How does your body notify you when you have vitamin,mineral deficiencies
In: Biology
A lot of ways. First and foremost is just general fatigue. Malnutrition will decrease your energy by a lot and you will get tired way faster and you’re more likely to get headaches. Other ways can include your body developing cravings for vitamin rich foods like vegetables or your body cannibalizing itself by breaking down fats and muscles in your body as a last ditch effort to meet nutrient needs.
So if you are feeling tired, finding yourself craving food different from your usual diet, and after a while sudden weight loss and muscle deteriotion. Then thats your body telling you that you are malnourished.
It depends on the vitamin of mineral deficiency. As another person stated, usually by general symptoms like lethargy, lack of appetite, soreness etc. If it becomes severe enough, there are things like skin lesions, changes in quality of hair, skin dryness, joint pain, gingival pain, increased bleeding times and much more serious signs like chest pains and difficulty breathing. It really depends on what type of nutrients the person is lacking as they all have different functions in the body.
Your body “notifies” you that you have a vitamin deficiency in the sense that certain biological systems don’t work well, if at all. For example, people who have an iron iron deficiency can suffer from a variety of symptoms, some of which make sense (fatigue) and some of which are merely the result of a biological system not working properly (craving ice).
i’m not sure if this is the type of answer you’re looking for but when i had a bad magnesium deficiency i experienced an episode of severe dizziness, tunnel vision, cold sweat, weakness, and vomiting. it was really unpleasant, and ended up being taken to the ER for fluids and observation. blood tests revealed the deficiency. so, uh, that’s one way it can happen!
Depends on the deficiency. Each vitamin and mineral has its own cluster of symptoms.
Vit C deficiency (scurvy): Breakdown of collagen. Fatigue, loose teeth, bleeding gums, easy bruising, even old wounds can reopen.
Low potassium: This is a medical emergency, as it can affect cardiac function. Fatigue, heart arrhythmias, muscle weakness.
These are just a few examples. You can easily Google the rest.
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