everyday vitamins we lack
2016.03.07 / Dr Graham Simpson
http://www.esquireme.com/sports/health-and-fitness/5-common-vitamins-lack
If we want to understand why we modern humans struggle to keep our vitamin levels in check, we need look no further than the highly popular Western diet. We are no longer just eating a diet rich in natural foods such as meats, fish, eggs, nuts, vegetables, healthy oils, and so on. Sure, we are eating lots of those foods still, but it’s the “what else” we are eating that is unfortunately making up the majority of our diet, and that “what else” includes grains, sugars, and processed foods. Those wreak havoc on our bodies and our proper nutritional balance.
Vitamin deficiency affects tens-of-millions of people around the world to a very significant degree, and most people are unaware that many of the problems they are facing are in fact down to those vitamin deficiencies. Symptoms and serious medical conditions can include fatigue, weakness, irregular heartbeat, mood imbalance, anaemia, nerve damage and much more.
While there are many potential vitamin deficiencies and imbalances to contend with, let’s take a look at the most common ones:
Iodine
I have seen many patients in my clinics over the years who are completely unaware of the need for iodine as part of a healthy diet. It is perhaps unsurprising then that iodine deficiency is one of the most common in the world, affecting up to 40% of the population .
I really cannot stress enough just how important iodine is to a healthy body. It is the essential mineral for thyroid function, meaning it has a direct impact on our body’s ability to regulate energy levels, mood, temperature, metabolism and a litany of other vital functions.
Many countries – including the UAE – responded to the need for more iodine in our diets by adding it to our table salt. However, the white table salt in use in most homes is in itself not healthy, and even if you switch to a healthy type of salt, such as Himalayan salt, it’s still not going to be a sufficient source of iodine.
In nature, iodine is most commonly found in soil and the sea. and there are some easy ways to top up for those in the know. Just one gram of seaweed – or kelp – for example, is thought to contain anywhere from 460-1,000% of our recommended daily intake of iodine. For those that don’t fancy tucking into seaweed every day, once again, iodine supplements are readily available (12.5 mg of iodine per day is a good dose).
Vitamin D
This is a particular deficiency that we in the UAE know all about. Yes, despite living in one of the world’s most sun-drenched regions, almost 80% of us here in the UAE are vitamin D deficient. Why? One main reasons is, ironically, that we don’t get enough sun. Or rather we don’t “take in” enough sun.
Around 90% of our vitamin D intake typically comes from direct exposure to UV rays, and out here in the UAE – due to a combination of the heat, social modesty and indoor working – many of us simply don’t catch enough rays.
The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency range from the serious, such as muscle weakness, bone and joint pain and fatigue; to the rather severe, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
But if our lifestyles dictate that we can’t get the amount of sunlight that our bodies need, then what can we do? Well, if sensible sun exposure is really not an option then supplements are the answer, as it is impossible to get the amount of vitamin D you need from food alone.