Nutritional Deficiency - clinical features of
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Diagnosing deficiencies are best done by tests. But there are useful clinical pointers!
Hands and nails
- Cold hands - magnesium deficiency
- White spots on nails - almost any mineral deficiency but typically zinc
- Ridges on nails - poor blood supply, zinc deficiency
- Soft or brittle nails - and mineral deficiency especially magnesium
- Bitten nails - general mineral deficiency
So often people comment that nails get tough when they start taking Nutritional Supplements - what everybody should be taking all the time even if nothing is wrong. Many of the raw materials for nails are the same for bone and connective tissue - so nail health reflects bone and connective tissue health!
Skin
- Stretch marks indicate zinc deficiency. They are common in pregnancy not because the skin is stetched but because demands for zinc are high!
- Follicular hyperkeratosis (rough skin, especially on the heels)- vitamin A deficiency
- Spontaneous haemorrhages - lack of vitamins C or K. See Vitamin K
- Dry scaly skin with hair follicles plugged with coiled distorted hairsand a red halo - vitamin C deficiency
- Yellow palms - excessive beta carotene intake. But can be due to eating lots of coloured vegetables!
- Pimply rough skin at the back of the upper arms (chicken flesh) - essential fatty acid deficiency See VegEPA
- Greasy red scaly skin of face and sides of nose - vitamin B2 deficiency
- Seborrhoeic dermatitis around nose and an acne like forehead rash - vitamin B6 deficiency
Mouth and gums
- Pale fissured tongue - iron (Fe) deficiency
- Sore painful fissured tongue - vitamin B3 deficiency
- Sore burning tongue and lips and peeling of lips - vitamin B2 deficiency
- Swollen tongue with lateral teeth indentations - food intolerance. Also myxoedema - see Hypothyroidism.
- Painful sore tongue with a smooth appearance - folic acid deficiency
- Angular cheilosis (splits in lips) - vitamin B2 deficiency, thrush
- Gum disease and pyorrhoea - Co Q 10 deficiency, folic acid deficiency.
- Bleeding gums - vitamin C deficiency
Eyes
- Cataracts - chronium deficiency or excess free radicals
- Bags or dark rings under eyes - allergies or food intolerances
- Blue eyes and blond hair are often seen in hyperactive male children - zinc, magnesium, B6 and essential fatty acids deficiencies
- Blue eyes and premature grey hair - vitamin B12 deficiency - a feature of pernicious anaemia
Neck
- Goitre, thyroid swelling - iodine deficiency
Legs
- Tender calf muscles - magnesium deficiency
- Brisk knee reflexes - magnesium deficiency
- Restless legs - mineral deficiency, tendency to be acidic - see Acid-Alkali balance
Clinical histories of nutritional relevance
- Nasal polyps - salicylate sensitivity, catarrh, sinusitis, history of removal of Ts and As for good clinical reasons, milk intolerance
- Poor healing - zinc deficiency
- Poor dream recall - vitamin B6 deficiency
- Blood sugar swings with obvious low blood sugar episodes - chronium deficiency
- Pre-menstrual syndrome - progesterone, magnesium, zinc and essential fatty acid deficiencies
- Glandular fever - inadequate liver detoxification mechanisms
- Sensory symptoms - B12, B1, magnesium deficiencies
- Mental symptoms - B12 deficiency
- Parkinsonism/Multiple sclerosis - glutathione deficiency
- Cervical dysplasia - vitamin B6 and folic acid deficiency, papilloma/wart virus. Heals well with DMSO on the end of a tampax
- Arthritis - Boron and sulphur (MSM) deficiency
- Measles - vitamin A deficiency
- Persistent diarrhoea leading to fatigue - magnesium and potassium deficiencies
- Many diuretics cause magnesium and potassium deficiencies
- Muscle cramps - magnesium deficiency
- Shaking hands - magnesium and vitamin B1 deficiencies
- Hypertension - magnesium deficiency
- Dysphagia - magnesium deficiency
- Sensitivity to light - magnesium deficiency
- Osteoporosis - don't forget to think about magnesium
- PET - magnesium deficiency
- Hair loss - thyroid, iron (Fe), biotin, zinc and essential fatty acid deficiencies (must measure serum ferritin to check iron stores)
- Frequent colds - zinc and vitamin C deficiencies
- Infertility, miscarriages and premature labour - zinc deficiency
- Poor sense of smell and taste - zinc deficiency
- Poor vision or night blindness - zinc and vitamin A deficiencies
- Dry eyes - vitamin A deficiency
- The contraceptive pill and HRT can cause an increase in copper levels and zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6 deficiencies
- Blocked nose with red wine - molybdenum deficiency
- Bowel cancer - selenium deficiency
- Mercury amalgams in teeth - selenium and glutathione deficiencies
- Cardiomyopathies (Keshan Disease) - selenium deficiency
- Heart attacks - vitamin E deficiency (Shute brothers)
- Hair loss, dandruff, eczema, excessive ear wax production, poor wound healing, excessive thirst (especially in hyperactive children), pre-menstrual symptoms of any sort - essential fatty acid deficiency
- Carpal tunnel syndrome - vitamin B6 deficiency
- Vegans - vitamin B12, zinc and Fe deficiencies
- Gastrectomy - vitamin B12 and HCI (stomach acid) deficiencies
- Diabetic peripheral neuropathy - vitamin B12 deficiency
- Elderly - low everything, especially vitamin Bs and HCI deficiencies
- Persistent infections - vitamin C and zinc deficiencies
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