Login or Register

Overview of Diet Deficiencies

Apr 18, 2011 | By Norma DeVault
Overview of Diet Deficiencies
Photo Credit diet image by Aleksandr Lobanov from Fotolia.com

You can become malnourished when you get too little or too much energy or nutrients. Diet plays a significant role in supporting your health. Deficiency diseases are caused by the lack of a sufficient supply of specific nutrients from your diet. Most deficiency diseases result from a lack of certain vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates or fats. Within these categories are more than 40 nutrients required for good health and normal development.

Definition

Diet deficiencies occur when you do not get enough of an essential nutrient, usually protein, vitamins or minerals. The required amount varies by nutrient and by an individual's age, gender and health status. Deficiencies may be due to not eating enough of a specific nutrient, not having access to nutritious food or genetic or metabolic disorders that interfere with your ability to absorb or digest particular nutrients.

Protein Deficiencies

Protein-energy malnutrition, or PEM, includes kwashiorkor, caused by lack of protein in the diet, and marasmus, caused by a lack of both energy and protein. PEM affects more than 500 million children worldwide, according to Eleanor Whitney, Ph.D. and Sharon Rolfes, M.S., R.D. in "Understanding Nutrition." PEM is most prevalent in developing countries and among homeless people living in poverty, the elderly who live alone, people addicted to drugs and alcohol, people with AIDS or tuberculosis and people who suffer from an eating disorder. Meat, milk and legumes supply your body with proteins that make up your muscle, connective tissue and skin. Proteins also act as enzymes in chemical reactions vital to your body's critical functions. Prevention and treatment includes nutrient-dense, energy-dense meals and resolution of contributing issues of poverty, illness and infections.

Vitamin Deficiencies

Vitamins promote growth and reproduction and regulate metabolic processes such as releasing energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Vitamins are organic and easily destroyed or lost from food. Although required only in tiny amounts, their absence or deficiency can cause significant problems in your body. For instance, when your body doesn't have enough folate, vitamin B12 or vitamin C to make healthy red blood cells, vitamin deficiency anemia results in the inability to carry oxygen to your lungs and throughout your body.

A deficiency of vitamin A causes night blindness. Lack of vitamin B1, thiamin, results in the disease beriberi, which affects your heart, digestive and nervous systems. Not enough vitamin B3, niacin, leads to the disease pellagra which is characterized by diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia and eventually death, according to "Understanding Nutrition." A deficiency of vitamin C causes the disease scurvy, which affects blood vessels, skin, red blood cells, absorption of iron and wound healing. Insufficient vitamin D results in rickets in children, and osteomalacia or osteoporosis, which cause weakening or softening of adult bones. A deficiency of folate when you are pregnant can result in birth defects. The best vitamin source is food but, for overt deficiencies, a vitamin supplement may be needed.

Mineral Deficiencies

Unlike organic vitamins, inorganic minerals are not destroyed by heat, air, acid or mixing, but they can be lost from food when they leach into cooking water that is discarded. Major minerals that your body must get from food include sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and sulfur. Deficiency symptoms for these minerals range from muscle cramps or weakness to paralysis, confusion, stunted growth, bone loss, hallucinations and difficulty in swallowing. Consuming a variety of foods from each of the food groups each day will ensure an adequate supply of minerals.

References

Article reviewed by demand12324 Last updated on: Apr 18, 2011

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments