Vitamin deficiencies can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, muscle weakness, headaches, and an increased heart rate. Vitamins play an essential role in your overall health and women have distinctive nutritional needs due to hormone changes and life stages like pregnancy and menopause. Nutrient deficiencies often occur because people don’t get enough of a particular vitamin through their diet. Deficiencies are typically treated by eating nutrient-dense food and/or taking high quality supplements. Here are 6 of the most common vitamin deficiencies in women and how to fix them.
6 Common Vitamin Deficiencies in Women & How to Fix Them
1. Iron Deficiency
Iron is crucial for producing hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood. It’s also necessary to maintain healthy cells, skin, hair, and nails. Women of reproductive age are at higher risk for iron deficiency due to menstrual blood loss. Vegetarians and vegans are also at an increased risk as they’re not getting iron from meat, poultry, and fish, which is absorbed more easily by the body than plant sources of iron. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, a more serious condition that can lead to heart and lung complications and a weakened immune system.
Symptoms to watch for
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Feeling cold
- Headaches
- Pale or sallow skin
- Irritability, depression, or poor mood
- Fast heartbeat or shortness of breath
- Thin and brittle nails and hair
How to fix it
Increase your intake of iron-rich foods like meat, poultry, fish, legumes, leafy greens, and iron-fortified foods. Your doctor may also recommend an iron supplement if needed. You can take your supplement with vitamin C or a glass of orange juice as vitamin C helps your body absorb iron.
2. Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D is essential for bone health, muscle movement, immune function, and mood regulation. It can also help protect from infections and diseases, like cancer, diabetes, and dementia. Women are at an increased risk of osteoporosis, making vitamin D especially important. A deficiency in vitamin D can be caused by limited sun exposure, living in northern latitudes, having a darker skin tone, or failing to get enough vitamin D through food.
Symptoms to watch for
- Fatigue
- Depression or feelings of sadness
- Muscle weakness
- Bone pain
- Menstrual irregularities
- Poor sleep
How to fix it
Make sure to include foods like fatty fish (salmon, mackerel), egg yolks, and fortified dairy products in your diet. Exposure to sunlight can be really helpful. Try to get out into the sun for 5 to 20 minutes a day if possible. Consider taking a vitamin D supplement, especially during the winter months. Always talk to your doctor before adding a new supplement to your regimen.
3. Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Vitamin B12 supports nerve function, DNA production, and red blood cell formation. Since your body doesn’t make vitamin B12 on its own, you have to consume food and drink with vitamin B12 to get it. Deficiency can lead to physical, neurological, and psychological symptoms, and can happen if you’re not consuming enough vitamin B12 or if your body has trouble absorbing it. A lack of vitamin B12 can cause anemia, although you can be B12 deficient without having anemia.
Symptoms to watch for
- Numbness/tingling in the hands and feet
- Memory problems and cognitive issues (thinking, judgment, and learning)
- Fatigue
- Weak muscles
- Trouble walking
- Irritability
- Increased heart rate
How to fix it
Increase your intake of vitamin B-12 rich foods like meat, fish, dairy and eggs in your diet. B12 is also found in fortified foods such as cereals, breads, and nutritional yeast. If needed, your doctor may recommend a B12 supplement, or in more severe cases, a B12 injection, usually once a month. Some medications can also result in a B12 deficiency, so your doctor may recommend you to stop taking them.
4. Magnesium Deficiency
Magnesium is a super important vitamin and many people are low in it. It plays a role in over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, including energy production, muscle function, and stress regulation. People with gastrointestinal issues, celiac disease, and those who consume excessive amounts of caffeine and alcohol are at higher risk of magnesium deficiency.
Symptoms to watch for
- Muscle weakness and cramps
- Fatigue
- Irregular heart beat
- Anxiety
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
How to fix it
Eat magnesium-rich foods like nuts, seeds (especially pumpkin and chia seeds), whole grains, beans, leafy greens, and dark chocolate. Magnesium supplements can be helpful, but talk to your doctor before you start taking any new supplement. Magnesium citrate is easily absorbed and fast-acting. Reducing your stress through yoga, mediation, journaling or exercise can also help improve magnesium levels.
5. Calcium Deficiency
Calcium is essential for strong, healthy bones and teeth, as well as muscle function and nerve signalling. If deficiency is due to low dietary intake, there are usually no early symptoms. In the long term, a person may experience osteopenia, which can lead to osteoporosis. Postmenopausal women are at higher risk of osteoporosis due to decreased estrogen levels. A deficiency in calcium can be caused by low dietary intake of calcium, lactose intolerance, or conditions affecting calcium absorption.
Symptoms to watch for
- Dry, broken, or brittle nails
- Dry skin
- Muscle cramps
- Weak bones, prone to injury
- Extreme fatigue
- Severe PMS symptoms
- Dental problems (tooth decay, irritated gums, weak tooth roots)
- Mood disorders, including depression
How to fix it
Calcium deficiency is usually easy to treat and typically involves adding more calcium to your diet with foods like yogurt, milk, cheese, broccoli, kale, canned salmon, almonds, and calcium-fortified foods like soy products and cereal. Your doctor may also suggest taking calcium supplements.
6. Folate Deficiency
Folate (also known as vitamin B-9 or folic acid) is essential for DNA production and the development of red blood cells. It’s particularly important during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects in the baby, so pregnancy creates an increased demand for folate. Insufficient folate is caused by a lack of folate in the diet, including foods like leafy greens, beans, and fortified cereals. Folate deficiency can also lead to anemia.
Symptoms to watch for
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Pale skin
- Smooth, tender, or red tongue
- Mouth ulcers
- Weight loss
- Depression
- Pins and needles
How to fix it
You can treat folate deficiency by taking folic acid supplements and making dietary changes. Reduce your alcohol intake, and eat more foods that are high in folate, such as leafy greens, citrus fruits, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, brown rice, and lentils. Pregnant women should take prenatal vitamins with folic acid.
If you think you’re dealing with one or more vitamin deficiencies, see your doctor to get your blood tested and find out what you’re deficient in. You and your doctor can work on a plan to get your deficiency under control.
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