What happens if essential nutrients are not taken everyday?
What are essential nutrients?
Essential nutrients are compounds that the body can’t make or can’t make in sufficient quantity. These nutrients must come from food and they’re vital for disease prevention, growth and good health.
There are various essential nutrients that can be classified as Macronutrients and Micronutrients along with water which makes up to six essential nutrients. Macronutrients are those nutrients that the body needs in large amounts – these are carbohydrates, proteins, fats. These provide the body with energy (calories). Micronutrients are those nutrients that the body needs in smaller amounts – these are water soluble vitamins, fat soluble vitamins and minerals. To add on, fiber being the non-digestible carbohydrate is considered as the seventh class of nutrients.
What happens if you don’t consume essential nutrients?
A day or week of bad food choices won’t do much damage. But when a poor diet leaves your body short on the nutrients it needs for a long time, it’ll send a sign. There are high possibilities to develop nutritional deficiencies. You can reverse most of these issues with foods rich in the missing nutrient, a supplement, or both. Deficiencies can lead to a variety of health problems that can include:
Unexplained Fatigue
When the three S’s -- sleep, stress, and sickness -- don't explain why you feel worn out, it’s time to check your vitamin D. This vitamin is unique. Your body makes it when your skin is exposed to the sun, but it doesn’t show up naturally in many foods. If you don’t see the sun often, put a capital D in your diet. You can check the sources of this Vitamin from our nutrient guide.
Dry Skin
One of vitamin A’s many jobs is to grow and maintain the tissues that cover every surface of your body, inside and out. When you’re low on vitamin A, you may have dry, scaly skin, including your lips.
Spoon Nails
When your body needs more iron, your fingernails may become soft and bend away from your finger at the edges, creating a spoon-like shape. This could also be a sign of hemochromatosis, a condition that causes your body to absorb too much iron. Infants' nails may spoon at first, but it goes away as they get older. If this happens to you, see your doctor for a blood test to find the cause.
Cracks at the Corners of Your Mouth
This starts as dry or irritated skin at one or both corners of your mouth and can turn into painful, bleeding sores. Lots of things can cause this condition, which is also called angular chelitis. If it doesn’t go away when you use lip balm, it could be a sign that you’re low in iron or B vitamins like riboflavin.
Swollen Tongue
Your tongue can tell you when something’s up. This condition is also called glossitis, for the smooth, glossy look your tongue has when it’s swollen. It can be a sign you’re low in iron or B vitamins like folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and B12. If that’s the case, your tongue may also hurt.
Apathy
A lack of nutrients can affect your mind as well as your body. The B vitamin folate, also called folic acid, helps your body make red blood cells and create the chemicals that regulate sleep patterns and mood. When you don’t get enough, you may feel forgetful, weak, and apathetic (which means you lack energy and enthusiasm).
Bruises
Your body has more collagen than any other protein. It holds everything together, including your skin cells. If you notice more bruises than usual, you may be low in vitamin C -- a key element in collagen.
Key Takeaway: Ensure that you end up taking all essential nutrients as a part of your daily nutrition intake, for yourself, especially your children. TruVitals is one such way of completing your kid’s daily nutri quota as it helps in supplementing their food with the hard-to-feed nutrients.
