What Are Deficiency Diseases?

It is not difficult to understand the meaning of deficiency diseases because the meaning is simply what it says. When you do not consume enough nutrients daily and your meals lack essential nutrients, then you develop deficiency diseases. In simple words, diseases occur because of the deficiency of certain essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals. This problem does not occur overnight it takes time.

Every one of us needs to have a well-balanced diet that provides overall nourishment and a healthy mind and body. Not having a sufficient amount of essential nutrients can lead to deficiency and health problems. You might not realize the side effects of such eating habits in the initial stage, but after a while, the deficiency will trigger you.

But, how you can prevent deficiency diseases and how many deficiency diseases? So, let’s figure out some of the effective ways to prevent deficiency diseases.

 Deficiency Diseases:

Types of Vitamins Deficiency Diseases  
A (Retinol)   Night blindness  
B1 (Thiamine)   Beri-beri  
B2 (Riboflavin)   Retarded growth, bad skin  
B12 (Cyanocobalamin)   Anaemia  
C (Ascorbic acid)   Scurvy  
D (Calciferol)   Rickets  
K (Phylloquinone)   Excessive bleeding due to injury  
Types of Minerals   Deficiency Diseases  
Calcium   Brittle bones, excessive bleeding  
Phosphorus   Bad teeth and bones  
Iron   Anaemia  
Iodine   Goitre, enlarged thyroid gland  
Copper   Low appetite, retarded growth  

Vitamins mean micronutrients are essential for your system and when your body does not get the required amount of these micronutrients, this leads to vitamin deficiency diseases.

The reason it is important to have vitamin-rich foods in your diet because your body can not make a sufficient amount of nutrients. Therefore, to ensure the normal functioning of your system, you need to add vitamin-rich supplements to your day-to-day diet.

Foods To Prevent Vitamins Deficiency:

1. Vitamin A: If you are someone who is suffering from vitamin A deficiency or even if you want to prevent this deficiency, it is better to add vitamin-A rich foods. Some of the foods that are rich in vitamin A are spinach, egg, liver, carrots, fish, and milk. These supplements will help you maintain a healthy vision, keep your immune system healthy, good for reproduction and growth.

2. Vitamin B: If you are someone who is suffering from vitamin B deficiency then it is good to add foods that are easily available and rich in vitamin B like cheese, eggs, milk, red meat, chicken, tuna, salmon, and dark green leafy vegetables like Spinach, baby spinach or kale. 

3. Vitamin C: This is one of the essential vitamins and therefore it is important to have vitamin C rich supplements in your daily meals. Being deficient in Vitamin C can lead to low immunity, skin spots, scurvy, bleeding gums and swelling in your joints. So, try to have foods that are rich in Vitamin C like oranges, guava, peppers, blackcurrants, strawberries, potatoes, and broccoli. 

4. Vitamin D: We all know that sunlight is one of the purest forms of vitamin D but it is not sufficient. Also, you can burn your skin to fulfil the required amount of vitamin D. So, what is the best way? Yeah, right! You can add foods that are rich in vitamin D like mushrooms, fish (sardines, salmon, and mackerel), egg yolk, liver, cereals and red meat. Being deficient in vitamin D can lead to weak bones and teeth related problems. 

5. Vitamin K: Vitamin K deficiency can lead to serious health problems like excess bleeding. This problem is common in small babies and in this condition your body loses the ability to form blood clots. Foods that are rich in vitamin K are green leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, baby spinach, cabbage, and broccoli. 

6. Minerals: We all know that our body needs all sorts of nutrients, which also include minerals like iron, zinc, iodine, and copper. And, your system needs all these minerals with other essential micronutrients. So, try to add foods that will help you fulfil the required amount of these minerals like nuts, seasonal fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, milk, eggs, and cereals. 

Out of all the deficiency diseases, iron deficiency is more prevalent, especially in women. So, note down these iron-rich foods that you should definitely add to your everyday meals: seafood, beans, green leafy vegetables, cereals, nuts, iron-fortified pasta and bread, apricots, raisins, dry figs, curd, and peas. 

Iron deficiency can lead to mental impairment in infants. Even women who lack sufficient haemoglobin or iron are at risk during their pregnancy period and at the time of delivery. 

Small-small contributions to your food can prevent you from various health problems and risks. So, eat fresh, seasonal and what is easily available and try to add varieties to your food. This will help you get all sorts of nutrition and eat with a feeling of gratitude towards mother nature. 

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