Vitamin deficiency - causes, symptoms and therapy

White rice and black teeth - vitamin deficiency

Vitamin deficiency can have significant health consequences. A very one-sided diet can lead to a condition of deficiency. All kinds of diseases can arise or be favored. The human body needs only very small amounts of some vitamins, but it is often still not clear how it uses them. A vitamin deficiency can cause serious medical problems, leading to serious illnesses such as rickets, scurvy or beriberi and death.

contents

• White rice and black teeth - vitamin deficiency
• Hungry and a handful of rice
• Scurvy - the curse of seafaring
• Symptoms: bumps and tooth loss
• Sauerkraut saves lives
• The letter C
• Treatment for scurvy
• What causes vitamin C deficiency yet?
• Rickets - When the bones become soft
• Beriberi - "I can not"
• thiamine deficiency
• Death by white rice
• pellagra
• Symptoms of pellagra
• Xerophthalmia - deficiency of vitamin A.
• The Perishable Blood Deficiency - Megaloblastic Anemia
• Anemia and alcoholism
• Problems with blood clotting
• biotin deficiency
• Lack of vitamin B2: pink tongue and torn lips
• B12 deficiency: brain disorder and psychosis
• Tingling fingers - Vitamin B 5
• The fragile beauty - Vitamin E
• Help for developing countries

Hungry and a handful of rice

Illnesses as a result of vitamin deficiency are called hypovitaminoses. There are three main causes for this: malnutrition, malnutrition and problems in taking up vitamins as well as processing them.

Malnutrition often leads to multiple vitamin deficiencies. (Image: soupstock / fotolia.com)

Malnutrition often causes a multiple vitamin deficiency. The patients suffer from an inflamed tongue (lack of vitamin B6), anemia (lack of B7) and bleeding gums (lack of vitamin C), for example..

In industrialized countries, vitamin deficiency can be easily corrected. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine in Germany, the terrible consequences of even the lack of a single vitamin - rotten gums and a crippled spine, scurvy or rickets plague, however, countless people today.

Scurvy - the curse of seafaring

The stereotype pirate wears eyepatch and wooden leg, and indeed many 18th-century buccaneers were lost limbs in battles and accidents. However, people who spent most of their time on the seas were seldom eyes or legs at that time, but often had no teeth left in their mouths - scurvy claimed more victims than the sea war.

"It's terrible: your gums became so rotten that all flesh fell to the roots of your teeth and almost all of them failed. With such contagiousness spreading across our three ships, in mid-February, of the 100 people we were, ten were no longer healthy. "Jacques Cartier, 1542, on an expedition into the St. Lawrence River on scurvy

Scurvy, the result of a lack of vitamin C, was already known to the ancient Romans and Egyptians, but its cause remained in the dark for a long time. However, Hippocrates and the Emperor Tiberius were already aware of the positive effects of sauerkraut on their health, and Tiberius wrote it to his soldiers as a compulsory meal.

Soybeans for circumnavigators
The cause of scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency. Even the Chinese medicine of the past could not know about vitamins, but resorted to the right means to prevent them.

In 1405, the Chinese admiral Zhan He launched his "dragon fleet" for a circumnavigation of the world. It was one of the largest seafaring projects of all time: 300 ships, some of them up to 50 times larger than those of Columbus or Vasco da Gama, 120 meters long and 30 meters wide and a total of 28,000 men set sail.

They toured India, Arabia, and East Africa, and some historians speculate that Zhan We discovered America.

Chinese seafarers avoided vitamin C deficiency by planting soybeans on a ship. (Image: domnitsky / fotolia.com)

A logistical peak performance. The health of the sailors was guaranteed by the Chinese by planting soybeans on extra hauls. When they germinate, they produce vitamin C - the danger was banned.

In Europe, however, the "marauding death" robbed the crews until the 18th century and usually started on long journeys over the sea. The affected people felt limp, their muscles ached, in some dark red patches formed on the skin.

Scurvy had a rich harvest among sailors, especially in the age of great discoveries, that is, since the 15th century: Vasco da Gama, who explored the sea route to India, lost on his first trip 100 out of 160 men due to scurvy. The first voyage of the English East India Company in 1600 cost every fourth of the 480 lives, and in 1741 four out of every five sailors who had left with Lord Anson died.

Vitamin deficiency instead of seafaring
But not only sailors were among the victims. Hansa, the "Zeitschrift für deutsches Maritime Affairs", discussed in 1865: "Most dangerous, however, was the disease when a country was devastated by long wars or in cities that were besieged for a long time. So had e.g. the French during the siege of Alexandria by the Turks and English from May to August 1801 3,500 Scorbutkranke in the hospitals. Similarly, scurvy was common in prisons and prisons at the beginning of this century. These examples show clearly enough that the scurvy is not a disease peculiar to the reptiles, although it was most often fatal to them. "

Symptoms: bumps and tooth loss

The journal "Hansa" also describes the symptoms plastically: "The first signs of scurvy usually consist of a change in the complexion, which loses its healthy appearance and becomes pale and dull. Added to this is dejection, aversion to any movement, rapid fatigue and pain in thighs and calves caused by overexertion. "

In this first phase, the symptoms are still non-specific and can also indicate other inflammations or intoxications. An advanced scurvy is but unmistakable, so the magazine of the German Maritime: "The gums are spongy and swollen, takes a dark red color, especially where it comes into contact with the teeth, and bleeds at the slightest touch."

Then spots and bumps appear: "On the skin, especially on the thighs and hips, sometimes also on the upper body and the arms, appear small round red spots, which gradually increase to the size of a hand and turn green, blue and yellow, too swell like shock bumps. "

Swollen gums and tooth loss are typical symptoms of scurvy. (Image: irinaorel / fotolia.com)

In addition, the calves swell: "Another sign of scurvy is the swelling of the calf and buttock of one or both legs, which results in stiffness of the knee joint. These swollen parts are very painful with every movement, and you can not impress with your finger. "

The skin is bloodshot, the face turns yellow-brownish, the gums swell and turn black-yellow, black spongy lumps cover the teeth. The teeth wobble and fall out.

At the slightest effort, even when sitting down or getting up, the patients suffer from shortness of breath and shiver, often fainting.

Sauerkraut saves lives

The doctors puzzled over the causes of horror and concluded incorrect conclusions from correct observations. Because on tropical journeys far fewer sailors fell ill than in the cold Nordic waters, the climate was considered as a trigger.

True, it is true that moisture and moisture make the symptoms worse. However, there is a clear explanation why scurvy was scarcely spread in warm countries and symptoms were reduced at the onset of the disease: seamen in the eastern Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Mozambique or the Malabar Coast took oranges, lemons , Mango and Papaja, providing the vital vitamin C..

Although many physicians considered a wrong diet to be crucial, they did not think about vitamin C donors, but saw the meatballs as disease-makers and wanted to replace them with fresh meat.

In 1753, the English naval doctor Dr. James Lind states that sauerkraut heals scurvy. He examined twelve patients, which foods affect the disease. He gave them, among other things, vinegar, seawater, oranges, lemons, cider and dilute sulfuric acid. He found out that the sailors who ate citrus fruits regained their gums. Sauerkraut and potatoes also reduced the symptoms.

Lind now made lists of food for the Navy to carry. James Cook, the discoverer of Australia, adhered to the advice and brought countless barrels of sauerkraut on their third trip in 1776, in addition tons of lemons.

From then on, British sailors were given lemon juice every day, earning them the nickname "Limey" in America.

Scurvy was now under control, though no one knew why lemons and sauerkraut helped against the plague.

Today, fresh fruit and vitamin tablets ensure that ship crews no longer suffer from scurvy. (Image: cirquedesprit / fotolia.com)

The letter C

It remains unknown for a long time who thwarted the scurvy. The British Jack Drummer referred to this substance in 1919 as C. In 1920, vitamin C was isolated from lemons, followed a little later by pepper and cabbage.

Vitamin C, ascorbic acid supports the connective tissue. If our organism does not receive any vitamin C for a long time, it can not produce collagen and thus not keep the tissue stable. Because of this, the gums go limp, stains form on the skin, the veins tear open, and the nose bleeds - scurvy. Ship crews today eat fresh fruit, power bars and vitamin C tablets and are thus spared scurvy.

Meanwhile, scurvy is not defeated globally and can not be defeated unless people have access to vitamin C. Thus, famine in the Sahel or India necessarily leads to scurvy, as well as suffering from people who feed only on peeled rice or canned food. There have recently been cases of scurvy in Australia, an Indutria state, where a sufficient intake of vitamin C is possible at all times. Here, however, just as in the US: Who feeds only from the deep fryer, which takes in industrialized countries too little vitamin C to.

The magazine "Hansa" wrote in 1865: "Sour cabbage, which is well-known in Germany, is an excellent foodstuff to prevent scurvy, and introduced under the name" Sour-krout "in the English and American Navy."

Treatment for scurvy

Scurvy is easily cured by giving the patients vitamin C, either in the form of tablets or with appropriate food: raw sauerkraut, currants, strawberries, mangoes, passion fruit, limes, limes, oranges, grapefruit, mandarins or papaya, tomatoes, potatoes , green chilies.

If the teeth fail or hurt, it is advisable to squeeze out the fruit in a juicer and to give the patient the juice or to mix dairy foods with the vegetables and fruits.

Patients should also eat iron-containing foods and / or iron tablets. This is especially suitable liver. Iron deficiency belongs to scurvy, because vitamin C helps the body to absorb iron. Therefore, internal bleeding caused by iron deficiency is one of the symptoms of advanced scurvy.

Sauerkraut contains plenty of vitamin C and can therefore protect you from a deficiency. (Image: Daniel Vincek / fotolia.com)

What causes vitamin C deficiency yet?

Those who suffer from this deficiency get fat. A study by Arizona State University showed that subjects with very low levels of vitamin C burned 25% less fat than those with high levels. Vitamin C is involved in carnitine synthesis, which ensures that fatty acids in the body can be oxidized.

Asthma sufferers were found in a study in Cambridge as those with the lowest vitamin C levels. In this respect, vitamin C also plays a role in asthma.

Rickets - When the bones become soft

Rickets is a bone disease - caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus. This deficiency causes the bones to soften and no longer perform their task as a body support. The disease mainly affects children aged 6-24 months.

The body can produce vitamin D itself (that's why vitamin D is not a vitamin in the medical sense), but only if the metabolism works. Vitamin D allows the body to absorb calcium, and that's what's needed for the bones to grow. A vitamin D deficiency leads to bone fractures and deformations.

In rickets, the bones do not calcify, they are soft, malleable and twist. Body weight causes the ends of long bones to fray and push them outward like mushroom heads, so the knees are oversized and the joints are enlarged.

The knees fall in, the sternum comes out ("chicken breast"), the skull does not close, the forehead arches forward, and the pelvis buckles.

Beriberi - "I can not"

Beriberi refers to a deficit of vitamin B1 and is derived from the Sinhala phrase: "I can not.". Those affected suffer from cramps, weaknesses, muscle weakness is in muscle paralysis. Berberi damages the nerves, the heart and the blood circulation. Heart failure can result in death. In the past, one in two people died.

The limbs feel numb, the hearing is as disturbed as the sight. Weight loss is associated with brain damage, and an irregular heartbeat.

We take vitamin B1 over unpeeled legumes, muscle meat, liver and yeast. The term beriberi comes from the Chinese area, in Japan it was known as "yellow rice plague".

thiamine deficiency

Beriberi became a mass phenomenon, with millions of Asians in the late 19th century feeding almost exclusively on husked rice and industrial soy products. The Japanese considered moldy rice to be the cause of the moist beriberi, and in fact, the disease almost disappeared in Japan since moldy rice disappeared from the market.

Moldy rice was considered in Japan as a trigger for the moist Beriberi. (Image: mubus / fotolia.com)

The cause of beriberi, however, is a lack of thiamine, and it is possible that certain molds prevent the body from taking up thiamine. Chistiaan Eijkman discovered thiamine and saw it as a trigger for Beriberi, which brought him the 1929 Nobel Prize.

Around 1900, Beriberi had become a global problem: Brazilians suffered as well as people in Indonesia, and in China alone there were millions of people affected. Beriberi has never been a problem in Europe, and that has long led to the misconception that it is a tropical disease.

Death by white rice

The reason for the sufficient supply of vitamin B1 and thiamine, however, was in the European eating habits: In Europe, bread is a basis of nutrition. If it is whole grain or bread made from unpeeled cereals, then a supply of B1 is guaranteed. The yeast contained in the bread and beer also ensures a supply of vitamin B1.

In Asia, this was also clear: In India beriberi never became a "public epidemic" as in China. Namely, paddy rice supplies the body with B1, and in the widespread Parboiled Rice the vitamins are retained, whereas in modern China rice is basically white, ie peeled and lost vitamin B1.

In Europe, especially alcoholics risk the risk of thiamine deficiency, because alcohol in the body makes it difficult to store and absorb thiamine.

pellagra

"Dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and death" are the four Ds that characterize this vitamin B3 deficiency. The cause is a diet that mainly consists of corn. Europeans first became aware of the disease in northern Spain and called it "Asturian leprosy".

But the shortage of people suffered everywhere in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, where fresh meat rarely came on the table, and the daily diet consisted mainly of corn.

Symptoms of pellagra

The mouth turns red, the tongue swells, the sufferers suffer from diarrhea and lose memory. The skin becomes prone to infection, they have to vomit, and the feces are mixed with blood.

They can not sleep, feel exhausted and appear apathetic. Apathy develops into persistent depression, confusion, and those affected suffer from hallucinations. Then their limbs feel numb and they are no longer in control of their movements.

Patients need a diet rich in vitamin B3 (niacin), which includes liver, muscle, whole grain and bread.

A lot of vitamin B3 can be found in whole grain cereals and bread. (Image: photocrew / fotolia.com)

Xerophthalmia - deficiency of vitamin A.

The body needs vitamin A to build up the cells. The following foods contain carotenoids, which are necessary to ingest vitamin A: green leafy vegetables, carrots, red palm oil, mangoes and papajas. Preformed vitamin A is found in liver, breast milk, fish oil, eggs and dairy products.

A lack of vitamin A leads to eye disease and even blindness, an increased mortality rate, especially in infants and pregnant women. For young children, vitamin A deficiency is particularly dangerous because they need vitamin A for their growth. Children are also susceptible to infections and internal diseases, which in turn impede the absorption of vitamin A..

In xerophthalmia, the lacrimal glands do not produce enough fluid and their eyes dry out. As a result, the layers of the eyes, which protect the iris, pupils and the white in the eye, become inflamed. The eyes are silent, and those affected become night blind.

night-blindness
Vitamin A plays an essential role in the photoreceptor functions, and therefore, poor matching of vision to darkness is an early sign of a corresponding deficiency.

Affected children can no longer orient themselves in the dim light. Patients can not drive a car in low light, and even on a full moon night, they only see objects illuminated by car headlights.

Even though other symptoms are missing, night blindness is a good indication to test for vitamin A deficiency.

The Perishable Blood Deficiency - Megaloblastic Anemia

This form, also known as pernicious (malignant) anemia, describes a syndrome associated with impaired uptake of folic acid and vitamin B12. This is due, for example, to leukemia as a basic disease or to advanced alcoholism. The vitamin B12 and folic acid intake is also disturbed by the intake of gastric acid blockers and vegetarian / vegan are at risk.

If vitamin B12 and folic acid are missing, the red blood cells can not work effectively, the blood flow stops, and the body does not get enough oxygen.

Anemia and alcoholism

This vitamin and blood deficiency is shown by a tingling in the fingers and toes. Patients become tired, suffer from watery diarrhea, headache and loss of appetite.

To detect a B12 deficiency, they must go to the doctor, who will make a complete blood count and check how much B12 and folic acid the blood contains. Samples can also be taken from the bone marrow.

If leukemia is the underlying disease, increased doses of folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements are required. For alcoholics, it's all about abstaining from alcohol, and associated with a balanced diet.

Sources of vitamin B12 include salmon, cheese and mushrooms. (Image: bit24 / fotolia.com)

Vitamin B12 is found in meat, fish, eggs and milk. Vitamin B12 deficiency usually arises due to lack of a protein around stomach, the intrinsic factor. Without it, a person can not take vitamin B12, no matter how much it contains in their diet.

Anemia of vitamin B12 deficiency can be distinguished from the advanced symptoms of other anemia: those affected suffer from disorders of the peripheral nervous system, balance disorders during walking and dementia. If the deficiency is not corrected early, these disorders can become chronic.

The problem of many patients is that alcohol intoxication and alcoholism also cause dementia and balance disorders, even without vitamin B12 deficiency.

Problems with blood clotting

Vitamin K deficiency leads to an increased tendency to bleed because certain coagulation factors are dependent on vitamin K. Similar to hemophilia, even minor injuries can be dangerous.

Vitamin K is found in green leafy vegetables and olive oil, as well as in soybeans, green peas and beans, cress, asparagus, spinach, broccoli and wheat grains. A lack of this vitamin may be due to a gluten allergy or gluten intolerance (celiac disease), to cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease, blood-thinning drugs or severe burns.

A deficiency of this substance can lead to blood clots, symptoms include nosebleeds, blood in the urine and feces, black bowel movements or violent bleeding during the period.

biotin deficiency

Biotin, vitamin B7, supports the nervous system and is necessary for the metabolic processes. Biotin deficiency is very rare and an unusual disorder of nutrient uptake. Those who eat a balanced diet are hardly affected.

Hair loss can be a sign of biotin deficiency. (Image: Africa Studio / fotolia.com)

However, certain medications and diets can lead to this deficiency. First symptoms are fungal infections, hair loss, dry skin and rash. Appetite loss, weakness, depressive moods, dandruff, eczema and bad muscle reflexes are added.

If this deficit remains untreated, it can have dire consequences. Muscle pain and numbness in the limbs are physical symptoms. There is also tingling on the skin, hallucinations and hypersensitivity of the skin to stimulation.

The richest sources of biotin are liver, egg yolk and yeast, good suppliers are cheese, legumes, pork, salmon, avocado or raspberries.

Lack of vitamin B2: pink tongue and torn lips

A lack of riboflavin, the vitamin B2 shows through torn corners of the mouth and lips, a swollen throat, bloodshot eyes, a tongue in bright pink and too little red blood cells.

This disease is usually caused by an unbalanced diet, often whole groups of people are affected who permanently take too little food with vitamin B2. These include meat, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, green leafy vegetables and whole grains.

Torn corners of the mouth often occur with an insufficient supply of vitamin B2. (Image: frank29052515 / fotolia.com)

Even with a balanced diet, liver function disorders can trigger the symptoms because B2 can no longer be processed.

Above all, poor people in developing countries suffer from a deficiency of riboflavin. These have no access to just about all foods that contain B2.

People who need extra protein, such as competitive athletes and bodybuilders, are also at high risk of vitamin B2 deficiency.

B12 deficiency: brain disorder and psychosis

This deficit causes damage to the spinal cord and brain disorders that lead to involuntary movements. The disease spreads mainly in the third world, in the industrialized countries, vegans are the main risk group. The cause: Plants do not produce vitamin B12.

Omnivores get a vitamin B12 deficiency mainly due to gastrointestinal disorders.

Symptoms include limited thinking, depression, confusion, psychosis, altered reflexes, weakened muscles, an inflamed tongue, loss of taste, heart failure and infertility. Autists and schizophrenics have extremely low vitamin B 12 levels. To what extent, however, these trigger the disturbances, has not yet been explored.

Mushrooms for vegans?
Vitamin B12, together with vitamin B6 and folic acid, converts the toxic homocysteine ​​into a non-toxic substance. If vitamin B12 is lacking now, the toxin rises in blood and damages the blood vessels, which can lead to diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Especially B12 contains offal: kidneys, liver and brain. Those who do not like this can resort to poultry, red meat, eggs and fish and consume a lot of milk and milk products.

And vegans, the main risk group? In nature, there is no purely vegan diet in mammals. Also herbivores inevitably take in small maggots, larvae, insects, snails and countless microorganisms that are full of vitamin B12.

Very few foods for vegans contain vitamin B 12, especially two mushrooms, namely the chanterelle and the totem trumpet, with chanterelles regularly available on the market. That was it already. Vegans should take a dietary supplement containing vitamin B12.

Tingling fingers - Vitamin B 5

A lack of vitamin B5 is manifested as numbness, tingling or burning in the fingers, toes, hands and feet. These symptoms can occur spontaneously as they disappear.

Vitamin B5 is also known as pantothenic acid. The name comes from the term "pantos", a Greek word that means "everywhere" and reflects the fact that this vitamin is available in a variety of foods.

The best sources of vitamin B5 are brewers yeast, avocado, legumes, lentils, egg yolks, broccoli, tomatoes, beef, turkey, duck, chicken, sweet potatoes, sunflower seeds, wholegrain bread and salmon. When cooking, the vitamin is damaged.

The fragile beauty - Vitamin E

Among the 13 vitamins our body needs, vitamin E is one of the most important. The substance slows down the aging process, influences the development of the nerves, strengthens the muscles and supports fertility.

Vitamin E keeps the blood vessels open so that the blood can flow freely and helps the cells of the body work together to maintain bodily functions. The substance is necessary for the skeleton and muscles to function.

Vitamin E is the substance of beauty. It smoothes the connective tissue and slows down cellulite.

A deficiency manifests itself in leg cramps, dry or brittle hair and hair loss, infertility, stomach disorders and pain. Nervous disorders are manifested by the lack of control of movements in the hands, legs and feet.

Digestive problems are the result because the body can not process nutrients without vitamin E. These in turn lead to liver diseases and diseases of the gallbladder.

Nuts and almonds are rich in vitamin E. (Image: juliasudnitskaya / fotolia.com)

The best sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils, especially olive oil, corn and soybean oils, as well as nuts such as walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts and almonds.

Help for developing countries

For hundreds of millions of people suffering from vitamin deficiency between Morocco and Indonesia, Mali and Mongolia, regularly distributed vitamin supplements are just as necessary as vaccinations against the major epidemics.

Every third person worldwide suffers at least from a vitamin deficiency. According to Unicef, around two billion people do not have their full potential for these reasons. The most common consequences are poor mental development and a weak immune system, which in turn leads to complications.

The social and economic development of the affected countries is significantly disturbed by this lack.

Vitamin A supplements alone could save 600,000 children in the Third World every year. According to the WHO, 190 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency and are plagued by night blindness, anemia and stunted growth, as well as being susceptible to infections. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)