Vitamins are micronutrients your body needs in small amounts; if enough is not provided to the body, it may lead to vitamin deficiency. You can do at-home vitamin tests to detect any deficiency if you feel any symptoms. However, you should get your routine vitamin test as vitamin deficiency symptoms are known to go unnoticed.
Vitamins influence almost all systems in your body. Thus, they are essential for a healthy body. You might need to get tested for vitamin levels in your body if you suspect a deficiency in any of the vitamin components.
Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D is essential for almost every cell in your body, and it plays a vital role in bone and muscle health and helps support your immune system. Lack of vitamin D may induce symptoms like:
- Tiredness
- Often feeling sick
- Feel weakness in your bones which may lead to osteoporosis.
- Have pain in your muscles
- Face anxiety and depression
You can maintain vitamin D levels in your body through natural ways like sunlight exposure and having foods that have dairy, fish, and liver – people in the UK face vitamin D deficiency as they are not exposed to the sun during winters.
Folate Vitamin B9 deficiency:
Vitamin B9 plays an essential part in producing red blood cells and DNA and also helps in mending the damaged DNA. It’s also known as folic acid, which is a much more synthetic version of this vitamin. Vitamin B9 is often offered to pregnant or lactating women. If you don’t get enough vitamin B9, you may face symptoms like:
- Tiredness
- Weakness
- Short breath
- Heart palpitations
- Headaches
- General irritation
- Difficulty in concentration
Since the human body cannot store vitamin B9, you may get deficient in a couple of weeks, thus is advised to have vitamin tests often and get the supplements prescribed as per your need.
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 is needed to produce red blood cells and eventually helps the nervous system work efficiently. Lack of vitamin B12 may lead you to feel:
- Extreme tiredness
- The extreme level of weakness
- Feel like pins and needles are poking you
- Have mouth blisters
- Face blurry vision
- Have difficulty remembering things
- Extreme depression
The most known cause of vitamin B12 deficiency is the lack of stomach protein and an intrinsic factor needed to absorb vitamin B12. Many medications impact the number of intrinsic factors you produce, and so does age; your body may produce fewer intrinsic factors once you’re over fifty.
Conclusion:
Your healthcare provider may prescribe supplements if any type of vitamin deficiency is detected. You can get the most nutrients if you improve your diet. However, some vitamin types are easily absorbed and can increase within weeks. Thus, it is optimal to keep up with routine vitamin tests and follow up with the list of supplements; for instance, everyone in the UK is advised to take ten mcg daily to maintain vitamin D levels during winter or fall (October to march) and if you are at more risk, take these supplements throughout the year.