Nutritional deficiencies from a poor diet and problems absorbing nutrients can significantly impact your health. Your body needs minimum amounts of vitamins and minerals to maintain a healthy body and to perform the many functions of living. Headaches are just one possible side effect of failing to provide your body with sufficient nutrients. Consult your doctor for diagnosis and treatment if you have headaches.
Vitamin D
A nutritional deficiency in vitamin D may play a role in the development of certain kinds of headaches. A series of case reports in "Headache" journal published September 2009 suggest a correlation between low vitamin D and tension headaches, which are different than migraine and cluster tension type headaches. One case study showed success from giving participants with tension headaches between 1,000 and 1,500 IU per day with 1,000 milligrams of calcium. Participants reported a marked improvement or a complete cessation of headaches within four to six weeks of supplementing.
Iron
A deficiency in the mineral iron can lead to iron deficiency anemia. It is possible to be iron deficient and not anemic, but if overtime you do become anemic then you can suffer from headaches, dizziness, weight loss, reduced energy and shortness of breath. Iron deficiency anemia describes a condition whereby low iron levels leads to low hemoglobin concentration in your blood. Hemoglobin is the substance in your blood that carries oxygen, so you will suffer from a lack of oxygen if you are anemic. Your tissues cannot adequately metabolize energy, which is what causes symptoms such as headaches.
Vitamin B-12
A deficiency in vitamin B-12 can also cause anemia, but a different type than iron deficiency anemia. Low vitamin B-12 impairs your ability to make healthy red blood cells. The red blood cells become unable to divide normally and are therefore too large to easily get our of bone marrow. This condition is called pernicious anemia. This ultimately leads to oxygenation problems and similar symptoms to other types of anemia, including headaches. It can also cause fatigue, leg pains, chest pain and fainting, especially in severe cases.
Deficiencies in Children
Children can develop vitamin deficiencies just like adults, but the most common ones include deficiency in vitamin B-6, B-12, A, D and folic acid. These deficiencies can lead to a reduction in oxygen supply, which may trigger headaches. Folic acid and vitamin B-12 deficiencies are the most troublesome because these nutrients are involved in oxygenation of tissue. Correcting deficiencies in these nutrients may reduce occurrences of headaches.
References
- Headache: Chronic Tension-type Headache With Vitamin D Deficiency: Casual or Causal Association
- Olympia Sports Chiropractic: Does Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Tension Headaches
- Net Doctor: Anaemia Due to Vitamin B12 Deficiency (Pernicious Anaemia)
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: What Is Pernicious Anemia
- Medline Plus: Vitamin B12
- DrAbelson.com: Childhood Headaches Don't Take Them Lightly (pdf)
- Dr. Ronald Hoffman: Iron: Deficiency and Toxicity
- Medline Plus: Iron in Diet
