When your diet lacks a requisite amount of essential proteins over a sustained period of time, you might suffer from a vitamin deficiency, which in turn causes a vast variety of issues that attack your body internally from various directions.
Untreated deficiency of the primary vitamins can expand and cause very serious diseases. Here are the four most common diseases linked to vitamin deficiencies.
Rickets
Rickets is most commonly associated with Vitamin D deficiency. It is a very serious disease and causes softening and damage to bones, especially in children. It causes deformities and fractures as well. This is because vitamin D is vital to the incorporation of calcium in the human body, which in turn plays a role in the formation of strong and healthy bones. While rickets is not particularly common in the United States, it can still be caused by poor exposure to vitamin D. Children up to two years of age are most vulnerable to the disease, especially if they are only breastfed. Fortified milk should be introduced into their diet, and they should be exposed to UVB rays if possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics has further suggested administering vitamin D supplements to breastfed babies to avoid a deficiency at all costs.
Scurvy
This was the first disease to ever be linked to vitamin deficiency, postulated by James Lind as early as 1753 and verified in 1932. The characteristic symptoms of scurvy are lethargy, fatigue, and general sickness initially, progressing to spots on the skin, swollen and bleeding gums, and even losing teeth. Another regular symptom is weakness and slowed healing. It is fatal if not dealt with in time. Vitamin C is now widely used to correct and reverse scurvy.
Beriberi
Severe vitamin B1 deficiency causes a condition called Beriberi, characterized by heart, nerve, and brain abnormalities. This can further be worsened by an alcohol binge. Other symptoms include tingling or numbness in the patient’s feet and hands, breathing issues, speech impairment, paralysis, memory loss, confusion, and depression. It needs to be treated quickly with a supply of vitamin B1; otherwise, it leads to dementia and death too. You can also use anabolic steroids to reverse various health-related conditions.
Pellagra
Niacin (Vitamin B3) deficiency causes a disorder called pellagra. It causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and formation of red patches on the skin on calves, hands, face, and feet. It is also quite common for the mouth and tongue to get swollen and develop various sores. It can also be caused by addiction or overdependence to a particular kind of food or drink like wine or maize, and malnutrition too.
Conclusion
Vitamins are extremely important nutrients, and their deficiencies can be anywhere from mild to deadly in their effects. You must hence eat a balanced diet and ensure that your intake of each individual component is sufficient. The B-complex and D vitamins are the most critical, so you will absolutely have to ensure that they are being taken in requisite quantity. If you are not getting enough of these even after following a strict diet, you might want to consider supplements.
Author Bio: Janet Russo is a nutritionist and dietician. She has worked in the field for over a decade and is more than familiar with the causes, triggers, and ways to deal with various dietary issues and eating disorders. She also advocates the use of anabolic steroids.