SIGNS YOU’RE LACKING SOME NUTRIENTS

INTRODUCTION 
A day or week off of your healthy routine diet wont be so bad. You get to make unhealthy food choices and all, but, when it becomes a habit, there would be obvious signs to show that some vital vitamins are lacking.
You should really pay attention to eating and living healthy to avoid these signs, but when they occur, then there is always a dietary solution.

HAIR LOSS
Normally, per day, you might lose about 100 strands of hair a day. But if you notice that each time after shower, you lose big chunks of hair, or, after sleep, you notice big chunks of hair on your pillow, then you might just be low on iron. Iron deficiency is about the most common nutrient deficiency in the world. You might need to do a blood test to check your levels. Recommended daily intake from diet per day is is 11.5–13.7 mg/day in children aged 2–11 years, 15.1 mg/day in children and teens aged 12–19 years, and 16.3–18.2 mg/day in men and 12.6–13.5 mg/day in women older than 19. Eat more iron-rich foods, like:
• Lean beef
• Poultry
• Spinach
• Beans
• Cashews

UNEXPLAINED FATIGUE
If you’re easily worn out even when the 3 S’s — sleep, stress, and sickness are not involved, then maybe it’s time to check your vitamin D levels. Your body doesn’t have the ability to make this vitamin, making it unique. The sun is the major source of this vitamin, but some foods can also help increase the availability of the vitamin and keep you from getting easily fatigued. They include:
• Tuna
• Salmon
• Fortified foods like milk, and cereal
Or talk to your doctor about a supplement.

BURNING MOUTH SYNDROME
This condition can make your gums, lips, the inside of your cheek, and roof of your mouth feel like there’s an inferno inside of you. Or your mouth might be dry or numb. One of the things that causes it is a shortage of B vitamins like folate, thiamin, and B6. To boost the B6 in your diet, eat more:
• Beans
• Bananas
• Spinach
• Fortified cereals

DRY SKIN
Is your skin always dry and scaly like a reptile’s? Maybe you are just low on vitamin A. One of vitamin A’s many jobs is to grow and maintain the tissues that cover every surface of your body, inside and out. Apart from your skin, your lips too might also be dry because of low levels of vitamin A. to make up for this, you should take more of these vitamin A food sources:
• Leafy green vegetables like spinach and kale
• Orange vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots
• Orange fruits like cantaloupe and apricots

SPOON NAILS
When your body doesn’t have enough iron as it should, it literally show on the strength and shape of your fingernails. They may become soft and bend away from your finger at the edges, creating a spoon-like shape. This could also be a sign of hemochromatosis, a condition that causes your body to absorb too much iron. Infants’ nails may spoon at first, but it goes away as they get older. If this happens to you, see your doctor for a blood test to find the cause.
Foods rich in iron include
– Oyster
– Beef
– Cereals fortified with iron
– Vegetables
– Nuts
– Soy
– Chick pea
– Cashew
– Tuna fish etc.

CRACKS AT THE CORNERS OF YOUR MOUTH
Angular chelitis is the term for breaking or cracks at the corner of the lips. Sometimes, it starts as dry or irritated skin at one or both corners of your mouth and can turn into painful, bleeding sores.. If it doesn’t go away when you use lip balm, it could be a sign that you’re low in iron or B vitamins like riboflavin. Riboflavin-rich foods include:
• Eggs
• Lean meats
• Milk
• Green vegetables like asparagus and broccoli

SWOLLEN TONGUE
Your tongue can get swollen and have a glossy look when there is lack of some B vitamins like folic acid, niacin, riboflavin and B12. riboflavin, and B12. The condition is called glossitis. To get more B12, choose:
• Fish
• Meat
• Milk
• Eggs
• Fortified cereals

APATHY
The B vitamin folate, also called folic acid, helps your body make red blood cells and create the chemicals that regulate sleep patterns and mood. When you don’t get enough, you may feel forgetful, weak, and apathetic (which means you lack energy and enthusiasm). Step up your folate levels with these:
• Fortified cereal
• Chickpeas
• Asparagus
• Spinach
• Okro

BRUISES
The most abundant protein on your skin is collagen. It holds everything together, including your skin cells. If you notice more bruises than usual, you may be low in vitamin C which is a key element in collagen. You’re at of sustaining much bruises on your skin risk if you:
• Have an eating disorder
• Eat little due to illness
• Have a severe digestive condition
• Smoke
Focus on fruits and veggies, especially:
• Bell peppers
• Citrus fruit
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli

CONCLUSION 

The signs that you’re lacking nutrients are very glaring, and when you notice them, it’s adviceable to top your intake of those nutrients from natural food sources or supplements if its adverse.

SOURCES: webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-not-enough-nutrients