What Happens If You Do Not Get Enough Vitamins?

Vitamins are chemicals produced by plants and animals that facilitate many of the essential functions of human metabolism. Your body does not produce vitamins --- other than vitamin D. Your diet, therefore, is the principal source of the 13 essential vitamins needed to maintain a healthy body. If you do not get enough vitamins from your diet, disruptions and abnormalities in one or more body systems may occur. Severe, persistent vitamin deficiencies can lead to serious or potentially life-threatening health problems.

Bone Weakness and Malformation

The growth, maintenance and strength of your bones depend on an adequate dietary supply of several vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D is essential to bone health because it enables your digestive system to absorb calcium, which is the primary component of the solid matrix of your bones. Without sufficient vitamin D, your bones weaken. Among children, a vitamin D deficiency can cause defective bone growth and development, a condition known as rickets. Left untreated, rickets can lead to permanently deformed bones and short stature. Because vitamins C and K also support healthy bone formation, deficiencies can lead to bone weakness.

Anemia

Your blood contains red blood cells, which transport oxygen to your body tissues. Red blood cells survive for approximately three months in your bloodstream. Your bone marrow continually produces new red blood cells to replace the old cells removed from your circulation. A steady dietary supply of vitamins B-9, B-12 and C are required for red blood cell production, along with the mineral iron. If you do not get enough of these vitamins from your diet, red blood cell production slows. When red blood cell production does not keep pace with the normal rate of loss, the number of circulating red blood cells falls to an abnormally low level, a condition known as anemia. Shortness of breath, lack of energy and weakness are typical symptoms of anemia.

Poor Energy Production

Vitamins B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5, B-7 and B-12 are essential cofactors in several chemical processes that convert the carbohydrates, fat and protein from your diet into energy. Inadequate intake of the B complex vitamins slows or disrupts these energy-producing processes. You may experience lack of energy or easy fatigability with a deficiency of one or more of the B complex vitamins. Additionally, reduced energy production may lead to suboptimal performance of your body organs and tissues.

Cell Damage

Vitamins C and E are antioxidants, chemicals that prevent damage to your cells caused by substances called free radicals or reactive oxygen species. These substances are produced by normal metabolic processes and may accumulate in large amounts when you are exposed to pollutants, toxins and radiation. Vitamins C and E protect your cells by slowing the rate of formation of free radicals and neutralizing them once they are formed. Increased free radical damage caused by a deficiency of vitamin C or E has been suggested as a possible contributor to the development or worsening of a variety of medical conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, hardening of the arteries, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus and cancer.