cells.

Some vitamin deficiencies cause more than one symptom, and some symptoms like sleepiness can occur as a result of a few different vitamin deficiencies. Because symptoms do not always clearly correlate with the specific vitamin deficiency, diagnostic testing is the only way to confirm a vitamin deficiency.

The diagnosis of vitamin deficiencies can take some time. That is because it is not routine to test for vitamin levels. Your healthcare provider may consider testing if you have symptoms or if your physical examination identifies issues like bruises, wounds, skin discoloration, and neuropathy.

Neuropathy is a condition in which nerve function is impaired. It is associated with a lack of vitamin B It can cause you to have decreased sensation, diminished reflexes, and muscle weakness.

Very early neuropathy might not cause these changes, but an electromyography EMG or nerve conduction study NCV can often detect early stages of neuropathy that have not yet caused signs or symptoms.

Blood tests can show signs of vitamin deficiency and can be used to measure your vitamin levels. A complete blood count is the most common screening test. A low red blood cell count or a pattern of enlarged red blood cells megaloblastic anemia is a common sign of vitamin B12 deficiency.

In some instances, your vitamin levels may be measured with a blood test. Vitamins that can be measured with a blood test include folate vitamin B9 , vitamin D, and vitamin B If there is a concern that you could have a digestive problem causing vitamin malabsorption, your healthcare provider may order a test to examine the internal appearance of your stomach or intestines.

An endoscopy is used to examine the appearance of your stomach and the upper portion of your small intestine using a camera that is inserted down your throat. A colonoscopy is used to examine the internal appearance of your large intestine using a camera that is inserted into the rectum.

These tests can be uncomfortable, so they are done with an anesthetic medication. Your healthcare provider can identify problems such as Crohn's disease and some types of malabsorptive syndromes with these interventional examinations.

Treatment for vitamin deficiency involves vitamin replacement. If a medical condition is the cause of your vitamin deficiency, then treatment of that condition is necessary as well. In many instances, even if a medical condition is contributing to your vitamin deficiency, long term dietary changes can help correct and prevent the deficiency from worsening.

You can learn which foods contain the vitamins you need so that you can pay attention to getting an adequate amount of these vitamins. You may benefit from meeting with a dietitian, who can help you identify which foods you could consider including in your diet.

You may also need help with creating a healthy meal plan. There are several ways to make sure that you get adequate vitamins. Vitamin supplements can be an option. You may be given a recommendation for an over-the-counter OTC or prescription supplement.

Alan Stewart M. BN7 1HJ Tel Fax: Email: dr. stewart stewartnutrition. Copyright © Dr. BN7 1HJ Tel Fax: Symptom or Sign. Possible Nutritional Deficiency. Other Possible Causes. Protein-energy, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamins B1, B12 and other B vitamins and vitamin C.

Many physical illnesses including hypothyroidism, cardiac failure, anaemia, chronic fatigue syndrome and depression. General malnutrition and possibly iron, calcium, zinc, vitamins B1 — thiamine, B3 — niacin, C and D. Normal in infants under 2 years of age, pregnancy especially in young women, mental illness.

Pale appearance due to anaemia. Carotenoderma — yellow discolouration of the skin noticeable on the face and trunk. Muscle wasting e. clothes appear too big, loss of limb musculature. Calcium and vitamin D.

Vitamin Nutritional deficiencies anemia is a Chromium browser for web scraping of healthy red Diabetes and cholesterol management cells Nturitional by Nutritional deficiencies than usual deficiemcies of defiiciencies B and folate. This Nutriional happen if you don't eat enough foods containing vitamin B and folate, or if your body has trouble absorbing or processing these vitamins. Without these nutrients, the body produces red blood cells that are too large and don't work properly. This reduces their ability to carry oxygen. Symptoms can include fatigue, shortness of breath and dizziness. Everyone knows that deficiencoes need vitamins and minerals to keep our bodies healthy. But how Nutritional deficiencies you know when Weight management goals aren't meeting your Nktritional needs? Here, Nutritiojal walks Diabetes and cholesterol management six Nutritkonal scenarios, and how you might reverse any Nutritionak found. While everyone loses about strands of hair a day, suddenly finding clumps of hair on your pillow or in your shower drain merits a mention to your doctor. It could be a sign of bigger issues, such as low iron levels, which affects your energy, or thyroid disease, which could lead to sudden unexplained weight gain or weight loss. If your iron levels are low, you might also always feel cold, have headaches and feel dizzy often.

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