Nutrient deficiency or micronutrient deficiency is a global issue and is way more common than most people expect. One of the main reasons behind this is that soil quality nowadays is not as nutrient-dense as it used to be many years ago. Another reason is the rise in digestive problems. If a person has digestive issues, it can affect the absorption of nutrition, leading to vitamin and minerals deficiencies. These deficiencies appear as warning signs in our bodies.
What Are the Common Types of Nutrient Deficiency?
Our bodies can be deficient in any mineral. But the most common deficiencies are listed below:
- Iron Deficiency
- Vitamin-A Deficiency
- Folate (Vitamin-B-9) Deficiency
- Cobalamin (Vitamin-B-12) Deficiency
- Vitamin-D Deficiency
- Calcium Deficiency
- Vitamin-C Deficiency
- Zinc deficiency
- Magnesium Deficiency
- Selenium & Iodine Deficiency
Our body is purely chivalric because whenever something is not right, it sends us warning signs and signals for months and sometimes years in advance before it does completely fall apart. Following are some common warning symptoms and their treatments.
7 Signs of Nutrition Deficiency and Their Solution
1. Vitamin-C Deficiency
Bleeding gums during brushing, ulcers or cuts on the tongue, and getting bruises are positive signs of Vitamin-C deficiency. Bleeding gums is a mild form of “Scurvy” that can lead to structural weakness in the blood vessels causing heart stroke. Vitamin-C builds up collagen in your body and helps to stay young and vibrant with healthy skin, hair, and nails.
Recovering Vitamin-C Deficiency
The easiest way to increase your Vitamin-C intake is to start eating more fruits and vegetables. If you want to increase your vitamin c levels fast. In that case, you should incorporate some superfood powders concentrated in Vitamin-C, like Camu Camu powder and Goji berry powder, into your breakfast smoothies. The former one contains 60% more Vitamin-C per serving than an orange.
2. Iron Deficiency
Unusual tiredness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and pale skin are all iron deficiency symptoms and are very common in women. This mineral deficiency leads to abnormally low levels of red blood cells. As iron is a functional part of the hemoglobin protein that carries oxygen in the blood, cells deplete its deficiency. Vitamin-C also helps increase absorption of iron in the body.
Recovering Iron Deficiency
To restore your Iron level, consume Heme Iron, the most active and absorbable form of Iron. Some food sources include high-quality grass-fed Pasteur-raised beef liver and chicken liver. Other quick sources include oysters, clams, tuna, grass-fed ground beef, and eggs. Some plant-based vegan foods to recover iron deficiencies are lentils, chickpeas, beans, spinach, kale, pumpkin seeds, oatmeal, and spirulina.
3. Vitamin-A Deficiency
Vitamin-A deficiency is linked to a sluggish and congested liver, which causes the progression of chronic liver disease. Common symptoms include poor night vision, dry eyes and skin, and slow wound healing. It would be best to start strengthening your liver now. The best way is to include the most active and absorptive form of Vitamin-A, known as retinol, which generally comes from animal-based sources.
Recovering Vitamin-A Deficiency
Vitamin-A nutrient deficiency can be fulfilled by consuming foods like grass-fed beef liver, cod liver oil, lamb liver, wild salmon, butter, cheese, and eggs. Some plant-based foods high in beta carotene are sweet potatoes, kale, turnip, carrots, red peppers, and swiss chard.
Also Read: You should eat a lot of Vitamin A rich foods to fulfil the need of this deficiency in your body.
4. Zinc Deficiency
One of the common mineral deficiencies is Zinc deficiency. People who have white spots on nails have a hard time focusing, have stubborn acne, and a weak immune system show zinc deficiency. Zinc is a crucial mineral for boosting your immune system, hormone production, growth and repair, and even for digestion. But even the smallest deficiency can lead to a much higher risk of infertility as well as diabetes.
Recovering Zinc Deficiency
Foods high in Zinc will include pumpkin seeds, grass-fed beef, chicken, eggs, mushrooms, wild-caught salmon, shellfish, and legume. Oysters might be the richest source of Zinc than any other food. Even dark chocolate contains some amount of Zinc.
5. Magnesium Deficiency
If you have difficulty falling asleep, anxiety, muscle cramps at night, or knots in the upper neck and back, then you are facing Magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is known as a “Relaxation Mineral” because it can help you relax and calm your nervous system. Magnesium relaxes your muscles and puts your body into a state of calmness.
Recovering Magnesium Deficiency
Some of the best foods that restore Magnesium levels include dark chocolate and cacao. The best way to have it is as raw cacao or in the form of cacao bars or cacao powder. Other things include almonds, spinach, avocados, bananas, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and wild-caught salmon.
6. Vitamin-D Nutrient Deficiency
Depression, bone loss, and frequent sickness are some signs of Vitamin-D nutrient deficiency. This is because we are always indoors and slather on sunscreen whenever outside. This blocks the production of Vitamin-D. Vitamin-D is necessary for the absorption of Calcium which maintains bone health. It also helps to elevate your mood, lift depression, and reduce inflammation.
Recovering Vitamin-D Deficiency
You need to expose your bare skin to the sun a few times a week. Put on sunscreen that has zinc oxide but not many chemicals because they can absorb in your bloodstream. Some foods that provide Vitamin-D are egg yolks, high-quality liver, cod liver oil, wild-caught salmon, and sardines.
7. Selenium and Iodine Deficiency
Selenium and Iodine deficiency cause nutrient deficiency diseases like thyroid problems. Both of these minerals are critical to your thyroid health and fertility. A lot of people with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease could get rid of symptoms like cold hands and feet or hair thinning by correcting their deficiency.
Recovering Selenium and Iodine Deficiency
Eat foods high in Iodine like shrimps, cod, cottage cheese, tuna, and prunes. Seaweed and kelp are the richest sources of Iodine. Foods high in selenium include brazil nuts, seafood, especially oysters and tuna, organ meats like beef liver, sunflower seeds, lobster, and chia seeds.
What to Eat to Overcome Nutrient Deficiency?
Only a well-balanced diet that includes dairy, poultry, meat, veggies, and fruits, will fulfill your everyday need for nutrients and minerals. Plan your meals for a week. Switch your diet to fit in at least two or more nutrient-dense sources in a meal. Fruit salsa, smoothie, pancakes, or scrambled eggs make the best breakfast. Likewise, include lean meat, beef liver, or fish along with some legumes or vegetables for lunch and dinner recipes at least twice a week.
What seems to be a big problem to us can have a simple solution by including a mineral-rich, nutrient-filled diet plan in our lives. Most of the problems we blame on old age are also the effect of mineral and nutrient deficiency. Therefore, it is important to take care of our bodies early on in our lives than to regret it later on.
Also Read: Different fruit snacks can help you regain the various minerals your body has been lacking for some days.
