Revealed: How your bad breath, low sex drive and headaches could be a sign of a vitamin deficiency

Revealed: How your bad breath, low sex drive and headaches could be a sign of a vitamin deficiency

These are just three of the common signs of vitamin or mineral deficiencies, experts have warned on the back of a new poll of 2,000 adults.

Other issues which could point to an insufficient diet include thinning hair, a lower libido, white spots on your nails, dandruff, stress and even dry skin.

The findings, commissioned by Healthspan, showed six in ten adults are clueless about signs that could show they are suffering from a deficiency.

The link provides a graphic showing the health issue and the possible vitamin/mineral deficiency, as well as a list of conditions, the particular deficiency, and food sources for that vitamin/mineral. For example:

CRACKED LIPS
What it could be a sign of: Iron or vitamin C deficiency
Foods that may help overcome it: Red meat, red peppers, kale and tofu

And, though not included in the article, there are always food-based supplements for pretty much any and every vitamin/mineral essential to the human body.

As Hippocrates wisely advised us: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

Thanks OP!

TL;DR
Take Iron and Magnesium for most ailments

originally posted by: Butterfinger
Thanks OP!

TL;DR
Take Iron and Magnesium for most ailments

Good call!

Not surprisingly, iron and magnesium deficiencies were among the most often mentioned

Just laughing at the vitamin D bit. If you took 10mg in a single day you wouldn't be feeling too good...if you were still breathing.

Should be 10mcg.

Headaches, chapped lips, fatigue?

Stay hydrated.

a reply to: CJCrawley

10mcg is 400 IU which is the current rda, however its being raised to 800IU or 20 mcg next year...in fact IUs are being dropped altogether. Youre absolutely right 10 mgs of D would be quite bad considering its a fat soluble and that would be around 1200x the recommended dose.

Op ...magnesium, trace mins and the b complex vitamins are at all time lows across the Western population...nearly 50% of Americans are deficient in magnesium alone.

Cracking nails is always a good indicator of waning constitution. People wgo drink regularly...myself included must supplement with b complex or your setting yourself up for all kinds of ill. Take a food concentrate like garden of life...the rest are synthesized from or grown over coal tar based nutrients.

originally posted by: CJCrawley
Just laughing at the vitamin D bit. If you took 10mg in a single day you wouldn't be feeling too good...if you were still breathing.

Should be 10mcg.

Why is that funny? I don't get it...

I would agree that 10 mg is very low for Vitamin D. I would also agree that recommended daily allowances for Vitamin D are way too low, especially since most people don't get enough sun exposure and too many that do use sunscreen which defeats the D-making abilities of our bodies. (Not trying to put words in your mouth though...)

originally posted by: intrptr

Headaches, chapped lips, fatigue?

Stay hydrated.

Excellent advice! Water can be a good source of minerals as well. And not mentioned in the source at all -- sadly.

a reply to: Boadicea

Water can be a good source of minerals as well.

Thats a myth...

Blowing the lid off distilled water myths

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: CJCrawley

10mcg is 400 IU which is the current rda, however its being raised to 800IU or 20 mcg next year...in fact IUs are being dropped altogether. Youre absolutely right 10 mgs of D would be quite bad considering its a fat soluble and that would be around 12x the recommended dose.

Thank you for that! I was trying to do the math and wasn't sure of my results...

Op ...magnesium, trace mins and the b complex vitamins are at all time lows across the Western population...nearly 50% of Americans are deficient in magnesium alone.

I've read that, and it's quite sad.

Take a food concentrate like garden of life...the rest are synthesized from or grown over coal tar based nutrients.

I do!!! And if I remember correctly, it was you who recommended it long long ago, and I have been taking the "Women's Once Daily" ever since. Thank you!!!

a reply to: Boadicea

I would agree that 10 mg is very low for Vitamin D.

No, it's very HIGH...a thousand times too high!

It should be micrograms, not milligrams.

This article is stating the bleeding obvious. Poor diet = health problems.

a reply to: intrptr

Blowing the lid off distilled water myths

Interesting read, and point well taken, but I wasn't referring to distilled water, which of course removes minerals in the process. Although, I know sometimes minerals are added back in after distillation for flavor. And perhaps I should have specific that not all water sources are created equal!

We have very hard water here in AZ, with high levels of sodium and calcium. But the best water I've ever tasted was well water with naturally occurring minerals.

I certainly wouldn't expect to get all my essential minerals from the water, but we shouldn't expect (or try) to get all our vitamins/minerals from any one source.

That isn't a bad article for starters.

Remember, Zinc is needed by the immune system and also to make insulin. So when you eat a lot of carbs, you need more zinc, then you can't taste the sugar so you crave more sugar. The loss of taste is the best symptom for zinc deficiency. When you are sick, food has no taste...why? Because you are using all the zinc to fight the infection. When you eat sweets it increases your acne, why....because processing all the sugar lowers your ability to fight the infection causing the acne. Also the body tries to excrete extra sugars through the skin, which causes more increase of microbes there.

Zinc is very important, we have become deficient as a society. Zinc used to line the cans, it was absorbed in the food and it supplied what we needed. If you had enough zinc, the cangoods started tasting like metal, that is a sign you have enough. Now they line the cans with plastic, so we do not get the benefit of the zinc from the can. To get your daily requirement of zinc, you would have to eat a pound of meat every day along with some veggies. You would have to graze all day long on just veggies. They subsidize zinc in livestock, this keeps the animals healthy. Even organic farmers subsidize minerals, they are organic minerals though and they are more expensive.

The majority of Americans are deficient in magnesium too, nothing that can't be resolved by washing up with a little epsom salts on your washcloth before soaping up. If you are low in magnesium, you can't process carbs well and you are cold. Magnesium needs to be balanced with calcium too. they work together. Milk actually has a pretty good balance, but I am not tolerant to milk and it has a lot of betablocking chemistry that tends to calm a person. You would have to graze like a rabbit to get adequate magnesium. Nuts have plenty, but they also have chemistry that blocks the uptake. Brazil nuts are good for magnesium. Zinc and magnesium are competitive, so is copper. These need to be balanced, and should be taken at different times. They require adequate stomach acid chemistry to be taken in correctly.

Selenium is good for the thyroid but don't overdo it, when dealing with the thyroid, you have to balance the thyroid with the adrenal gland. This is done with thyroid hormones. Also you have to balance methylation for things to go properly, so folate and B12 are needed to balance things. Also, there are foods that have chemistry that bind to the sites that Iodine binds to. One type is isothiocyanates, they actually can cause problems with the thyroid if over consumed. It will seem like you are more energetic, but eventually the problems with the link to the adrenal glands by the th hormones will lead to problems. Adequate iodine is needed too, Iodine actually moderates the thyroid, it actually gives you more of a mellower structured energy. Being low on iodine or having the receptors utilized by lighter ions like fluoride and sodium and also Isotheocyanate, means the thyroid goes into overtime, giving you energy and this can lead to goiter if Iodine is not there to balance it.

I got rid of most of my headaches by taking a multimineral tablet. It is actually the molybdenum in it that does that. Most of my headaches came from sulfite sensitivity and from a lack of an enzyme that breaks down aldehydes, molybdenium coenzymes boosted a tad helped me to get rid of the headaches. But molybdenum does not work alone, you have to have a little copper to go along with it. Also the molybdoperins can carry oxygen around and molybdenum and iron together work symbiotically. Just don't go wild and start taking too much, subsidizing the minimum daily requirement of molybdenum is fine. It works with sulfur to chelate metals out of the body, it gets rid of heavy ones but also gets rid of some necessary ones. So don't go crazy with any mineral, enough is enough.

B12 and folate deficiencies are not rare, they are common in people. Also folic acid does not work correctly in a lot of people, real folate is better. For some, taking real folate makes them sore or it makes them crabby, it depends on if you break it down. But folic acid will work to neutralize homocysteine in those who get crabby without making them crabby. If you can't convert the folic acid, take methyl folate or a couple of other natural non-synthetic types. Methyl b12 is better for some people than cyanocobalamin, if you take the cyano version make sure to drink plenty of water to get the cyanide released out of your system. cyanide makes you thirsty, that is so you pee out the cyanide.

Kids should not take vitamins or minerals with iron in them, it is not recommended, it causes iron toxicity in young kids.

There is a lot more I know, but this is getting too long already.

a reply to: CJCrawley

No, it's very HIGH...a thousand times too high!

It should be micrograms, not milligrams.

Then I respectfully disagree. Indeed, as I understand it, too many people -- perhaps even most people -- are deficient in Vitamin D. Such thinking may contribute to this, and therefore other conditions/diseases. What may be enough D to prevent rickets is not necessarily the optimal amount needed by the body to maintain overall good health.

Studies have shown no adverse effects even taking 10,000 IUs per day long-term. I've been taking 5,000 IUs per day for several years now, ever since finding out that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with MRSA, though it's not known if it is causative or resultant or both. My daughter was recently diagnosed as D3 deficient and given 100,000 IUs by her doctor. That's a whole lot of D3!

originally posted by: paraphi
This article is stating the bleeding obvious. Poor diet = health problems.

That may be obvious to you and me... but it's not obvious to everyone. There are still those who don't think nutrition plays any part in our health... or that foods can be medicines. And there's a whole industry out there that likes it that way.

This article not only identified conditions that can be caused by specific deficiencies, it also provides food sources to correct those deficiencies. And that's a good thing.

a reply to: rickymouse

There is a lot more I know, but this is getting too long already.

Thank you! I find this very interesting, and I appreciate the info. It will take me a while to absorb it all, and no doubt much will go over my head, but I appreciate it!

originally posted by: CJCrawley
a reply to: Boadicea

I would agree that 10 mg is very low for Vitamin D.

No, it's very HIGH...a thousand times too high!

It should be micrograms, not milligrams.

In the winter, when there is less sun, just eat potatoes, but don't overdo it. It has the active hormone of Vitamin D present in it and it does not need the sun to process it. Too much and it can cause calcification of the tendons and soft tissues, but just the right amount and it works great. Also, since vitamin d is a lipid based vitamin, put real butter on the potato and it works with the active form and it also contains vitamin K2 which is needed for the metabolic process when vitamin D or it's hormone is used.

originally posted by: Boadicea
a reply to: rickymouse

There is a lot more I know, but this is getting too long already.

Thank you! I find this very interesting, and I appreciate the info. It will take me a while to absorb it all, and no doubt much will go over my head, but I appreciate it!

I have done a lot of testing of these things on myself. I have made some mistakes also, which I have learned from. Niacin actually takes out methyl, so you can get low on methyl which can mess up methylation if you consume too much niacin without consuming methyl chemistry. There is a balance there. Milk has methyl in it, so if hot peppers are burning your mouth, drink some milk and it cancels out the hot. Technically, if you eat hot peppers, it should take away the buzz off of pot. THC is actually a high methyl compound and it can be neutralized by niacin. Remember though, the endocannabinoid receptors need the methyl in the endocannabinoids to work right, so too much niacin can cause problems there and can actually cause you to not heal right. This is one of the problems associated with nicotine if people smoke too much. I tend to go overboard on my research and try to compare things and research if my conclusions are right.

a reply to: rickymouse

Niacin actually takes out methyl, so you can get low on methyl which can mess up methylation if you consume too much niacin without consuming methyl chemistry.

Does the type of niacin make a difference? For example, niacinamide vs inositol?

I've been taking about 2,000 mgs of niacinamide for a couple months now, since learning that it fights MRSA. I also drink a lot of whole milk -- about 1/2 gallon per day all by my lonesome -- as well as yogurt and cheeses.