Common Nutrition Deficiencies and What You Can Do to Avoid Them!

Written By: Grace Poppe, O2 Fitness Cary

Alright, so you have cut out all fast food? No more hydrogenated oils? Watching out for GMO's? Awesome, now on to step two! There is a lot more to being healthy than deciding what not to eat.

Nutritional Deficiency

Have you heard of a deficiency? Well for anyone who hasn't, a nutritional deficiency occurs when a person's nutrient intake falls consistently below the recommended amount. Sounds pretty easy to fix right? Actually it is! You just need to know what you are looking for.

So here are some of the most common deficiencies, their causes, what they can cause, what you can do to prevent them.

2 of the Most Common Nutritional Deficiencies

Magnesium

A low magnesium intake has been linked to things like type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, asthma and heart disease.

Symptoms are restless leg syndrome, hypertension, cramping, migraines, and fibromyalgia.

So how can you prevent this particular deficiency? Lots, and I mean LOTS of leafy greens. You know they are good for you, now you have a reason to eat the heck out of them. Seeds, dark chocolate, espresso, and halibut are also a good way to get some extra magnesium in your system. If you are terribly particular, and just couldn't possibly eat any of these foods on a regular basis supplements are always an option. Check out your local Whole Foods or Trader Joes for good supplement options.

Iodine

Iodine deficiencies are pretty easy to avoid, iodized salt is the most common table salt and using that on a semi-regular basis will have your iodine levels happy and healthy.

For those of you who have switched to all sea salt, all of the time- it's time to add some other sources of iodine in to your life! Symptoms of an Iodine deficiency include, but are not limited to hypothyroidism, goiter and cretinism. So let's catch it before it starts shall we? Seafood; eat it!

Seafood is rich in iodine and lets be serious, it's delicious. If you are one of the rare few who doesn't like seafood, pasteurized eggs are also rich in iodine.

Other Nutritional Deficiencies

Some other common deficiencies include: Iron, vitamin D, and protein. So go make yourself a salad and get some sun rays at the beach!