10 Serious Medical Problems Caused by Vitamin Deficiencies

It's no secret that conventional medicine professionals downplay the importance of nutrition in the development of diseases.  It's not that doctors don't admit that vitamin/mineral deficiencies can lead to medical issues but, rather, that they downplay and underestimate not only the prevalence thereof but the seriousness of the problem. 

In fact, you can say that conventional medicine has almost abandoned or ignored the role that poor or inadequate nutrition can play in disease development, instead opting to concentrate on other etiologies--most notably:

• Microorganisms/infections,
• Not exercising,
• Not following doctor-prescribed protocols,
• Succumbing to stress,
• Drinking & smoking too much,
• Using or misusing illegal & OTC drugs,
• Genetic defects & complications,
• Healthcare mistakes & mishaps (e.g., vaccine injuries),
• Natural disasters,
• Acts of violence, war & accidents,
• Misusing or over-using nutritional supplements (especially synthetic ones), etc. 

While these things can indeed lead to or promote disease, it can be argued that nutritional deficiencies may be more important (or at least as important) as any of these and, possibly, all of these combined. 

To put it more bluntly, the ubiquitous and flagrant lack of certain micronutrients in modern diets, as well as the many toxins in our food, water and air, are the most important reasons for disease development.  When and if nutritional deficiencies and inadequacies are not disease-producing they are, at the very least, disease-exacerbating.

But what about the fact that there are only limited identified causes of disease due to nutritional deficiencies?  Well, that may be due more to that fact that conventional medicine isn't keen on finding a connection between nutrition and disease. 

In fact, allopathic or conventional medicine has never been a "nutrition-focused" discipline.  Nutrition was, after all, the concern of naturopathic and homeopathic medicine but this "focus" was set aside when allopathic medicine (backed by Big Business and the billionaires that ran the world back then--and still do today!) took over center stage and these other fields were, to put it mildly, swept aside.

There is no question that the welfare of millions of people was put in jeopardy when nutrition was relegated to a secondary (or tertiary, as the history of allopathic medicine clearly reveals) place in medicine.  Underscoring this decision were the following still-perpetuated myths:

• "Most people get most of the nutrients they need from their normal, daily diets!"
• "You will get whatever vitamins and minerals you need if you eat a balanced diet consisting of foods commonly found in most supermarkets."
• "Vitamins and minerals may slightly affect disease development and outcome but they don't play a leading, substantial or verifiable role in such . . . "
• "Few people in developed countries are nutritionally deficient--certainly not to the point of developing disease as a result of any such deficiencies."
• "Your doctor and licensed nutritionists are the best source for nutritional advice; whatever they tell you is the absolute truth and anything they fail to tell you is unscientific and/or false!"

For those persons who don't see why any (or all) of these things are "myths," well, maybe it would be best if you wait for a separate article on this matter.  It should suffice to say, meanwhile, that nutrition isn't given either the attention or focus that it deserves.  If it were given such attention, we would discover that there are many more diseases today that have yet to be identified as "nutritional-deficiency-based."

The following 10, therefore, are only the tip of the iceberg--or so some experts would argue:

1.  Scurvy--a vitamin C deficiency.  If there is anyone out there who either doesn't believe or is unaware of the historical facts that support the assertion that allopathic medicine practitioners (the people in charge of medicine and healthcare today) have always been unnecessarily and dangerously closed-minded when it comes to advances and new discoveries in medicine (especially if "natural" etiologies were being proposed), you need only to read about scurvy, preferably from a source that doesn't try to whitewash the shameful truth. 

In spite of the many references to this deficiency over centuries and the tons of anecdotal evidence that accumulated over time, physicians refused to acknowledge that this disease existed and, more importantly, that it was easily treated with nutritional tools--i.e., foods that contained vitamin C.  As far back as 1614, to give one of many glaring examples, the Surgeon General for the East India Company knew and put in writing the fact that scurvy, a potentially deadly disease, could easily be avoided but he was "unable to explain the reason why . . . his assertion had no impact on the opinion of the influential physicians who ran the medical establishment that it was a digestive complaint." 

To put it bluntly, physicians refused to accept the facts at hand and, because of their negligence, closed-mindedness and stubbornness, it is said that just between 1500 and 1800 "scurvy killed at least two million sailors."  What is horrifying isn't just that a solution for this problem had been available but the fact that it took so long for the medical establishment to finally accept and act on this knowledge.  

The history of scurvy, furthermore, is only one many examples that prove that allopathic physicians have always cared more about being protectionistic (to borrow an "economics" term), profit-motivated and territorial than about doing what's ultimately best for patients.  If you think that things have changed, then you are probably not aware of the many experts who today assert that diseases like cancer and diabetes are, like scurvy, nutritional deficiency diseases. 

What if in 50 to 100 years such a fact is finally proven beyond a doubt?  If it took so long (hundreds of years!) for scurvy to be recognized, why is it so inconceivable that that same kind of negligence, incompetence and presumptuousness is at play in the very profit-motivated medicine of the present?  

If cancer and diabetes do indeed turn out to be nutritional deficiency diseases, then the billions of dollars we spend treating these diseases (with dismally bad results, we might add) would have been better spent making sure patients were eating more nutritiously but, then, those patients would be permanently cured or prevented from ever acquiring the disease again. 

Such a drastic change, though, would (ironically) "kill" the keep-them-sick-so-they-keep-coming-back-for-more-treatments paradigm modern medicine solidly rests on. Such treatments, furthermore, would be unpatentable and, therefore, not as filthily profitable as today's popular synthetic drugs & treatments.

2.  Rickets--a vitamin D & calcium deficiency.  Even though rickets hasn't been as wide-spread, deadly and overlooked a problem as scurvy, it has nevertheless had serious repercussions, especially among the poor, those who have been traditionally deprived of sunlight (the home-bound, the institutionalized, etc.), and the masses in developing countries.  Even today rickets (and related ailments) pops up now and then. 

What is tricky about rickets is that it is a 2-part problem:  lack of or improper absorption of calcium and the equally-important non-absorption of vitamin D.  Unfortunately, the mechanisms behind the vitamin D/calcium inter-dependence is not completely understood at this time. 

One of the things that we now know, for example, is that vitamin D acts more like a hormone than a typical "vitamin," as such affecting several crucially-important processes in the body, not just helping to absorb calcium; it is also suspected that vitamin D deficiency may be connected to the development of cancer.

3.  Anemia--an iron (a mineral) deficiency.  Interestingly, anemia comes in several flavors and colors--i.e., there are different kinds of anemia.  The disease usually involves one of two possible scenarios (or a combination thereof):  a low production of red blood cells or low levels of hemoglobin in these cells.  The problem with anemia is that there is a long list of conditions or circumstances that can lead to anemia, including:

1. Iron deficiency,
2. Blood loss (such as in menstruating women or people with bleeding disorders),
3. Cancer (and its treatments),
4. Abnormal hormone levels,
5. Some chronic diseases,
6. Pregnancy, and
7. Poor diet. 

The last risk factor may perhaps be the most significant, both because it is so easily underestimated and because most people today, it can be cogently argued, follow poor diets (even if they eat on a regular basis).

4.  Nyctalopia ("night blindness")--a vitamin A deficiency.  Actually, this condition is more common than most people realize; it is safe to say, in fact, that some of the people who suffer from night blindness may not be fully aware (if at all) that they have a problem.  Some of the conditions that can lead to nyctalopia include: 

• Congenital night blindness,
• Cataracts,
• Liver diseases,
• Retinitis pigmentosa,
• Macular degeneration and
• Xeropththalmia. 

But the two most telling risk factors (at least from the perspective of this article) are a zinc or a vitamin A deficiency. 

5.  Goitre--an iodine deficiency.  One of the consequences of not getting an adequate amount of iodine in the diet is developing what is called a goiter, often resulting in a swollen thyroid gland.  The swelling, however, is only a symptom of a problem that is much deeper than aesthetics. 

As is often the case with other nutritional deficiencies, an iodine deficiency produces a domino effect of negative repercussions, some of which can lead to mental retardation (as in the case of infants afflicted therewith) or even death, if left untreated.

6.  Beriberi--a B1 (thiamine) deficiency.  Most people have heard that white rice (or polished rice) can be high in arsenic but what they may not be aware is that this type of rice can also be low in vitamin B1 or thiamine, an essential nutrient.  People whose diet includes high quantities of white rice (and no other source of vitamin B1) may go on to suffer from emotional disturbances, weight loss, weakness, impaired sensory perception, limb pain, arrhythmia, edema, excessive production of pyruvic & lactic acid, cardiac failure and, in severe, untreated cases, death. 

7.  Pellagra--a B3 (niacin) deficiency.  The extensive and intricate medical repercussions of a niacin or B3 deficiency are excellent examples of how serious, damaging and far-reaching nutritional deficiencies can be. Even people who admit that a nutritional deficiency can be very harmful might be surprised at the symptoms/signs of this condition: 

1. Nasty skin lesions,
2. Diarrhea,
3. Emotional disturbances (i.e., aggression),
4. Painful sensitivity to sunlight,
5. General, pervasive weakness,
6. Severe nerve/neurological damage,
7. An enlarged & weakened heart (dilated cardiomyopathy), and
8. Dementia.

8.  Ariboflavinosis--a B2 (riboflavin) deficiency.  Riboflavin or vitamin B2 is one of those nutrients that is mostly taken for granted, mostly because this nutrient is readily available in many foods, including dairy products, grains, and dark green, leafy vegetables.  But this nutrient, as part of the so-called "B-complex," is crucially important for a number of physiological processes. 

Riboflavin is also important because it is essential for the activation of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and folic acid (vitamin B9), two other essential nutrients. While ariboflavinosis is rare in developed countries, it can nevertheless still be found, especially in people who also suffer from other nutritional deficiencies.

9.  Hypocobalaminemia-- a B12 deficiency.  This nutritional deficiency is not only more prevalent than many people think but the disease is much more serious than is commonly known.  In fact, people who suffer from a B12 deficiency are often suspected, in the early stages of the diagnostic process, of actually suffering from MS--the medical repercussions can be that devastating! 

As is the case for many other nutrients, a number of things can impair absorption of B12, including digestive ailments and the use of some medications such as Zantac (Ranitidine). 

10.  Paresthesia--a B5 deficiency.  Actually, the condition "paresthesia" (a tingling/burning sensation of the feet & hands) is one way a vitamin B5 deficiency/problem may be diagnosed.  This condition, furthermore, may be accompanied with or followed by more serious metabolic and neurologic conditions, including:

• Hypoglycemia,
• Dermatitis,
• Libido degradation,
• Vomiting/nausea,
• Depression,
• Lowered immunity to infections,
• Muscle cramps/numbness, etc. 

Although vitamin B5 deficiencies are relatively rare in developed countries, they can occur because of medication (i.e., the anti-seizure medication Valproic acid) interactions, the use of some antibiotics (gentamicin and streptomycin), concomitant vitamin deficiencies (e.g., vitamin C) or overuse/misuse of biotin.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that vitamin & mineral deficiencies are still being underestimated not only by the public but, what is more serious, by the conventional medicine community.  This can be partly explained by the fact that doctors still seem to think that these nutritional diseases are, for the most part, rare; more importantly, they don't believe that the most prevalent and dangerous diseases (diabetes, CVD, cancer, etc.) these days have a nutritional etiology.

Needless to say, this is one of the most important differences between naturopathic/holistic medicine versus allopathic/conventional medicine (what most licensed doctors practice today). 

According to the former, nutritional deficiencies are not as rare or uncommon as is commonly reputed/believed; secondly, micronutrient deficiencies are most probably responsible for, can help prevent or, at the very least, can exacerbate most (if not all) chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, autoimmune disorders, allergies/sensitivities, Alzheimer's, etc. 

Conventional medicine may disagree but, considering the fact that all top chronic diseases continue to get worse (meaning that the solutions offered by allopathic/conventional medicine are mostly ineffective), maybe it's high time that other competing medical views be more openly and unbiasedly considered.  Of course, since profit considerations remain a stumbling block in such changes, it may be a while before progress can be implemented.

Meanwhile, you the reader may have to become more proactive and less a gullible, sheepishly-obedient consumer when it comes to what's best for your health.  First of all, understand that most of the food available to the public today is deficient in the most basic nutrients.

Secondly, consider (even if your doctor doesn't seem to be as concerned as you need to be) that you may have to start developing a plan as to how you will help your body obtain those nutrients missing from most diets. 

Thirdly, do consider the notion that maybe, just maybe, many of the diseases you are most likely to become afflicted with (if not already afflicted) are being caused or exacerbated by micronutrient deficiencies.

If you start getting the many nutrients (about 90--though you won't hear that from most doctors) you need, you can prevent many of the diseases and medical conditions the medical establishment doesn't appear to be eager to permanently cure or prevent.  Some conventional healthcare providers will tell you that that is farfetched but doctors said the same thing about scurvy (and other nutritional deficiencies) back in the Dark Ages. 

Do read the history of scurvy and if why it took so long for the medical community to acknowledge the cure that had been available for hundreds of years isn't solid proof to you that doctors can often be stubbornly opposed to the truth (especially when epiphanies are coming from naturopathic/holistic doctors), then you are living with your head in the sand.

If, on the other hand, you want to be liberated from the many lies and the profit-motivated agendas that control and drive modern healthcare, then make yourself ready for some drastic changes.  As soon as possible, find a naturopathic or holistic physician and say:

"What can I do, doctor, to become healthier naturally?"

"How can I stop the damage that has been already perpetrated on my body by synthetic medicines, toxins in our food, water and air, and the many toxic products I have been ignorantly using every day?"

"What dietary changes do I need to make in order to prevent most chronic diseases--or treat them naturally, if already afflicted?"

Of course, it's difficult to undo or reduce the ramifications of years of toxicity exposure and diets flagrantly lacking in proper nutrition but, the sooner you begin, the better you will feel and the sooner you will notice the great differences (in terms of outcome) between:

1.  "synthetic, treat-the-symptoms-not-the-disease, not-interested-in-prevention-or-cures (especially "natural" ones), and profit-motivated" medicine,

versus

2.  "holistic/naturopathic, natural-cures-&-treatments-controlled, putting-patients-above-profit-motivated, focused-on-permanent-cures-and-prevention, and keeping-you-genuinely-healthy" medicine!

Copyright, 2017.  Fred Fletcher.  All rights reserved.

References & Resources

1.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11795/

2.  http://butternutrition.com/is-western-medicine-crazy/

3.  http://www1.cbn.com/health/what-traditional-medicine-doesn%26rsquo%3Bt-cure

4.  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/22/modern-medical-scandal.aspx

5.  https://draxe.com/conventional-medicine-is-the-leading-cause-of-death/

6.  http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/2170/My-MS-was-a-vitamin-deficiency

7.  http://universityhealthnews.com/daily/energy/3-top-nutritional-deficiencies-as-fatigue-causes/

8.  http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/04/alternative-medicine-practitioners-lead-health-policy.html

9.  http://galacticconnection.com/the-cancer-industry-is-too-prosperous-to-allow-a-cure-2/

10.  http://actualcures.com/

11.  https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/what-is-vitamin-d/

12.  http://www.healthline.com/health/vitamin-d-deficiency#complications4