Do you ever wonder why your body feels devoid of energy? One day you’re on top of the world, but the next, you’re sore and burnt out. Your body is likely trying to tell you something. Without further ado, here is my countdown of seven things your body tells you about a potential nutrient deficiency status.
Pain and discomfort are your body’s way of alerting you that something is out of balance, and when it’s your muscles or brain causing the discomfort, the primary culprit could be a nutrient deficiency.
“Your Passion Is Waiting for Your Courage to Catch Up.”
―Isabelle Lafleche
Nutrient Deficiency That Causes Brain Fog
In the case of brain fog, the significant culprits would be vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiencies.
“But I take a B12 supplement,” screamed the reader in indignation!
“and I still have brain fog!” Vociferously continued the reader!
If that is the case, that’s likely because you take cyanocobalamin (cheap vitamin B12). Non-methylated B vitamins are thought to actually exacerbate vitamin B deficiencies, as explained in this post about methylation and why methylation is essential.
To give you the manufacturing side of the equation: cyanocobalamin costs about $50 per kg (2.2 lbs) while methylcobalamin (the methylated version of vitamin B12) costs $4000 per kg (2.2 lbs).
A good life isn’t cheap. Also, as they say: if you have a problem that can be solved with money, then you don’t have a problem (Jewish proverb, paraphrased)
Nutrient Deficiency That Causes Pain and Inflammation
A common cause of unexplained muscle pain, and significantly lower back pain, is a Vitamin D deficiency. Most people are deficient in Vitamin D, and it’s challenging to meet your daily needs through diet alone and sun exposure.
One of the best ways to make up for this deficit is through supplementation.
If you insist on not supplementing, then you’d better be very pale and living at lower latitudes. The propensity to absorb sunlight and turn it into vitamin D decreases as skins get darker. From the food side of things, sardines and cod liver oil might be your best choices. I would argue that taking cod liver from a bottle or a gelule is supplementation too, but I digress.
Nutrient Deficiency That Causes Burning Sensations
Lactic acidosis is the phrase referring to too much lactic acid in muscles. It is a common condition in which people experience a burning sensation in their muscles.
One common form of Lactic Acidosis is Restless Leg Syndrome or the sensation that your legs feel the need to move around.
It often disrupts sleep by making people feel like they need to walk around in the middle of the night because of the discomfort experienced when trying to lie still.
The main culprit of lactic acidosis is the incomplete metabolism of carbohydrates which can be brought on by a diet high in refined carbs and sugars or a Vitamin B1 deficiency most commonly
Nutrient Deficiency That Causes Slow Recovery
It’s normal for muscles to feel a bit sore or tired after exercise, but when this discomfort lingers for days, it could be a sign of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency.
In addition to reducing inflammation, omega-3s play a critical role in cognitive function.
Fatty fish are the best food sources of omega-3 fatty acids. However, most people don’t eat enough fish to meet their daily needs.
Supplementation is a great way to make up for this deficit.
Nutrient Deficiency That Causes Twitching
Have you ever experienced subtle, persistent twitching under one of your eyelids or in your arms and legs?
It can be frightening at first when you’re not sure what’s causing it. However, muscle twitching can often be remedied quickly by adding calcium to your diet.
Most people can meet their daily calcium needs by eating dairy products and various types of vegetables, so a second cause of muscle twitching could be that your blood is too alkaline. This issue can be triggered by multiple factors ranging from stress to over-consumption of carbs and sugars. Consumption of Apple Cider Vinegar is a great way to fix this imbalance and stop muscle twitching.
DIY Calcium Supplement: Take eggshells, boil them, grind them, and voila: you have a high-quality calcium supplement powder right there.
Feel like you really want to go the extra mile? Get some pullulan capsules like those in Maximum Mind and get you a capsule machine to quickly put the ground eggshells in the capsules. Pullulan capsules dissolve in the intestine, thus doing two critical things: higher absorption and lower chance of stomach irritation.
Just be careful where you order the capsule machine. These machines might be under some import restrictions where you live. I know that in Switzerland, where my company is, you need a license from the federal government to import capsule-filling machines. There’s no distinction between a $180’000 full automatic machine doing 7’500 capsules per minute or a little manual machine doing 24 capsules per 10 minutes.
Nutrient Deficiency That Causes Cramping
Muscle cramps are common in athletes who sweat out tons of salt and electrolytes throughout the exercise. However, they can plague people of all lifestyles and activity levels.
They’re primarily caused by a potassium or magnesium deficiency which can be remedied by increasing your consumption of electrolytes.
A secondary cause of muscle cramps is a sodium deficiency which can be fixed by increasing the amount of salt in your diet.
Most people can meet their potassium, magnesium, and sodium levels through diet but still, experience cramps due to an inability to absorb these vital nutrients.
Supplementation is a great way to make up for the lack of nutrient absorption.
Nutrient Deficiency That Causes Unexplained Weakness
One common culprit of weak muscles is a Vitamin E deficiency, and increasing the amount of Vitamin E in your diet is the fastest way to make weak muscles strong (also works for the penis).
Here’s the quicker: if you feel like you need extra energy with the latter: increase vitamin E consumption. If you feel like you need less enthusiasm in the bedroom, decrease vitamin E consumption. It’s as easy as that sometimes, provided there isn’t an underlying issue.
Foods like nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables are a great way to increase your Vitamin E levels in addition to supplementation.
Although it’s pretty easy to get most parts of the Vitamin E complex from diet alone, tocopherols are one component of Vitamin E where additional supplementation could be a huge benefit.
That’s it. I hope this post about the ways your body tells you about potential nutrient deficiency helps you.
