How Our Modern Lifestyle Causes Vitamin And Mineral Deficiencies
Lately, I’ve been collecting articles with a theme, mostly accidentally. I was glancing through my list of articles and noticed that I had come across several studies on vitamin and mineral deficiencies. That got me to thinking about why there are so many nutrient deficiencies today. What is it about our lifestyle that is causing this? I can’t imagine that evolution would have allowed our species to thrive as it has were this a regular occurrence over the past few million years, so I’m assuming it’s a fairly recent occurrence.
So why not look at them all together and try to draw some common threads?
Vitamin And Mineral Deficiency Prevalence
For starters, there are thirteen known vitamins and untold numbers of minerals. The vitamins are classified as either fat-soluble – vitamins A, D, E, and K – or water-soluble – the B vitamins and vitamin C. A few major minerals are calcium, zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and iodine. There are far too many trace minerals to list, however.
Unfortunately, I can’t find solid evidence on most of the vitamins and minerals about how many people are deficient. Here are the ones I was able to come up with from this site: [I was hoping to find some stuff on PubMed, but it doesn't seem many studies have been done, which makes sense in an industrialized nation where people are presumed to be well-nourished.]
Vitamin/Mineral Deficiency Prevalence
| Vitamin | % Deficient | Mineral | % Deficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 20% | Zinc | 68% |
| Vitamin C | 20-50% | Magnesium | 75-85% |
| Vitamin D | Estimated 75% | Copper | 75% |
| Vitamin K | Mainly infants | Chromium | 90% |
| Niacin | Elderly | Iodine | Uncommon |
How Did We Get Here?
Depleted soils. Processed foods. Indoor living. Fear of the sun. Pretty much a complete rejection of the evolutionary lifestyle that sustained us for a couple million years. It all adds up to pretty high levels of vitamin and mineral deficiencies across the population. While most people aren’t deficient enough to get the overt symptoms, such as rickets or bleeding disorders, lots of us have less than recommended levels, which does have an effect over the course of a lifetime. Just look at all of the studies showing that low vitamin D levels, though high enough to stave off rickets, being tied to cancer, cognitive impairment, heart disease, and any number of other diseases.
I think there’s also one other culprit – low-fat diets. Low-fat diets tend to promote processed foods that are fortified with selected vitamins. But there’s one problem. No matter how many IU of vitamins A & D you cram into that skim milk (because skim is what’s always recommended), the body can’t absorb them without fat.
A Toxic Environment
So check out some of the stuff I came across about what specific types of pharmaceuticals do to vitamin and mineral status:
These drugs/substances lead to these specific nutrient deficiencies:
* Antibiotics – Vitamin A, B-12, C, E, K, Biotin, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium
* Chelators – Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc
* Anticonvulsants – Vitamin B-2, B-12, C, F, K, Folic Acid, Calcium, Magnesium
* Antidiabetics (Oral) – Vitamin B-2, B-12, C, D, Folic Acid
* Antihistamines – Vitamin C
* Aspirin – Calcium, Folic Acid, Iron, Potassium, C, B Complex
How many people are reaching for the antibiotics at every little illness? Now let’s look at the effects of deficiency of a few of these vitamins and minerals.
Zinc Deficiency
Zinc Deficiences A Global Concern
Other vitamins and nutrients may get more headlines, but experts say as many as two billion people around the world have diets deficient in zinc – and studies at Oregon State University and elsewhere are raising concerns about the health implications this holds for infectious disease, immune function, DNA damage and cancer.
….
Zinc is naturally found associated with proteins in such meats as beef and poultry, and in even higher levels in shellfish such as oysters. It’s available in plants but poorly absorbed from them, raising additional concerns for vegetarians.
The article also points out that even mild zinc deficiency is associated with higher levels of DNA damage. And of course, zinc is incredibly important for testosterone production and for releasing enzymes that inhibit testosterone conversion to estrogen.
Magnesium Deficiency
The Importance of Staving Off a Magnesium Deficiency
The latest government study shows a staggering 68% of Americans do not consume the recommended daily intake of magnesium.
….
The National Academy of Sciences has determined that most Americans are magnesium deficient, with men obtaining only about 80 percent of their daily needs with women fairing even worse obtaining about 70 percent of their needs.
But magnesium is only a big deal if you care about having strong teeth and bones, not cramping during your workouts, how effectively your heart pumps, and your blood pressure. Y’know, just a few somewhat important things like that.
Vitamin K Deficiency
An important analysis conducted by Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer….
Average intakes of vitamin K in the United States and the United Kingdom are less even than currently recommended intakes, which are primarily based on levels to ensure adequate coagulation.
Unfortunately, that article recommends the typical plant vitamin K sources like spinach and Swiss chard, completely ignoring even better sources, namely animal foods. I pointed out in this fat-soluble vitamins series, that vitamin K2 is at least as important as K1 and showed some great sources like egg yolks, butter, ground beef, and liver.
I won’t run through all of the various effects of vitamin K since I’ve already done so in here. If you didn’t read that series the first time, you might want to check it out to learn more about the oh-so-important fat-soluble vitamins.
Vitamin D Deficiency
I think vitamin D is so important that I can’t really touch on it enough. And I know that I’ve written about it quite a few times. So if you want to know what vitamin D does and how having adequate levels affects you, check out these two articles:
Get Your Vitamin D Checked: Why And How?
Just How Important Is Vitamin D?
Also, one of my readers sent me this article written by his girlfriend (or fiancee or perhaps even wife) which goes a bit more in-depth than I’ve ever gone: Vitamin D Sources, Supplementation and Toxicity. Unfortunately I can’t recall who sent it to me, but thanks!
Check this out…from Ms. Perciavalle’s page:
Vitamin D deficiency is now considered to be a pandemic. Approximately 1 billion people worldwide have deficient levels of Vitamin D.
So while the media is concerned with a supposed H1N1 pandemic, one-sixth of the people in the world are deficient in vitamin D (and I’m betting a huge number that aren’t “deficient” are sub-optimal). Go check out those links to see all of the various effects of being deficient in D.
How To Resolve Vitamin And Mineral Deficiencies
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, just a high-level view at a few of the vitamin deficiencies that people don’t notice, but which cause numerous effects that are typically chalked up to “aging”. I strongly believe that most of these issues can be resolved pretty simply. And I don’t mean loading up on supplements.
Eat Real Food
For starters, we need to just Eat Real Food. No matter how fortified or enriched your packaged, processed foods are, they will never compare to real, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, and meats. So eat your grass-fed meats, poultry, eggs, and wild seafood. Load your plate up with vegetables and fruits. Snack on nuts. And ditch everything that says “Now With Added X”.
Your body needs plenty of healthy fats. Get rid of the highly processed polyunsaturated fats and go with stable fats like coconut oil and palm oil and the fat from grass-fed animals. These the healthy fats that your body craves and that retain all of their vitamins.
Eat Organic And Grass-Fed
Some studies say organic food has more nutrients than non-organic food. Other studies say it doesn’t. Regardless, I think organic is a better bet, if for no other reason than that the pesticides and fertilizers left on the food represent a toxic load for your body to deal with. I’d also imagine, though I’m guessing, that dealing with these toxins requires some level of vitamins and minerals, perhaps exacerbating nutrient deficiencies. Certain produce items have been shown to have higher pesticide contamination levels and should be your first choice for going organic.
I also found some interesting information showing that low vitamin A diets lead to increased intramuscular fat storage (i.e., marbling) in cows (I bet it does the same in humans…). You can bet feedlot farms are using that to their advantage to increase the grading of their meat, while decreasing the vitamin content of the actual meat. There’s yet another reason to eat grass-fed meats.
Should You Take Supplements?
Finally, I do take a few supplements in small amounts (and one in big amounts). I take zinc and magnesium due to my workout load, along with a large daily dose of vitamin D after testing very low, and I take a whole foods-based multivitamin as a cheap insurance policy. Other than that, nothing. I think loading up on vitamin C or E or whatever probably causes more issues than it cures since vitamins need to exist in ratios in the body, not just in mass quantities.
If you do think you need to shore up a few nutrient deficiencies, Vitamin Shoppe carries a wide range of supplements, including zinc, magnesium, and vitamin D. Just remember to look to real food first, supplements second.
What other ways do you see to shore up nutrient deficiencies?
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30 Reader Comments
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I started on Vit D in March after one of your posts linking the testing available for an ongoing study. I was a little low and increased my Vit D to 4000 IU daily. Now I am in the normal range, but still the low end and therefore might bump up my dose a bit for winter.
Question on zinc. How much do you take? I have wondered if I am low but it seems like there was an issue with inhibiting copper uptake or some such mineral, I don’t recall for sure. Seeing how many people are deficient, how can one determine if levels are low, since there isn’t a blood test as readily available as for the Vit D?
I also take magnesium, just 400 mg daily to supplement my reasonable diet.
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It is so sad that in our overfed states, Americans are do vitamin deficient. I read an article some time ago about a little girl who was obese and admitted to the hospital for scurvy! I never believed that someone could get scurvy in this day and age, but there ya go. McDonald’s all day long just won’t nourish.
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Great article. I think the “low fat” medical advice has been the most devastating claim ever made and we still suffer from it. People are afraid of naturally fatty foods and instead opt for more processed low fat versions. Lack of natural fat in real foods means less essential fat soluble vitamins and minerals. Add in more sugar and you have a body that will not function properly in the long run.
Like in this past post of Scott’s I re-read makes the point, we need a complete mental attitude change…..we need to eat “food”, not “nutrients”.
http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2007/11/07/eat-food-not-nutrients/
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I was under the impression that iodine deficiency was pretty common as well. Anyone have any thoughts?
http://www.cheeseslave.com/2008/11/25/notes-on-iodine-deficiency/
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What scares me is that there are so many overweight and obese people in the world, so people are obviously eating too much, yet they are not getting enough vitamins and minerals in the things they do eat.
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[...] “How Our Modern Lifestyle Causes Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies” CrossFit -or- GPP anyone? [...]
The only supplement I take right now is vitamin D. Unfortunately, based on talking with other chemists that work in water treatment facilities (for port-a-potties of all things), most supplements get passed right through the human body without being absorbed.
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Mike OD Reply:
@ Greg – “most supplements get passed right through the human body without being absorbed.”…..BINGO! Another reason people need to focus more on eating real foods. All these vitamins and minerals in isolation sound nice….too bad the body has a different plan for absorbing/using them.
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Rodney, I take 50mg each day, which is the amount in a ZMA supplement, though I take zinc and mag separately. There is an issue with copper uptake with zinc, so hyperdosing on zinc (or copper or any other vitamin/mineral) is a bad idea. There is a taste test with zinc that I got through Dr. Garrett Smith at http://www.doctorasteacher.com. It was like $8 for a bottle that’ll yield quite a few tests.
Hiit Mama and Brooki, it is quite the anomaly huh? That we can be at once overfed and undernourished. That’s the result of food subsidies that focus on producing tons of calories, not nutrition.
Mike, good oldie. I forgot about that one!
Josh, good point. I take iodine too. I was having cramping problems in my calves at track meets between events (and also while playing a few very fast songs on the drums in my forearms). I talked to Dr. Smith (linked above) and he suggested iodine…after a few weeks of that, the cramping was resolved. He said he’s seen “Restless Legs Syndrome” clear up with iodine. It seems to affect us healthy folks more because we don’t eat much iodized salt, opting instead for sea salt.
Greg, that sounds like a sh*tty job! Yes, it was easy, but I couldn’t resist. =D A lot of pharmaceuticals get passed right through too. I typically try to take mine after eating so that they are in the stomach longer and with some digestive juices going.
Cheers
Scott
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Thank you for this timely article. Like another reader commented earlier, I too got from one of your articles about the importance of vitamin D and decided to get tested. Boy, was I surprised! I thought I would least have a decent vitamin D level since I am out doors alot in summer but I was mistaken. My vitamin D level did not even come up to the reference level of 25. I also found out that you need to be out doors between 11-1 PM in order to get the rays your body needs to convert and I was avoiding being outside in that window of time. So, I started taking 5000 IU vitamin D every day.
I consider myself pretty healthy but I need to now concentrate on the minerals and see where I am because I do not take any daily multi vitamins. I try to load up on whole healthy foods by eating grass fed beef, organic chicken, free range eggs, organic vegetables and fruits, organic nuts, and drink raw milk. My milk lady even makes me delicious butter from the raw cream (to die for!).
I am attending a workshop on vitamins and minerals tomorrow given by a compounding pharmacist (who doesn’t believe in taking drugs even though he is a pharmacist) so I will be interested in hearing his information. I will re-post anything coming out of this workshop if I think it has some merit.
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How true this article is! While I have been eating a paleo diet for many years, I still developed deficiencies. We are simply natural beings living in an unnatural world. I just started seeing a naturopath and starting adding a higher dose of Vitamin D, B12 and some amino acids. I also have adrenal fatigue which I think is also a big reason I have depletions (esp. magnesium). In our modern world we brag about not getting any sleep and totally exhausting ourselves. I’ve learned to just simply do my best each day. I also have found that Fruit Advantage tart cherry juice has been a godsend for my sleep and recovery.
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I find it interesting that breast fed babies are now supplementing with vitamin D. You would think that breast milk would be ‘perfect’ for infants, but turns out that many of today’s infants are vitamin D deficient. If you think about it, 100 years ago, women would have their babies, then strap them on their backs and go back outside farming/gardening and caring for their families. Today we never expose our infants to the sun, hence the lack of Vitamin D.
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Citrus fruits like oranges contain lots of vitamin C, so eat up!
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It’s unfortunate how modern life just seems so against what’s natural and healthy for us.
Sometimes I wish I could just live on a farm.
Regarding supplements – all I take is fish oil, and also Sea Salt to sprinkle here and there on food.
Celtic Sea Salt and Himalayan (pink salt) are good. Very pure, natural and high in minerals. I use it in cooking mainly, or just in a tall glass of water in the morning.
I’ve never really felt comfortable with conventional supplements/multivitamins, to be honest… the proof is in the loo after you pee. It just doesn’t seem right.
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@ Greg- Might want to re-think your Vitamin strategy. I was “D” deficient and started taking 5,000 IU a day. After a couple of months I felt great- then I got I got kidney stones. I’m 51 and had never had kidney stones. Come to find out, you need Magnesium to balance out the “D”. I recommend a Multi-vitamin, Vitamin D, Magnesium and Calcium at a minimum. Others as required by your unique needs.
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Thanks for the reply Scott, and awesome article.
What kind of iodine do you take if you don’t mind me asking?
And have you noticed any benefits while taking ZMA, I’ve heard it gives you crazy dreams…
I’ve been thinking about trying out Vit B12, but apparantly capsules and tablets aren’t absorbed very well.
Does anyone take Vit B12?
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Ok. Here is the lowdown on the vitamin presentation I attended by my trusted compound pharmacist. His presentation was timely titled “The Truth About Vitamins and the Immune System”.
Immune boosting supplements -
Good multiple vitamins you take multiple times a day
Omega-3 oils
– distilled for PCBs and mercury
– 1500 – 2500mg of active ingredients (need to check on the back label)
Zinc 50mg per day
Vitamin D 2000 iu per day
Vitamin C 3000 mg per day
Selenium 200mcg per day (eat 3 Brazil nuts a day as an equivalent)
Beta-glucan 30-300mg per day
Mushroom extracts
Probiotics 10 to 20 billion cultures per day
Garlic one – two tablets per day
He commented on taking good vitamins by knowing the manufacturer and how they process their products since all vitamins are not created equal – some are not fully absorbed by your body (like Centrum).
In line with the deficiency chart in this article, this pharamcist takes Ortho Molecular Vitamin K2 with D3 (K2 for his heart) which has 5000 iu vitamin D3 and 45 mcg of vitamin K2.
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Lisa, thanks for the information. That’s good stuff!
Patricia, I love my sleep and get 7-9 hours per night. Sleep is probably the second most important variable, very closely behind nutrition. And getting enough sleep helps you make better choices due to the hormonal effects.
Jessica, a lot of our issues of sickness seem to go back to vitamin D. I know that I feel much better (and I already felt good) since starting 10k IU of vitamin D daily.
Christopher, good point. It’s all about balance.
Josh, I don’t mind you asking.
I forgot to check last night. I’ll check this weekend and get back to you. I got it from Dr. G at http://www.doctorasteacher.com. It was pretty cheap and only takes a drop daily.
Cheers
Scott
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Josh, it’s just called “Iodide Solution” from Hollywood Health Products.
Cheers
Scott
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Iodine in salt is not good enough…it is not properly utllized by the body, and must be supplemented with a proper Sea Iodine, according to my doc. .I have always used iodized salt, and came up deficient…One source is Life Extension, down ikn FLL, and the supplement is called Sea Iodine. Just thought you might want to know.
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I would also like to add that birth control pills can cause vitamin deficiencies as well.
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Great info, thanks for sharing! A few months ago I found out I was Vitamin D deficient, and apparently so is a large chunk of the population. In addition to supplements, my doctor recommended a little more unprotected time in the sun. We’re apparently become too obsessive with the SPF number. I do think vitamins and supplements play an important role in overall health.
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Good point on magnesium and cramping as it can be a good sign of deficiency. Magnesium and calcium work together and when the muscles start cramping it’s likely that the lack of magnesium is resulting in calcium not getting into the muscle cells and cramping occurs.
With zinc deficiency as well, white spots on your nails can be a sign your zinc deficient. But it can also indicate too many parasites in the gut. So it’s always good to have tests done for any deficiency so an accurate dosage of the vitamin/mineral can be provided without causing toxicity from consuming too much at any one time.
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It’s also worth noting that carbohydrates deplete the body of B vitamins – this has been established since the ’20s, is probably a contributing factor to grain-based deficiencies like pellagra and beriberi, and is never ever stated publicly for some reason – and *probably* vitamin C as well. Proteins and fats do not have this effect.
If you eat carbohydrates, be sure that they are rich in water-soluble vitamins and fairly low in sugar and starch (i.e. green vegetables, berries, nuts.)
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Also, many of these deficiencies could be eliminated simply by eating more of the original primal superfood, liver, especially of the grass-fed variety, because it is extremely rich in most vitamins and minerals. 4 ounces of grain-fed liver (which is surely low in vitamin K2 compared to its grass-fed counterpart) contains well over the RDA for most of the micronutrients listed in the article, particularly vitamin A (~800%!) and copper.
If only Americans weren’t so terrified of organ meats and the cholesterol bogeyman; then liver might be recognized as the terrific, nourishing food it is.
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Mike OD Reply:
@Icarus – Very good point about the liver and organ meats. Even the strongmen from long ago stressed the importance of eating liver. Sadly unless you are in a place where people have learned to naturally eat/use the whole animal, or stuck out in the wild and have no other choice…the majority of people will opt for the quick and easy route of processed foods/grains especially with people working 10+ hours a day….and the ongoing vitamin and mineral deficiencies will continue to run rampant.
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A decent paper about vit d deficiency in kids
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/5/1404
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[...] skim is what’s always recommended), the body can’t absorb them without fat. Read on…How Our Modern Lifestyle Causes Vitamin And Mineral Deficiencies – post your [...]
I have recently completed my third marathon and what I noticed is that I have been craving seafood such as sardines, oysters and salmon. Even when running I was thinking about oysters, so weird hey! Could it be possible that my body is telling me I need zinc and omegas?
I’ve heard of pregnant women having cravings but runners!?!
Amelia
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Mike OD Reply:
@Amelia – The body craves things usually for a good reason (except processed sugar, as sugar is not supposed to be so widely plentiful in the natural food world). Craving fat could be sign of the body depleted of essential fat soluble vitamins and minerals (which there are many of). Also people who are on the verge of “rabbit starvation” (high protein, low fat, low calories) will start to crave fatty meats as a survival instinct. Marathons (and all the training) take a large toll on your body, and if you are craving fat it may be trying to tell you something.
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Dr Davis linked to a study showing 15% of Americans iodine deficient. He says he is finding lots of goiters in his clinical practice.
Peter at hyperlipid just posted on how hyperglycaemia causes kidney stones, by causing excess elimination of magnesium. What causes hyperglycemia? Insulin resistance caused by fructose. So a mechanism for magnesium deficiency.
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[...] our modern lifestyle cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies? Have a read of this article and then tell me what you [...]
Hi All, It is a well know fact that we eat too many omega 6 fats, mainly from grains and grain oils, and too few omega 3 fats. It is estimated that 90% of the population is omega 3 deficient, bringing with it a host of health disorders from hypertension, diabetes, obesity, etc, to depression and mood swings.
This omega 3 deficiency would not go away taking flaxseed or eating a few fish a week. You have take stronger measures like supplementing with fish oil, cod liver oil or krill oil everyday, the real bio available omega 3 oils.
If you want to read more go to http://www.omega-3-fish-oil-wonders.com/omega-3-fish-oil-deficiency.html
Best wishes,
Alfredoe
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