Common Signs Of Vitamin Deficiency

January 25, 2023Education Medical Articles

A well-balanced diet and nutrition are essential for giving your body peak performance. Many western diets are not conducive to consuming the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals that the body needs. Vitamin deficiency can be very detrimental to your body so it is important to eat a healthy nutritious diet and supplement when needed. Today we are going to talk about some of the most common and obvious signs of vitamin deficiency.

Hair Loss

Unexplained hair loss can be one of the first obvious signs that your body is lacking key vitamins. Vitamins that can help prevent or slow down hair loss include iron, zinc, linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic acid, niacin (vitamin B3), and biotin (vitamin B7).

Diets rich in fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and whole grains can help you get a sufficient amount of these vitamins and minerals.

Brittle Nails

A biotin (vitamin B7) deficiency can leave your nails and hair brittle. Biotin helps the body convert food into usable energy. Biotin deficiency can also induce chronic fatigue, muscle pain, cramps, and tingling in the hands and feet.

Foods like egg yolks, organ meats, fish, meat, dairy, nuts, seeds, spinach, broccoli, sweet potatoes, whole grains, and bananas are rich in biotin. Biotin supplements are also readily available in most pharmacies and grocery stores.

Dry Skin

Deficiencies in zinc, niacin, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and pyridoxine (vitamin B6) can lead to dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis. These skin conditions are mostly harmless but can leave you with dry, itchy skin.

Dandruff is almost exclusively on the scalp but seborrheic dermatitis can appear in many places on the body including the face, chest, and armpits.

Foods rich in these vitamins and nutrients include whole grains, meat, eggs, dairy, poultry, seafood, organ meats, green vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

Vision Impairment

A condition called night blindness has been associated with low vitamin A levels. Night blindness impairs vision in low light or darkness. Vitamin A can contribute to this condition because vitamin A helps produce a pigment in our retinas called rhodopsin. If left untreated, night blindness can progress and damage the cornea and result in complete blindness.

Vitamin A-rich foods include yellow-orange vegetables, dark leafy greens, organ meats, dairy, eggs, and fish.

Bleeding Gums

One of the most familiar vitamin deficiencies is vitamin C deficiency which can lead to scurvy. Scurvy is first noticed with swollen, bleeding gums. If left unresolved, it can impede other wound healing. Scurvy is most well known for its history in sailors and pirates. The novel Mutiny on The Bounty involved scurvy. But more recently, it has been observed in college students with poor nutrition.

Vitamin C levels to prevent abject deficiency can easily be obtained by eating at least 2 pieces of fruit and 3-4 portions of vegetables every day. Oranges, kiwis, strawberries, broccoli, and kale have some of the highest concentrations of vitamin C!

Ulcers & Cheilitis

Deficiencies in iron and B vitamins can increase the occurrences of mouth ulcers and angular cheilitis (chapped and/or bleeding patches in the corner of the mouth). Both conditions can be very painful and unsightly.

To avoid these it is best to maintain popular levels of iron and B vitamins. Make sure to eat enough (unprocessed) meat, whole grains, dark leafy greens, nuts, and seeds.