I have a client who has an issue with hair growth, all their blood tests showed they have a deficiency in several nutrients, including Iron. Now rather than look at their nutrition, to work out what they could add to the diet to help minimise with those deficits, because let’s face it they couldn’t make any money out of that. They sold this person several different types of supplements before upselling a more expensive treatment. This is how a lot of industries work. Its so frustrating to see because in many cases they are putting financial gain ahead of the client’s health. What they should have done was set this person up with a nutritionist first and see if that had the desired outcome before prescribing tablets.

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with supplements (or painkillers), however we need to spend more time actually addressing the problem rather than treating the symptoms. Now don’t get me wrong some people have underlying medical conditions which affect uptake of different nutrients, and if this is the case then absolutely, supplements are the right thing to do. However, if you do not have any underlying conditions then really you should be looking at the reason you are deficient in the first place, and that comes down to food.



So many of our health complaints come down to deficiencies, and often having blood tests is the first step in understanding our body and its complaints. For example, the most common deficiency is Iron and the symptoms of Iron deficiencies are fatigue, weakness, headaches, cold hands and feet, brittle nails (amongst other things), now how many of those have you had in the last week, month, year? They may absolutely be a sign of something more sinister, but we should rule out the obvious first. So blood tests need to be established to work out if your symptoms are a deficiency or something else.



Always consult with your primary care physician on all matters regarding your health, this should be a joint decision between the two of you without any other influencing factors, and so for the rest of this article I will be writing as though there is no underlying health conditions.

μg = a microgram which is 1000 times smaller than a milligram. All information has come from NHS website and other reputable sources. All figures are approximate and should only be used as guidance. Any nutritional changes should be made in partnership with advice from a qualified nutritionist.

According to the British Nutrition Foundation, the seven most common deficiencies in the UK are Iron, Calcium, Vitamin D, Folate/Folic Acid, Iodine, Magnesium, Omega-3 fats and fibre. I’m not going to look at all of these main deficiencies so I’m going to look at the top 5 nutrients and the impact they have on the body. The “what to eat” section is purely for example only, I’ve tried to choose the foods that are common with the highest nutritional value.

CALCIUM

What its needed for: Strengthening bones and teeth, regulating muscle contraction (including heartbeat) and in blood clotting

Symptoms: rickets in children, osteoporosis in adults as well as insomnia

Recommended daily intake: Adults 19-64 need 700μg of calcium a day.

What to eat: milk (300μg in 225ml serving), cheese (hard cheese 200μg in 28g serving), Yoghurt (450μg in 220g serving) (dairy etc), green leafy veg (broccoli 180μg per 220g serving, spinach 240μg per 220g serving), bread with fortified flour. The list of calcium rich foods is massive this is only a small selection as an example.

VITAMIN D

What its needed for: essential for healthy bone development, blood clothing and a healthy immune system

Symptoms: muscle weakness, fatigue, bone pain, muscles aches and cramps, mood changes, gum problems and constipation

Recommended daily intake: 10μg per day

What to eat: Oily fish (Salmon 13μg per 100g serving, sardines 6μg per 85g serving and mackerel 25 μg per 100g serving), eggs ( 1μg per egg), mushrooms (10μg per 100g) and red meat.

IODINE

What its needed for: helps with hormone production and regulation of metabolic rate

Symptoms: Swelling, weight gain, fatigue, weakness, hair loss, dry skin, trouble remembering or learning.

Recommended daily intake: 150 μg per day

What to eat: Sea fish (haddock 390 μg per 120g serving, Cod 230 μg per 120g serving), shellfish (scampi 160 μg per 170g serving), eggs (25 μg per egg)

The reason I have included the “what to eat” section is to show you how easy it is to eat away your vitamin deficiencies. Low in Vitamin D, 100G of chestnut mushrooms for breakfast on some scrambled eggs, and you’ve cracked it. Low in Iron, a bowl of fortified cereal for breakfast and steak for tea, and you have enough Iron for the day. Its much easier than you think to ensure you eat what you need to prevent deficiencies.

If you’ve stuck with this blog this long, well done, the point of this post is that with a little research and a balanced diet, nutritional deficiencies should become a thing of the past without the need to spend money on supplements, which in turn will require fewer trips to the Doctors, less money spent on painkillers and an all-round healthier life.  

What do you think about this? Are you able to make small nutritional changes to aid with deficiencies? Let me know in the comments