11 March 2024 , 12:44
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A doctor has revealed nineteen signs that you might not be getting enough vitamins and nutrients.
In a video on his YouTube channel, which boasts a whopping 11.5 million subscribers, Dr Eric Berg listed symptoms you might notice if your body is lacking in certain essentials. Dr Eric Berg DC is a qualified chiropractor who focuses on healthy ketosis and intermittent fasting. He's the author of The Healthy Keto Plan, and runs Dr Berg Nutritionals.
Although he doesn't practice anymore, he now dedicates his time to teaching about health on social media. The expert explained three reasons why someone might be deficient in a particular mineral, vitamin or nutrient: "Their guts may be damaged, so they can't absorb nutrition. That's called malabsorption - it's a digestive barrier.
"It could also be that you're missing a gallbladder or you're lacking bile, and you can't pull in the fat soluble, vitamins (vitamin A, D, E and K). Or it could be you're not eating enough of the right foods, or the foods that you're eating are not nutrient dense, which is a big problem", reports the Liverpool Echo.
From white spots on your nails, to oily skin and cramps and strange cravings, the expert has detailed nineteen common deficiencies and how to fix them, as reported by Wales Online. You can watch the full video below. If you're worried about your health or thinking about making any lifestyle changes, always chat to your doctor first.
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1. White spots on your nails
Having a white spot on your nail likely means you have a zinc deficiency. "But it's not really a zinc deficiency," the expert explains, "it is consuming too much sugar that robs you of zinc."
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of zinc, stop eating sugar and speak to a doctor.
2. Oily skin
The doctor says this is usually a problem with the oil glands of your body called sebaceous glands. They make something called sebum, which is a type of oil that usually occurs when you have an imbalance with androgens or you're producing too many androgens, which is the male hormone. One really key nutrient to regulate androgens is zinc."
He added: "Now if you're female and you have too many androgens, you may have something called polycystic ovarian syndrome."
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of zinc, control your blood sugar levels and speak to a doctor.
3. Cracking on the corners of your mouth or heels
The expert says this is likely a vitamin B2 or B3 deficiency. "B vitamins are very important in preventing these small fissures on your skin," he said.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of B vitamins (nutritional yeast) and vitamin D and speak to a doctor.
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4. Flaking skin
"A lot of times you'll see that around the nose or even the forehead where the skin is kind of like a scaling flakiness," the doctor said. "That is a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids and that occurs because you're consuming too much omega-6 fatty acids.
"So you need to do two things, you need to start cutting down the omega-6 fatty acids - that means reduce the amount of nuts, peanut butter, chicken or fried foods. And you need to eat more fish sardines and cod liver."
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids (cod liver oil), reduce your omega-6 fatty acids and speak to a doctor.
5. Yellow eyes
Jaundice is when your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow. It can be a sign of something serious, such as liver disease. Yellowing of the eyes can occur if your liver, pancreas, or gallbladder isn't working properly.
Dr Berg advises: see a doctor and get plenty of purified bile salts.
6. Chronic cough
The expert says one of the most common deficiencies is a calcium deficiency, which can create tension and irritation in the larynx. Along with magnesium, calcium lactate helps fight both virus-caused irritations like fever blisters and non-viral compromises to respiratory health.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of calcium lactate and speak to a doctor.
7. Bleeding and red gums
Bleeding gums or redden swollen gums in your mouth could be a classic vitamin C deficiency, Dr Berg says. Another term would be subclinical vitamin C or a very mild version of scurvy.
The National Institute of Health adds: "Vitamin C deficiency can result in scurvy which commonly manifests with bleeding gums and increased tooth mobility due to weakened collagen that constitutes periodontal ligament, and leads to atrophic changes of ameloblasts and odontoblasts."
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of vitamin C and avoid sugar and speak to a doctor.
8. Poor night vision
Night blindness (in which it is difficult or impossible to see in relatively low light) is one of the clinical signs of vitamin A deficiency, and is common during pregnancy in developing countries. Retinol is the main circulating form of vitamin A in blood and plasma.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of vitamin A and speak to a doctor.
9. Chapped lips
The doctor says chapped lips is the same cause as cracking in the corners of the mouth or on the heels - it's a vitamin B2 deficiency. It may be because you're consuming too many refined grains that are depleting your vitamin B2 intake.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of B vitamins (nutritional yeast), avoid grains, Chapstick and speak to a doctor.
10. Pitting edema
Dr Berg says this is when you push your finger into your foot or ankle it leaves a dent. He explained this can be caused if you don't have enough potassium, or the ratios of potassium versus sodium are off.
"And by the way, refined sugar causes you to retain sodium and deplete potassium. That's why diabetics many times have so much sugar in their blood that they get a lot of swelling, especially in the ankles and feet.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of potassium and speak to a doctor.
11. Craving ice
The term 'pica' describes craving and chewing substances that have no nutritional value - such as ice, clay, soil or paper. This is often associated with iron deficiency, with or without anaemia.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of iron and speak to a doctor.
12. Angina
According to research, antioxidant therapy with vitamin E supplementation can be effective treatment for coronary spasm in patients with variant angina. One study found vitamin E levels were significantly lower in patients with active variant angina than in subjects without coronary spasm.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of vitamin E, avoid refined grains and speak to a doctor.
13. Leg and calf cramps
Dr Berg says: "If you get light cramps chances are you're probably missing magnesium. Other deficiencies that might lead to cramps are potassium, sodium and vitamin B1."
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of magnesium, potassium, sodium, and B1 and speak to a doctor.
14. Loss of outer eyebrows
The expert explained: "This is usually a thyroid problem or an iodine deficiency, where you're not able to make the thyroid hormones... If you don't have eyebrows or you don't have the outside, take some iodine and seek help."
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of iodine (sea kelp) and speak to a doctor.
15. Tightness in the right trap muscle
"Tightness in the right trap muscle could be a suspect gallbladder and a lack of bile salts," the doctor said. "If you don't have the bile salts, things get all kind of stuck. Underneath the right rib cage there's a little nerve called the phrenic nerve that goes right up to the right side and so if you take purified bile salts that thins the bile allows the drainage."
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of purified bile salts and speak to a doctor.
16. Nightmares
Some types of vitamin B1 deficiency include night terrors, panic attacks, and other emotional responses to the changing chemistry in the body.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of vitamin B1 (nutritional yeast), avoid sugar and refined grains and speak to a doctor.
17. Craving salty chips at night
Craving salt could mean a number of things - from dehydration and low levels of electrolytes lost in sweat, to stress and poor-quality sleep.
Dr Berg advises: speak to a doctor.
18. Stiff and painful low back
Bone and lower back pain may be symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. Studies have found that people with arthritis, muscle pain, and chronic widespread pain tended to have lower levels of vitamin D than people without these conditions.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of vitamin D and speak to a doctor.
19. Craving dirt
The expert says if you have iron deficiency anaemia, you may want to eat dirt. Although soil does contain minerals and nutrients, it is not a safe way to get them into your body.
Dr Berg advises: get plenty of iron and speak to a doctor.
It is important not to self-diagnose without speaking to a doctor and you should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.