Did this ever happen to you? You’re driving along without a care in the world when you suddenly notice something strange. Although you’re putting your foot on the gas pedal, your car is slowing down, not speeding up. You look down at the dashboard and realize with shock that the car has run out of gas as you slow down to a crawling halt.
Just like your car needs gasoline, transmission fluid, engine oil, and coolant, your body requires vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, fatty acids, and other phytonutrients in order to keep its organs, systems, and processes running smoothly.
People who don’t have a lot of variety in their food choices, eat mostly processed or fast foods, have food intolerances or allergies, have certain health conditions, or avoid particular food groups like carbohydrates or animal products, may end up with nutrient deficiencies.
Are You Meeting Your Daily Nutritional Needs?
Every “body” needs a different amount of nutrients to function optimally. The amount you should consume depends on your age, sex, health, how physically active you are, and if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.
The Food and Drug Administration established Daily Values (DVs) for each nutrient in order to help us understand which nutrients we need to stay healthy. You can find DVs on food and dietary supplement labels in order to help you navigate your daily nutritional needs.
Nutrients are essential for a wide range of processes in the body, from the regeneration of bones and muscles to the removal of waste products; the production of nerve signals to the creation of enzymes, and much more. If nutritional needs aren’t being met, a breakdown may occur and our body may start to “complain.”
Signs of Nutrient Deficiency
It can be easy to miss the warning signs our bodies are sending us in our jam-packed, fast-paced lives. The fact that nutritional deficiencies don’t show up overnight, but build up over time, can also make them tricky to notice. If you’re not sure whether you’re meeting your body’s needs, here are some telltale signs that you might not be getting enough nutrition.
Feeling Tired
Frequent lack of energy can be a sign of anemia, or iron deficiency. Without enough iron, your body can’t produce sufficient hemoglobin — a compound in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen. This can leave you feeling tired and out of breath. Other signs of anemia include pale skin, weakness, fast heartbeat, and lightheadedness. Low energy levels can also be a sign that you aren’t eating enough protein.
Foods rich in iron include animal products like meat, shellfish, and fish — these are also great sources of protein. If you steer clear of animal products, dark leafy greens and legumes, such as lentils, are also great sources of iron. You can also boost iron absorption by including a vitamin C-rich food when eating plant sources of iron. For example, a great pairing would be a spinach salad with tomatoes.
Other vitamin deficiencies that can cause fatigue are lack of magnesium, potassium, vitamin B12, and folate. If you’re feeling unusually tired or weak, it’s time to commit to a balanced diet full of all of the food groups. If you need extra help filling nutritional gaps, Pure Synergy® Superfood is the way to go. With a diverse blend of 62 organic ingredients including: leafy greens, fruits, sprouts, algae, mushrooms, herbs, and adaptogens, it feeds your cells a concentrated and comprehensive mix of nutrients and fosters sustained, vibrant energy.
Thin Hair & Weak Nails
Multiple nutrient deficiencies can cause hair loss or thinning and lead to weak, brittle nails. If you notice some unhealthy changes in your hair and nails you may not be getting enough of vitamin D, vitamin C, iron, zinc, calcium, protein, and/or essential fatty acids.
The best way to remedy this is to focus on “eating a rainbow” of fresh fruits and vegetables, and consuming plenty of protein and complex carbohydrates. Taking a high-quality multivitamin can also help ensure you are meeting all of your daily nutritional needs.
Slow Healing Wounds
The skin is a vibrant organ that functions as a physical and immunological barrier between the outside world and the inside of our bodies. Not getting enough nutrients in your diet can have a negative effect on how your skin looks and how it heals.
If you bruise easily or your wounds take longer than usual to mend, your diet may be lacking in vitamin C, which helps tissue repair itself, or vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting. Most fruits and many veggies are rich in vitamin C and dark leafy greens are high in vitamin K.
Weakened Immune System
Does it feel like every time you get over a cold, you get another one in its place? The culprit could be that you aren’t getting enough nutrition. Vitamins C, E, and A are antioxidants that support the body’s natural immune response. Zinc is a mineral that helps boost germ-fighting white blood cells.
Apart from eating your daily fruits and vegetables, you can also get a vitamin C boost from Pure Radiance C®, a 100% natural vitamin C supplement made with 11 organic berries and fruits.
Excellent sources of vitamin A include carrots, sweet potatoes, and leafy green vegetables. Nuts, seeds, spinach, and broccoli are abundant in vitamin E, while sources of zinc include nuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and beans.
Dental Problems
If you are diligent about brushing and flossing your teeth every day, but you still have swollen, or bleeding gums, it might be a sign that you aren’t getting enough vitamin C. In severe cases, vitamin C deficiency can lead to tooth decay or even tooth loss.
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient, which means that our bodies cannot produce it, so we must get it on a daily basis from our diet or from supplements. The recommended daily amount for vitamin C is 90 milligrams per day for adults. A sure-fire way to get your daily C is by eating one large orange, one cup of strawberries, guava, papaya fruit, or red or green peppers. If you don’t have fresh produce at hand, having a high-quality C supplement is a great back-up plan.
Brain Drain
If you're finding it hard to concentrate, or catch yourself in a bad mood more often than not, it could be that you are feeling the effects of nutrient deficiency. A variety of nutrients are vital for healthy brain and cognitive function as well as maintaining a healthy mood. Some of these brain boosters are omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, choline, as well as vitamins C, D, and E.
Again, a balanced diet is best, but a whole-food multivitamin is also good insurance that you’ll get your daily nutritional needs met. Multi•Vita•Min™ has 13 essential vitamins and 7 core minerals that are made with organic vegetables and fruits that are easy to absorb and gentle on the stomach.
Reduced Night Vision
Our eyes are incredibly complex organs that need a host of nutrients to keep them healthy. If you are finding it harder to see in the wee hours of the night, you may not be consuming enough vitamin A. This vitamin plays a vital role in allowing us to see in low light conditions.
Plant-based phytonutrients like carotenoids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and polyphenols also play a critical role in nourishing, cleansing, and protecting our eyes. For example, lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids, found in dark leafy greens, that are particularly important for eye and vision health. If you want an extra vision boost, you could also try Eye Protector®, a comprehensive blend of botanical extracts and concentrates that nourish and support healthy vision and eyes.
Up Your Nutrient Intake
If you’re noticing any of the above signs, it’s time to start replacing empty calories with nutrient-dense foods. You can start by eating at least five servings of fruits, berries, and vegetables each day. Ten servings would be even better. Sound like a lot? You can build up to it! Three servings with both lunch and dinner, one or two servings with breakfast and a snack, and voila! You’ve got your daily nutritional needs covered.
If you can’t manage it every day, it’s completely understandable. That’s why dietary supplements were invented! Just be sure that the vitamins that you choose can be absorbed and utilized by your body, and are not packed with chemical additives, solvents, or preservatives. Pure Synergy Vitamins are made with organic whole-foods, not synthetic isolates, so they’re full of co-factors, co-enzymes, and phytonutrients that work synergistically to enhance absorption.
Another simple way to ensure you’re giving your body the nutrients that it needs is by taking Pure Synergy Superfood. Just one spoonful in water, juice, your smoothie, or yogurt gives you a wealth of nutrient-dense, organic ingredients that most people don’t get in their daily diets, like energy boosting algae, sprouts, grass juices, and much more.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
