Vitamin Deficiency Diseases – Vitamin Nutrition

19 Apr, 2011

Intake of all vitamins is essential for our bodies as all of them perform certain important functions in our bodies. A nutritional chart containing the vitamin constituents of all fresh fruits, vegetables and other food items needs to be studied to gauge our personal vitamin intake on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. This article discusses the various vitamin deficiency diseases that can occur if you are consistently short on a particular vitamin.

Vitamin Sources

Vitamin A Deficiency
If you do not have enough butter, milk and other dairy products in your daily diet, you could have a deficiency of vitamin A. Vitamin A quantities that are less than 1mg per day for adults and 0.8mg per day for kids may cause night blindness, bitot spots, dry skin and hair and brittle fingernails.

Beta Carotene or Pro-Vitamin A Deficiency
Having less carrots, squash, green leafies and broccoli in your diet may leave you at risk of certain forms of cancer.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Deficiency
Not having enough sunflower seeds, pork, grains and dried beans in your daily diet can leave you vulnerable to anxiety, hysteria and beri beri. You may also have muscle cramps and experience appetite loss.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) Deficiency
Less than 1.3mg of vitamin B2 in adults due to lack of enough milk, spinach and mushrooms in your daily diet can give you visual problems and oral and nasal sores.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Deficiency
Not eating enough tuna, bran, mushrooms, beef, peanuts, grains and chicken can give you pellagra, which is a disease that combines the symptoms of dermatitis with diarrhea and oral sores.

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) Deficiency
If you do not eat whole grains, cereals and legumes in adequate quantities, you may have certain deficiency related problems that have not yet been researched conclusively.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) Deficiency
Avoiding bananas and animal proteins can leave you with anemia; itchy, scaly and patchy skin and convulsions.

Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) Deficiency
If you are a vegetarian you may have this deficiency (as this is almost exclusively found in animal products), a deficiency that may lead to pernicious anemia and nerve damage. This deficiency is really rare except in the strictest of vegetarians and in people who are older or in people who have nutrient absorption related issues.

Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) Deficiency
Less than 40mg of daily Vitamin C may cause scurvy in adults along with muscle weakness, easy bruising and bleeding gums.

Vitamin D Deficiency
Found through exposure to sunlight and in egg yolks and milk, a deficiency of vitamin D may cause rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults. It may even lead to bone softening and other bone related complications.

Vitamin E Deficiency
Found mainly in corn or cottonseed oil, soybean, vegetables and wheat germ, a deficiency of this may cause premature deliveries, low birth weight, unhealthy fat absorption and nerve anomalies.

Vitamin K Deficiency
A deficiency of Vitamin K (found in green veggies, liver, etc. and produced mainly by intestinal bacteria) may lead to blood coagulation related problems.

Out of all the vitamin deficiencies mentioned above it is the deficiency of water soluble vitamins such as B1, B2, B3, B5, B6,B12 and vitamin C are a problem on a daily basis as these need to be taken in, daily. The others are fat soluble vitamins that are not needed to be taken daily.

Despite healthy eating and having very nutritious food intake, the daily vitamin quota that our body may require, may not be fulfilled naturally. In these cases, you may need the help of daily vitamin supplements and multivitamin tablets that can replenish your shortage on a daily basis.

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