Common Adult Nutrition Deficiencies

Even being a relatively healthy person, eating right and exercising every day you can still miss key nutrients that you need. Not getting enough of a nutrient can cause you to develop a deficiency. A nutrient deficiency is when you don’t get the needed amount of a certain nutrient that your body needs. This can happen because of inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption issues, or a medical condition. Deficiencies can alter how the body functions and processes. Examples of things that can be out of whack due to a nutrient deficiency are water balance, enzyme function, nerve signaling, digestion, or metabolism. If you let deficiencies continue without addressing them they may lead to diabetes, vision loss, immunity loss, or cancer.

There are some warning signs that you may have which may mean you have a nutrient deficiency. It is important to not self diagnose or treat a deficiency without speaking with your doctor. Warning signs of a nutrient deficiency are severe hair loss, burning sensation in the feet or tongue, wounds that heal slowly, bone pain, irregular heartbeat, and deteriorating vision. Your doctor can run some blood tests to check for nutrient deficiencies. This can help determine where you need to alter your diet or add certain foods into your diet to get rid of your nutrient deficiency.

Iron

The most common deficiency in the world is an iron deficiency. Menstruating women, children, pregnant women, vegans, and vegetarians are at a higher risk of having an iron deficiency. Symptoms of an iron deficiency are tiredness, weakness, weakened immunity, impaired brain function, cold hands and feet. If left untreated an iron deficiency can lead to anemia. Anemia is when the number of red blood cells and your blood’s ability to carry oxygen drops. It can be harmful to supplement with iron supplements because having too much iron can cause toxicity. Food sources of good iron are red meat, organ meat, shellfish, canned sardines, beans, seeds, and dark leafy greens.

Purium Products that contain Iron:
Cocoa Mint Spirulina
EPI-Genius Family
MVP Family
MVP Sport
Power Shake
Spirulina Powder
Super Meal LOV

Iodine

Iodine is important for thyroid function and the production of thyroid hormones in the body. It is also another nutrient that is commonly deficient. This deficiency can become harmful to your overall health. Symptoms of an iodine deficiency are enlarged thyroid gland, raised heart rate, shortness of breath, and weight gain. Some countries require table salt that has iodine added to it, this has decreased the iodine deficiency rates. Other foods that are high in iodine are seaweed, fish, dairy, and eggs.

Purium Iodine Products:
Cocoa Mint Spirulina
Daily Fiber
Green Spectrum
More Greens
Power Shake

Vitamin D

Almost every cell in your body has a vitamin D receptor. Vitamin D is an important nutrient that you can get naturally from exposure to sunlight. This is why during winter months, or living far from the equator can make a deficiency rather common. Vitamin D deficiencies can cause reduced immune function and raise your risk of developing cancer. It can also cause muscle weakness, bone loss, and a higher amount of bone fractures. Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency are fatigue, bone pain, and mood shifts. It is hard to get enough vitamin D just from food. Getting adequate healthy amounts of sun exposure is the best way of getting vitamin D. Between 5-30 minutes daily sun exposure without sunscreen is optimal for getting the recommended amount of vitamin D. Foods that also have vitamin D are fortified foods with added vitamin D, cod liver oil, fatty fish, and egg yolks.

Purium Products that contain Vitamin D:
Epi-Genius Family
MVP Family
MVP Sport
ZinC-ADE

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is also a common nutrient that many people are deficient in. Vitamin B12 is essential for blood formation, brain, and nerve function. Vegans and vegetarians are at a higher risk of a vitamin B12 deficiency because it is mostly found in animal products. Symptoms can be sudden onset or develop slowly over time. There are a wide range of symptoms so it can be hard to pinpoint if your symptoms are caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency or something else. Symptoms include numbness in legs, hands, or feet, problems walking or balancing, anemia, fatigue, weakness, swollen tongue, and memory loss. Foods that contain vitamin B12 are shellfish, organ meat, meat, eggs, and milk products.

Purium Products that contain B12:
Cocoa Mint Spirulina
Daily Fiber
Epi-Genius Family
Power Shake
Spirulina Powder

Calcium

Calcium is important to maintain strong bones, and control muscles and nerve function. The normal person needs 1000mg of calcium per day. Women who are 50 years old or older, and men who are older than 50 need about 1500mg of calcium a day. 40% of the US does not get enough calcium. Calcium deficiencies can lead to complications of soft bones, or osteoporosis. Severe low levels of calcium can cause symptoms of numb tingling fingers, and abnormal heart rhythms. Food products with calcium are boned fish, dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, kale, broccoli, and calcium-fortified plant-based milks.

Purium Products that contain Calcium:
Super Meal LOV

Magnesium

Magnesium deficiency is usually uncommon unless you are taking certain medications such as antibiotics or diuretics or you have a condition such as type 2 diabetes, or Crohn’s disease. These things can limit your absorption. Symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. In a severe deficiency you may experience numbness, tingling, muscle cramps, seizures, irregular heart rhythms, personality changes, or coronary spasms. Foods that contain magnesium are whole grains, almonds, cashews, peanuts, spinach, black beans, edamame, and dark chocolate.

Purium Products that contain Magnesium:
Epi-Genius Family
Power Shake
Super Meal LOV

Many people can have nutrient deficiencies even if they are overall healthy otherwise. There can be gaps in our diet that can cause these deficiencies. The best way to combat nutrient deficiencies is to eat a balanced nutrient rich diet. It is mostly recommended to try to fight deficiencies with food first before trying a multivitamin or supplement. Children, young women, older adults, vegetarians, and vegans are at a higher risk of having a nutrient deficiency. If you can’t get enough nutrients from your diet, talk with your doctor about a healthy way to supplement so that you don’t have deficiencies. Deficiencies can lead to other health complications as well as impact how your body functions and processes.