Deficiencies

Vitamins and minerals are necessary for health. Deficiency diseases manifest gradually, some resulting in poor health and some eventually proving fatal. For some of the fat soluble vitamins, an excess is also harmful.

Vitamin A

Eye and skin problems. Early symptoms are night blindness, an inability to see in the dark. Progresses to swollen, ulcerated eyelids and corneas, a disease called xerophthalmia which untreated with the missing Vitamin A and a high protein diet leads to blindness. Progresses to dry, rough skin and dry mucous membranes made susceptible to infection. Vitamin A in great excess is toxic, leading to blurred vision and scaling of the skin among other symptoms. Inhabitants of the arctic have been known to experience Vitamin A toxicity following meals of polar bear liver.

 

Vitamin B

The B Vitamins are a complex that have similar effects on the body. They include thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine and related compounds, niacin, cyanocobalamin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, carnitine, choline, lipoic acid, myoinositol, and para-aminobenzoic acid. Beriberi, a nerve disease resulting in painful rigidity, develops due to thiamin deficiency. Cracks at the side of the mouth and a greasy inflammation of the skin result from riboflavin deficiency. Pyridoxine deficiency can cause convulsions in infants. A niacin deficiency causes pellagra, resulting in diarrhea, skin rash, and dementia symptoms such as confusion, apathy, and delirium. Pernicious anemia is caused by a deficiency of cyanocobalamin, as well as numbness and paralysis and other symptoms such as a smooth tongue and both constipation and diarrhea. Folate deficiency causes anemia, fatigue, diarrhea, and shortness of breath.

 

Vitamin C

Scurvy, which can ultimately lead to anemia and death through hemorrhage, particularly in the skin and mucous membranes. Bleeding guns, slow healing wounds, and easy bruising are symptoms, as well as susceptibility to infections.

 

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is fat soluble. Vitamin D is manufactured by the human body in adequate supplies with no more than 15 minutes a day exposure to ultraviolet in sunlight. Cloud cover or pollutants in the air interfere with ultraviolet penetration, and during winter or in urban areas, exposure to sunlight often does not suffice. Cereal grain bran, liver, meat, and eggs contain Vitamin D. Vitamin D builds in the body when taken in excess, and can result in nausea and weakness. Small yellowish deposits are found beneath the fingernails, in the eyes, and scattered over the skin.

 

Vitamin E

Sterility in the male and spontaneous abortion in the female can be caused by a Vitamin E deficiency. Muscular weakness and degeneration also results.

 

Vitamin K

Since Vitamin K is synthesized by intestinal bacteria, deficiency diseases are seldom seem except in newborn infants not breast fed or where the flow of bile has been inhibited. Vitamin K deficiency causes hemorrhage.

 

Calcium

Softening of the bones, periodontal disease, and susceptibility to bone fracture. Lack of Calcium contributes to high blood pressure and depression.

 

Copper

Skin sores, general weakness, and poor respiration.

 

Iodine

Enlarged thyroid gland, slow mental reaction, weight gain, and dry skin and hair.

 

Iron

Anemia, heart palpitations, constipation, and fatigue.

 

Magnesium

Paralysis and convulsions, dizziness, muscle cramps, nervousness, and an irregular pulse. Blindness and deafness in infants. Magnesium deficiency contributes to kidney stone formation.

 

Potassium

Respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and poor muscle reflexes.

 

Zinc

Slow wound healing, retarded growth and sexual maturity , skin and hair problems with white spots on the fingernails, and poor resistance to infection.

Offered by Nancy.