How to determine the deficiency of vitamins in the body and replenish it

Posted: 20. 09. 2021 | Author: Ola Thomas | Category: Food Facts

Today, the topic of vitamins is becoming more relevant than ever, along with the growing popularity of specialized diets, exercise programs and daily routines. It’s important to start by looking after your health on a regular basis, not when something hurts or bothers you. Prevention and timely delivery of tests will help eliminate deficiencies that will negatively affect well-being. All information is advisory in nature and is not a guide to action. Consult with your doctor or endocrinologist who will take a complete history, prescribe the necessary tests and determine the vitamin deficiency in your particular case.

Almost everywhere you can see slogans that vitamins are necessary for the body, and there is nothing without them. These are organic substances that are responsible for the regulation of metabolism: they ensure the correct functioning of biochemical and physiological processes in the body, help protect a person from the harmful effects of the external environment, increase the body’s resistance to infections and promote recovery.

Vitamins are irreplaceable food substances, since our body does not produce them in the required amount (or does not produce them at all) and must receive them along with food. Despite the exceptional importance in metabolism, they are neither a source of energy (do not have calories), nor structural components of tissues, which creates the illusion of “unimportance”.

The minority of vitamins synthesized by the body are:

• vitamin D, which is formed in human skin under the influence of ultraviolet light (dermal synthesis accounts for 90% of vitamin D production);
• vitamin A, which can be synthesized from precursors that enter the body with food;
• one of the forms of vitamin B3 is niacin, the precursor of which is the amino acid tryptophan;
• vitamins K and B7 are usually synthesized in sufficient quantities by human colon bacteria that exist in symbiosis with us.

• Vitamin D: one of the essential elements necessary for the proper functioning of organs and body systems. Deficiency is defined as the concentration of 25 (OH) vitamin D in the blood of less than 20 ng/ml (less than 50 nmol / l), deficiency – at a concentration of 20 to 30 ng/ml (from 50 to 75 nmol / l). Symptoms: decreased physical endurance, weakness with enough sleep, headaches, mood swings, depression, weight gain, dry skin, frequent colds, muscle, and joint pain;
• Vitamin A: dry eyes, night blindness, acne, reproductive disorders, developmental delays in children. Most often, vitamin A deficiency occurs in newborns, premature babies, as well as in pregnant and lactating women;
• B vitamins or eight vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12. There are a large number of deficiency symptoms, so it is better to donate blood for each component. Symptoms: nervousness, memory loss, apathy, hair loss, numbness of the lower extremities, decreased immunity, loss of appetite, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, irritability, insomnia, headaches;
• Vitamin K: bruises and bruises appear even from mild blows, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, symptoms of low blood pressure (dizziness, flashing flies before the eyes, increased heart rate. Can reach fainting.

Important to make a check-up of the body and take tests about once every three months. This gives an understanding of whether to increase or decrease the dosage of taken dietary supplements, add or exclude specific drugs. Without exception, this should only be done under medical supervision and not self-medicate. Symptoms and poor health may not depend on a deficiency of one vitamin but appear due to a lack of several at once or improper synthesis of vitamins in the body. For example, many people suspect they are anemic and start drinking handfuls of iron supplements. At the same time, they do not know that iron is absorbed by the body very difficult, and you need to know the clear rules for taking dietary supplements in an individual case. In addition, anemia is not always equal to iron deficiency: this may indicate a zinc deficiency, which is also responsible for the “transport” of iron within the body.

Once again: first, an endocrinologist’s consultation, and only after that – taking tests and taking prescribed medications.

Vitamin deficiency can lead to three conditions: vitamin deficiency, hypovitaminosis, and hypervitaminosis.

• vitamin deficiency – a lack of vitamins, leading to such unpleasant diseases as scurvy (vitamin C), beriberi (vitamin B1), rickets (vitamin D), night blindness (vitamin A);
• hypovitaminosis – a lack of vitamins that develops imperceptibly and manifests itself in irritability, increased fatigue, decreased attention, and decreased appetite;
• hypervitaminosis – exceeding the recommended dose of vitamin, also adversely affects health and provokes symptoms such as nausea, joint pain, fever. Most often, hypervitaminosis is caused by the intake of sharply increased doses of vitamins A and D.

Problems with the balance of vitamins affect the functioning of the body: this is especially felt by regularly exercising athletes. The body, weakened by the lack of important micronutrients, becomes unable to carry out long-term intense training. If it is temporarily impossible to contact a specialist, you can take online testing and, based on the results, find out about a possible deficiency in the body.