7 Common Deficiencies in Women

April 24th, 2019 by Loretta Lanphier, NP, BCTN, CN, CH, HHP

7 Common Deficiencies in Women

Women’s health issues can often be a scratch-your-head mystery, especially when symptoms indicate one or more possible deficiencies. I see this over and over in clients, even when they are practicing a healthy lifestyle. Could it be excess stress? Absorption issues? Nutrient deficiencies? Hormone imbalance? Usually, those possibilities take a bit of time to answer, which is why it’s best to focus, from the very beginning, on the 7 common deficiencies in women. When addressing these deficiencies, we’ve at least bought time to dig into deeper root causes.

7 Common Deficiencies in Women

1. Iron Deficiency

Of the 7 common deficiencies in women, iron deficiency usually holds the number one spot. Proper iron levels are critical to good health and well-being, particularly for women who experience heavy menstrual periods. When they don’t get enough iron, they are usually prone to experiencing an iron deficiency.

Why you need iron

Iron is a key component in hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen to every cell. The lack of sufficient iron results in fatigue and, ultimately, iron-deficiency anemia. Osteoporosis is a greater risk if you are iron deficient. However, too much iron is toxic, especially if used long-term, so I recommend getting your iron from food and only take iron supplements under the watchful eye of your healthcare practitioner.

How to get iron

Food sources of iron include grass-fed red meat, dried fruit (such as prunes and apricots), beans and lentils, spinach, squash and pumpkin seeds, and — the one thing most of us love — dark chocolate. Many multivitamins created for women also include iron, but unless your doctor says you need an iron supplement to fight a correctly diagnosed iron deficiency, excessive supplemental iron may do more harm than good. The iron included in a multivitamin (unless fulvic acid is also an ingredient) can oxidize the antioxidants. It’s best to supplement with iron separately.

2. Vitamin B Deficiency

The second of the 7 common deficiencies in women is the importance of B vitamins. Since most women are used to living a stressed-filled life, it’s easy to overlook a vitamin B deficiency – especially a vitamin B12 deficiency, often known as the energy vitamin. The fact remains that many women are either deficient or borderline deficient in some or all of the B vitamins.

Why you need B vitamins

Three of the most important B vitamins are vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and folic acid (folate). All three are very important for bone health, inflammation, cardiovascular health, energy production, brain function, and other vital body processes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that almost 40 percent of Americans may have marginal vitamin B12 status. In other words, not low enough to qualify as a deficiency, but low enough to cause some neurological symptoms to appear. Warning signs of a B12 deficiency are slow to appear, so you may be quite deficient by the time you recognize the symptoms, which include: fatigue, muscle weakness, mental fog, memory issues, mood swings, apathy, and tingling in the extremities.

How to get B vitamins

In a whole foods-based diet, some of B vitamins’ best sources are leafy green vegetables, whole grains, and animal products such as wild-caught fish, grass-fed and grass-finished meat, free-range poultry, farm-fresh eggs, organic milk, and other organic dairy products.

However, if you only focus on a single B vitamin, such as folate, it can mask deficiencies in other B vitamins, such as B12. Ideally, it’s best to get the full range of B vitamins from your food sources. If that’s not possible, choose a supplement that contains not just one but a full range of B vitamins. Folate is a different issue. Almost half of women are unable to absorb the common forms of folic acid and need the special form usually abbreviated as “5-methyl,” found in high-quality vitamin/mineral supplements.

3. Vitamin D Deficiency

The third of the 7 common deficiencies in women is vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is a huge issue for many women, even though conventional practitioners often don’t recognize its importance. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, an estimated 1 billion people worldwide have low vitamin D levels, with deficiencies noted across all age and ethnic groups.

Why you need vitamin D

Getting needed serum vitamin D is essential for many attributes of our health, including our bones, brains, and immune function. Research also indicates convincing evidence that appropriate vitamin D3 levels protect against cancer, diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, and many other health concerns. Some common vitamin D deficiency symptoms include broken bones, achy bones, over the age of 50, body mass index greater than 30, dark skin, depression, low energy levels, frequent colds or flu, and excessive head sweating. Get your level tested twice a year. For general health, vitamin D levels should range between 50 to 80 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml).

An article appearing on March 8, 2019, in Current Pharmaceutical Design reported findings from a meta-analysis of eight trials, including a total of 630 participants with cardiovascular disease, associations between vitamin D supplementation and improvement in glycemic control, inflammation, and HDL cholesterol among those who received vitamin D supplements. “Insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and chronic inflammation are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD),” wrote authors V. Ostadmohammadi and colleagues. “Hence, vitamin D supplementation might be an appropriate approach to decrease the complications of CVD.”

How to get vitamin D

Your skin makes vitamin D when exposed to approximately 10-30 minutes of sunlight a day. However, in the northern United States, you won’t get enough sun between October and April, no matter how hard you try. And even if you live in a sunny southern climate, you may not absorb enough vitamin D to meet your body’s requirements, especially if you are indoors much of the time or have dark skin.

To make up the difference, you can consume vitamin D-rich fish such as wild-caught salmon or take a vitamin D supplement in the form of organic D3. I usually recommend 2,000 IU per day for clients, but often testing indicates adding a higher dose for a while. If you don’t spend much time outdoors, regardless of where you live, it’s probably a good idea to supplement all year. It’s imperative to get your vitamin D3 levels tested in the winter when they are usually the lowest. Be sure to stop taking your supplement at least five days before testing to get a truer picture.

Detoxadine organic nascent iodine

4. Iodine Deficiency

Iodine is one of those micronutrients that most people don’t think twice about, but it’s crucial.

Why you need iodine

Your body needs iodine to produce thyroid hormones, which support brain development, bone maintenance, growth, and metabolism. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is iodine deficient. Deficiency in iodine intake can lead to hypothyroidism or goiter, which in turn can affect a great many aspects of your health and metabolism. Iodine is also important for the maintenance of breast health. Some of the common symptoms that indicate one is not getting enough iodine include:

  • Dry mouth, dry skin, and lack of sweating
  • Enlarged thyroid gland, also known as goiter, which contributes to a variety of cancers, including esophageal, breast, ovarian, and thyroid
  • Increased heart rate
  • Shortness of breath
  • Weight gain

How to get iodine

It’s best to get your iodine from food — and it’s not too difficult. Seafood, seaweed, and sea vegetables are all great sources of iodine, even in small amounts. If foods from the sea are not your thing, you can supplement with a nascent iodine supplement. If your experience side effects, back your dosage down and carefully monitor your dosage. Consult with an iodine-literate healthcare practitioner about the amount that is right for you.

5. Selenium Deficiency

Selenium (Se) is another one of those under-recognized micronutrients. Selenium is a trace mineral that contributes to reproductive health, thyroid health and helps reduce DNA damage due to its antioxidant nature in certain forms. Nuts, seeds, beans, and some vegetables are rich in selenium, but you can also take these essential micronutrients in supplement form when your diet falls short. Few people think about it, but everybody should make sure they are getting enough selenium.

Why you need selenium

Like iodine, selenium is important for thyroid function. Other benefits of selenium in the body include improved immune function, reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and lower oxidative stress, to name a few. Note that it is possible to get too much selenium. It’s a good idea to check with a knowledgeable healthcare practitioner before supplementing.

It’s important to note that selenium also plays an important role in cancer prevention. One of the reasons people get cancer is excessive free radical production. By reducing free radicals, selenium helps reduce your risk of cancer.

How to get selenium

Your best bet is to choose sustainably sourced seafood, including tuna, halibut, shrimp, and sardines. For vegetarians and vegans, Brazil nuts offer an excellent source of selenium – usually about three per day. There are almost six times as much selenium in one ounce of Brazil nuts (~ 6 nuts) as in three ounces of tuna, the next highest food source.

There are two things to consider when choosing a good selenium supplement: the source of the selenium and its concentration. Selenium supplements are either made synthetically or sourced from natural ingredients. The selenium concentration indicates how much selenium each serving provides.

I highly recommend using selenium made from high-quality, certified-organic mustard seed and is GMO-free, vegan, and gluten-free. This will provide naturally occurring selenomethionine with the highest bioavailability of the organic (carbon-based) selenium forms.

Reasons you need selenium

6. Magnesium Deficiency

Because magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body, a deficiency can actually harm your health. Researchers have found more than 3,750 magnesium-binding sites on human proteins, which gives you an idea of how important magnesium is for your body’s optimal functioning. Typically only about 30 to 40% of magnesium is absorbed from food.

Why you need magnesium

Magnesium is critical to over 300 enzyme systems regulating and guiding blood glucose control, blood pressure, muscle and nerve function, heart rhythm, and bone health.

How to get magnesium

Foods rich in magnesium include avocados, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, brown rice, cashews, dark leafy greens such as spinach and black beans, all of which offer at least 15% of the daily required amount in a single serving. Many food processing methods remove magnesium, so eat whole foods as much as possible.

Your doctor can test your serum magnesium level, but here’s an important tip to remember. Research from Dr. Ron Elin has shown that anything in the lower half of the normal range of serum magnesium really indicates magnesium deficiency. So it’s important that you are right at the top of the serum magnesium range.

7. Vitamin E Deficiency

Vitamin E is an important fat-soluble vitamin and antioxidant designed to combat inflammation and make red blood cells. The importance of natural vitamin E becomes highlighted when we understand that in nature, vitamin E exists in a family of eight separate but related isomers. These isomers consist of four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta) and four tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta). In fact, in nature, vitamin E never exists in isolation with just one isomer. In today’s dietary supplement market, d-alpha-tocopherol is the isomer most associated with vitamin E products. However, the other forms of tocopherols are beginning to receive attention in addition to the tocotrienol members of the vitamin E family.

Why you need vitamin E

Vitamin E supports your body’s use of vitamin K, which is very important for heart health. Six billion people worldwide and 75 to 90 percent of Americans are deficient in vitamin E. A vitamin E deficiency means an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, cognitive deterioration, and immune dysfunction.

“Free radical formation comes from a variety of chemical reactions in the body and is the basis of many diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension, arthritis, senility, and probably even cancer. Without vitamin E, cell membranes, and DNA are less protected from free radical damage. Vitamin E as an antioxidant helps to stabilize cell membranes and protect the tissues of the skin, eyes, liver, breast, and testes. It protects the lungs from oxidative damage from environmental substances. Free radical formation and oxidation are tied to cancer development… More definitive research is needed. It helps heart and muscle cell respiration by improving function with less oxygen. Vitamin E may improve stamina and endurance and reduce cardiovascular disease. Vitamin E reduces platelet aggregation and platelet adhesiveness to collagen, even more than aspirin.” Dr. Elson M. Haas

How to get vitamin E

Vitamin E can easily be obtained from a healthy diet. According to Dr. Hass: “The best [food] sources of vitamin E are the vegetable and seed or nut oils. To preserve the vitamin E, extraction from nuts and seeds is done naturally, as by cold pressing, rather than by heat or chemical extraction, used in food processing. Because of these forms of processing, the average American diet has lost many of its natural sources of tocopherols. Intake is commonly deficient. Cold-pressed vegetable oils are the best source of vitamin E. These are most healthy in their raw form in dressings and sauces rather than in cooking. Most are polyunsaturated oils, which are adversely affected by heating.”

If using a supplement, choose a full-spectrum vitamin E that contains all 8 naturally occurring tocopherol and tocotrienol isomers. Approximately 400-600 IUs are used preventively. For therapeutic effects, an amount between 800-1600 IUs daily is suggested. With therapeutic uses of vitamin E, it is best to start with a low level and gradually increase it. Avoid the synthetic form. Natural vitamin E is always listed as the “d-” form: d-alpha-tocopherol, d-beta-tocopherol, etc. Synthetic versions are listed as “dl-” forms. Your body has the ability to distinguish between natural and synthetic vitamins. Several studies have shown that natural vitamin E is between two and three times as bioactive as the same amount of vitamin E in the synthetic form.

Oasis Serene Bioidentical progesterone creme

8. Bonus: Progesterone Deficiency

Even though progesterone is not considered a nutrient, a progesterone deficiency can easily wreak havoc on a woman’s health and well-being. Progesterone supports a woman throughout her entire life, especially during those years when the symptoms of hormonal imbalance that comes with PMS, peri-menopause, and post-menopause become troublesome.

Why you need progesterone

Progesterone is not simply a sex hormone, as most assume. If your body becomes overloaded with xenoestrogens (found in food, water, and air) and unable to produce enough progesterone to counteract and balance the estrogen to progesterone ratio, health concerns are often the result.

For women, balanced progesterone levels support healthy breasts, help the body to use fat for energy, act as a natural diuretic, act as a natural anti-depressant, facilitate healthy thyroid function, support healthy blood clotting, support healthy libido, support healthy blood sugar levels, normalize zinc and copper levels, increased bone building and promote normal sleep patterns.

Symptoms of low progesterone include spotting, abdominal pain, frequent low blood sugar, regularly tender breasts, constant fatigue, mood swings, headaches, migraines, low libido, depression and anxiety, irregular menstrual cycle, weight gain, fibroids, thyroid dysfunction, hot flashes, and vaginal dryness.

How to get progesterone

It’s vital to establish “need” before deciding to use bioidentical progesterone. This is most efficiently accomplished by saliva testing your sex hormones to determine the progesterone and estrogen ratio. While some herbs can help with symptoms of progesterone deficiency, they do not provide clinical balancing of progesterone.

RELATED: Hormone Balance – Herbs or Bioidentical Hormones?

When “need” is established, using bioidentical progesterone is the safest way to achieve balance. Years of research and conclusive studies show that Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) is effective and provides natural and safe treatment for pre-menopausal and menopause symptoms and other health concerns. Natural progesterone is a building block for other hormonal interactions and, when properly balanced, ensures that all of your other hormones are working properly.

Studies actually show that Synthetic HRT may not treat menopause symptoms safely and that the risks may far exceed the benefits. Unlike the progesterone produced by the body, synthetic progestins are unlikely converted into neurosteroids and may, in some instances, actually intensify mood disorders.

In closing…

While the words “common deficiency” will apply to many women, it doesn’t have to be true for you. These deficiencies are often a matter of a diet in need of a tweak or possibly a time of extra stress. But they can also signal something more serious. Begin with addressing these 7 common deficiencies in women and the bonus deficiency to ensure you are covered. Taking a high-quality multi-vitamin/multi-mineral formula and eating an organic plant-based diet can help with many of these deficiencies. However, if one has been deficient for a lengthy time, additional supplementation may be necessary and a consult with a knowledgeable practitioner.  Once you address these particular 7 common deficiencies in women, you will feel better and look better. Best of all, your energy levels will soar…and so will your self-confidence! Who doesn’t want that?

RESEARCH

Harvard School of Public Health, Vitamin D and Health

EcoWatch October 11, 2015

Mistry HD, et al. “Selenium in Reproductive Health.” Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2012;2016(1),21-30.

USDA.gov, August 2, 2000

Drutel A et al. “Selenium and the Thyroid Gland: More Good News for Clinicians.” J Clin Endocrinol. 2013;78(2),155-64.

Waters DJ, et al. “Effects of Dietary Selenium Supplementation on DNA Damage and Apoptosis in Canine Prostate.” J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003; 95(3),237-41.

BMC Bioinformatics 2012; 13(Suppl 14): S10

Prevent Disease July 26, 2016

Importance of Natural Vitamin E

Northrup, Dr. Christiane. Traditional Herbs or Bioidentical Hormones: Which Is Better?

de la Foret, Rosalee. 9 Reasons Herbs May Not Work. Herbs with Rosalee. 2012.

Tierra, M. (1998). The Way Of Herbs (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Pocket Books.

Loretta Lanphier is a Naturopathic Practitioner (Traditional), Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Holistic Health Practitioner, and Certified Clinical Herbalist as well as the CEO / Founder of Oasis Advanced Wellness in The Woodlands TX. She studies and performs extensive research in health science, natural hormone balancing, anti-aging techniques, nutrition, natural medicine, weight loss, herbal remedies, non-toxic cancer support, and is actively involved in researching new natural health protocols and products. A 20-year stage 3 colon cancer survivor, Loretta can relate to both-sides-of-the-health-coin as patient and practitioner regarding health and wellness. “My passion is counseling others about what it takes to keep the whole body healthy using natural and non-toxic methods.” Read Loretta’s health testimony Cancer: The Path to Healing. Loretta is a Contributor and Editor of the worldwide E-newsletter Advanced Health & Wellness.

†Results may vary. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. Oasis Advanced Wellness/OAWHealth does not dispense medical advice, prescribe, or diagnose illness. The views and nutritional advice expressed by Oasis Advanced Wellness/OAWHealth are not intended to be a substitute for conventional medical service. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician of choice.

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