Vitamins are very important elements that your body needs to keep you healthy, energized, vibrant and protected from diseases. You eat to obtain these essential substances, but if you are not aware of the vitamin and mineral contents of your food intake, you might end up with certain vitamin deficiencies which could affect your health and physical and mental performance.
If you listen to your body, you will notice that it is sending signals or indications that it lacks something to keep it functioning in its optimum. Knowing these signals can help you to identify what you need to keep your body in top shape.
Here are four indications that can help to let you know that you are deficient in vitamins:
1. Constant Hunger
If you are feeling hungry all the time, your body is trying to tell you that it is not getting enough nutrients from the food you eat. The vitamins and minerals that you get from the foods you eat are the substances that keep your systems to perform its functions like breathing, thinking. Constant food craving is a sign that your body is running low on your supply of vitamins and minerals, and you can’t eliminate it by eating empty foods such as chips and junk foods.
2. Fatigue
Feeling fatigue even if you have rested well enough is another indication that your body is in need of energy-giving vitamins and minerals, particularly iron and vitamin B12.
The most common natural food sources of these substances are meat and animal products. You also need to consider taking vitamin supplements to ensure that you have sufficient vitamins and minerals to sustain your body’s daily requirements.
3. Insomnia
Insomnia is not just an indication of anxiety or depression. It can also mean that your body is deficient in vitamin D or magnesium or both. Magnesium is essential for a healthy nervous system which is a necessary element for a restful sleep. If sleeping is difficult for you, one of the things that you need to do is to take a blood test to make sure that you are not low on magnesium and vitamin D.
You need to check your vitamin D level because it plays an important role in the absorption of magnesium and calcium. The food you take could contain enough magnesium or calcium, but if you are deficient in vitamin D, your body might not be able to absorb these minerals. You can obtain vitamin D from sunlight and milk. It is therefore good to drink some milk especially during winter seasons when sunlight is hard to find.
Natural food sources of magnesium include spinach, okra, black beans, halibut and pumpkin seeds.
4. Muscle pain
Muscle pain and cramping are signs that your body could be low in magnesium. Magnesium is very important for the efficient functioning and good health of your muscles.
Muscles don’t normally feel pain after a little exercise. But if this happens to you, you could be suffering from magnesium deficiency. A blood test can help you to ascertain and address the problem.
These are some of the indications of vitamin deficiency. Just listen to the signals that your body sends. They tell you what your body wants you to give it to keep it healthy, strong and full of energy and life.
