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Vitamin Deficiency

If you don't get a particular vitamin for a long time, you develop a vitamin deficiency. If the deficiency goes on long enough, you get a deficiency disease.

You may develop a vitamin deficiency if:

• You rarely eat fresh fruits and vegetables. These are the best natural sources of vitamins and minerals.
• You've been going through a long period of high stress or overwork. You're probably not eating right, plus you're using up a lot vitamins and minerals to make extra stress hormones. Think of yourself as a battery running down.
• You're sick with something—bronchitis, say—or you're recovering from surgery. At a time when you probably don't feel much like eating, you need lots of extra vitamins and minerals to help you heal faster.
• You have a chronic disease such as asthma or diabetes. Low levels of a vitamin or mineral might be causing the problem or making it worse. Many people with asthma are low on magnesium, for example; many diabetics are very low on Vitamin C. Chronic diseases change how well your body absorbs and uses vitamins and minerals, so your needs change as well.
• You're pregnant or nursing. You need extra vitamins and minerals because you're passing some of your on to your baby.
• You're seriously depressed. When you're depressed, you don't eat well. That can make the depression worse, because marginal deficiencies of many vitamins and minerals cause depression.
• You smoke. Smoking sharply increases your need for vitamins, especially Vitamin C.
• You drink a lot of alcohol. Heavy drinkers are often marginally deficient in almost all the vitamins and minerals, especially B vitamins.

Whenever you feel your health isn't what it could be—if you get frequent minor illnesses, for example, or bad colds you just can't seem to shake, ask yourself if you're getting enough of the vitamins and minerals you need.

Testing for Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

Today many doctors routinely check your blood for some vitamin and mineral deficiencies, especially iron and Vitamin B12. There are blood and urine tests for most vitamins and minerals, but some are complicated or inconvenient, to say nothing of the costs. Generally there's no real reason to do them, unless you have a medical problem that affects your ability to absorb nutrients. Today many nutritionally oriented health practitioners think that your blood antioxidant level is a better test of your vitamin and mineral levels and overall health. That's because you need vitamins and minerals to make antioxidant enzymes. If you're low on the enzymes, you're also low on their building blocks. If you're interested in antioxidant testing, discuss it with your doctor or nutritionist.

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