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Neyssa Sossous
Mr. Klejmont
ENC 1101
13 November 2014

Vitamin Deficiencies
Since childhood, people have been taught to eat their fruits and
vegetables to be healthy. Mothers say to their children Broccoli will make
you big and strong and Carrots will give you super vision. The reason for
this is that fruits, vegetables, and other foods contain vital nutrients. One of
those nutrients would be vitamins. By definition, a vitamin is a vital dietary
substance that is needed in a very small amount to perform a specific
metabolic function or to prevent an associated deficiency disease. Also,
vitamins cannot be manufactured by the body and therefore must be
supplied by the diet. The amount of vitamins needed is very small unless
some special state or condition creates an increased need in a particular
individual. The total volume of vitamins a healthy person requires would
actually barely fill a teaspoon. While vitamins seem so small, they still play
big roles in ones health. The functions of vitamins include being control
agents in cell metabolism, being components of body tissue construction,
and preventing specific nutritional deficiency disease. Specific vitamins each
have their own functions and if someone is deficient in a vitamin, then the
person may experience problems that are associated with the vitamin. For
example, riboflavin (Vitamin B2) is essential for tissue health and growth so a
deficiency in this would cause tissue to inflame and break down and would

cause wounds to heal poorly (Williams 93.) Some other vitamins have their
own functions and deficiencies in them can cause major health issues which
can sometimes lead to sudden death.
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Vitamin K
Vitamin K, also known as quinone, is not a very well-advertised vitamin.
Vitamin K is needed for the production of prothrombin, which is necessary for
blood clotting and bone formation and repair (Balch 49.) James and Phyllis
Balch also say that the vitamin is needed in the intestines and aids in
converting glucose into glycogen for storage in the liver (49.) A deficiency in
the vitamin can cause prolonged blood clotting time (Voughan xxiii.) Lack of
vitamin K in the system causes severe internal bleedingsometimes in the
brainknown as hemorrhagic. Infants are born with very low vitamin K
levels, so they can easily suffer from a deficiency. This is actually one of the
reasons why infant mortality rates were so high in the past. Now, to prevent
such deaths, all newborn babies have been given vitamin K injections at birth
for the past 20 years (Vitamin K and Newborns.) Vitamin K deficiencies in
adults are rare because it can be produced in the intestines with gut
bacteria. Besides the vitamin being found in the intestines, vitamin K is also
easily found in vegetable oils, cereals, green leafy vegetables, grapes, and
plums (Clarke 29.)
Vitamin B3

This vitamin is also known as niacin or nicotinic acid. The vitamin is

responsible for helping convert food into energy. It also develops and
maintains the nervous and digestive system and helps in manufacturing DNA
(Clarke 28.) Food sources of this vitamin are peanuts, organ meats, poultry,
fish, legumes, whole grains and fruits (Hobbs 41.) Because this vitamin is
related to the

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nervous system, it has the ability to positively affect psychiatric disorders.
Dr. Mercola has done his own research and says that
According to Dr. saul, other researchers have confirmed Dr. Hoffers
findings and found niacin can be successful in the treatment of mental
disorders, such as schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, anxiety,
depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder.
Vice versa, having a deficiency in B3 damages the central nervous system,
causing confusion, apathy, disorientation, and neuritis. A general niacin
deficiency causes one to feel weak, have poor appetite, indigestion and have
various disorders of the skin and nervous system. Pellagra is the deficiency
disease

associated

with

niacinwhich

is

characterized

dementia, weakness, vertigo, and anorexia (Williams 95.)

Vitamin B12

by

diarrhea,

This complex B vitamin is known as cobalamin. In the book written by James

and Phyllis Balch, the functions of the vitamin are preventing anemia,
regulating the formation of red blood cells, allowing utilization of iron, being
used for proper digestion, preventing nerve damage, maintaining fertility,
and promoting normal growth and development. The initial source of B 12 is
found in bacteria found in dirt. When animals eat of the ground, they easily
consume dirt and take in plenty cobalamin. Humans generally dont eat dirt,
so they get their sources secondhand by consuming liver, kidney, meat,
dairy and eggs. Because vegetarians and vegans dont eat these foods, they
often do become deficient in B12. This means that vegans and vegetarians
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must take B12 supplements to not be deficient. Others who may suffer from a
deficiency are people who take medication that prohibits the absorption of
cobalamin like birth control, the elderly, and people that have problems
absorbing nutrients like those with celiac disease. The general symptoms of
such a deficiency include nervous disorders, sore mouth and tongue,
amenorrhea, and neuritis (Williams 103.)

Other symptoms are chronic

fatigue, depression, anxiety, muscle wasting, temperature dysregulation,

anorexia,

pernicious

anemia,

and

many

more.

In

the

documentary

Diagnosing and treating Vitamin B12 Deficiency, sufferers reveal all that has
happened to them because of the deficiency. One man went through almost
all of the symptoms and even became blind, deaf, and paralyzed because of
the B12 deficiency. He was very close to death until he was properly

diagnosed and treated with supplements and he is now functioning normally

except he is on forearm crutches because of the permanent nerve damage.
Pregnant women should watch their B 12 levels because it plays a big role in
development of the nervous system of the fetus. If the mother has a B 12
deficiency, so will the child. But even after the deficient child is treated, the
child will most likely forever suffer with a neurologic illness of some sort.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is needed for the absorption and
utilization of calcium and phosphorus. It is necessary for the bone and teeth
growth and health. Vitamin D protects against muscle weakness, regulates
the heartbeat, and prevents and treats osteoporosis and hypocalcemia,
enhances immunity, and is necessary for thyroid function and
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blood clotting. Vitamin d is mostly manufactured by the skin when exposed
to sunlight. Exposing the face and arms to the sun for 15 minutes three
times a week is an effective way to ensure adequate amounts of vitamin D
are in the body (Balch 46.) In food form, vitamin D can be found in fish, eggs,
sweet potatoes, vegetable oils, and herbs. A deficiency in this vitamin causes
rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. Symptoms associated with the
deficiency are loss in appetite, diarrhea, insomnia, visual problems,
depression, and weight loss. Also, those that have low levels of vitamin D in

the body are 35% more likely to die from heart disease and 14% more likely
to die from cancer (Johnson.)
All in all, vitamins have their reasons for exiting and people shouldnt
underestimate the powerful effects vitamins can have in health because a
deficiency can be extremely harmful to the body. Examples of vitamin
deficiencies that greatly put the body in danger are vitamin K, B 3, B12, and D.
There are of course many other vitamins that have their own importance and
none should be deemed as trivial. There is a good reason why people are
encouraged to eat healthy foods and that is because these foods are nutrient
dense and have the ability to ensure that the body is functioning properly.

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Work Cited
Balch, James F., and Phyllis A. Balch. Prescription for Nutritional Healing: Ato-Z guide to
supplements. Garden City Park: Avery, 1998. Print.
Clarke, Jones. Complete Family Nutrition. New York: DK, 2014. Print.

Diagnosing and Treating Vitamin B12 Deficiency. Youtube. Youtube, Jan.

2013. Web. 12 Nov.
2014.
Hobbs, Christopher and Elson Hass. Vitamins for Dummies. Foster City: IDG
Books, 1999. Print.
Johnson, Lorie. How a Vitamin D Deficiency Could Slowly Kill You. Charisma
News. Charisma
Media, Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Mercola. Could Chronic Niacin deficiency be a Root Cause of Increase in
Deranged Violent
Crimes. Mercola. Dr. Joseph Mercola, Oct. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Vaughan, J.G., and P.A. Judd. The Oxford Book of Health Foods. New York:
Oxford, 2003. Print.
Vitamin K and Newborn Babies. Better Health Channel. State Government
of Victoria, Nov.
2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Williams, Sue R. Basic Nutrition and Diet Therapy. St. Louis: Mosby-Year,
1995. Print.