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Do You Have One Of These Common Vitamin Deficiencies? Part 2
In the last issue of Balance Point, we talked about the all-too-common deficiencies of B-12 and magnesium. Today, you'll learn about 2 other commonly deficient nutrients.
Vitamin D
You might be wondering what vitamin D is doing on the list of common deficiencies. As it turns out, this once uncommon problem is more common recently. Even with vitamin D enriched milk products, many people don't get enough.
Perhaps the greatest reason for this is a combination of modern lifestyles and recent concerns about sun exposure. In earlier times we got much of our vitamin D from sunlight. Modern use of sun screens, along with spending more time indoors keep most of us from getting enough vitamin D from the sun.
A low level of vitamin D leads to unhealthy teeth, soft bones, fractures and muscle weakness. In addition, some forms of cancer, including breast cancer and colon cancer, osteoporosis, joint pain and muscle twitching can be traced to low vitamin D in many cases.
As with iron (see below), too much vitamin D is not good. If you're going to take vitamin D supplements you should get your blood levels checked regularly.
You can get natural vitamin D from sufficient sun exposure (be sure not to burn!) as well as food sources such as cod liver oil and egg yolks.
Iron
The World Health Organization says iron deficiency is the most common nutritional lack in the world. They estimate that 80% of the world's population suffers from lack of iron.
Low iron leads to tiredness, anemia and increased susceptibility to infections.
But too much iron is a problem as well. This means that if you decide to supplement with iron it's best to get a blood test to determine your iron levels.
Natural sources of iron include animal proteins such as red meat, turkey, chicken and fish. You'll also get iron in lentils, kidney beans, and spinach.
The Bottom Line
Modern farming techniques tend to deplete soils of naturally present nutrients, particularly minerals. By some estimates, modern foods contain only 1/10th the nutrients that they would have had only 100 years ago.
This is why I encourage my patients to take nutritional supplements. The higher the quality, the better. The highest quality supplements are the same as forms of nutrients found in natural foods.
But, as you've seen today, you can also get too much of a good thing, particularly with the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D and E) and iron, so be careful.
The safest and most reliable way to supplement your diet is by understanding your Metabolic Type. Once you know how you metabolize foods, you can know the exact nutrients your body will do best with.
Contact me by clicking here if you'd like to test (or retest) for your Metabolic Typing requirements.
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