Maybe you’ve heard that iron deficiency can leave you feeling sleepy. But believe it or not, that’s not the only nutrient that can drag down your energy levels.
In fact, just as iron deficiency can be damaging if not handled correctly, these nutrient deficiencies can lead to more than just exhaustion, too.
Dr. Anthony Komaroff, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told US News & World Report that “fatigue can be like an early warning sign of potentially more severe problems down the road if you don’t recognize and treat the problem causing the fatigue.”
There are three mineral deficiencies and two vitamin deficiencies that are the most common causes of fatigue. In order of most common, they are:
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Vitamin B12
- Folic acid
With dietary changes or supplements, all of these deficiencies can be easily corrected.
However, fatigue is just the beginning where these deficiencies are concerned. For example, you need iron to build hemoglobin, which goes inside red blood cells, which gives the body oxygen and energy.
A B12 deficiency can lead to permanent brain damage.
Interestingly, what we think of as “anemia” doesn’t just include iron deficiency, it can actually be the lack of B12 and folic acid in the blood that causes it as well. Anemia is a danger for women during menstruation especially, and symptoms can include severe fatigue, headache, chest pain, and increased heart rate.
What’s the biggest cause of nutrient deficiency? Restrictive diets. For example, cutting too many carbs is likely to leave you high and dry in the B vitamins department.
Of course, it’s totally likely that your fatigue is caused by some other factor. It could always be something like lack of sleep or exercise that’s actually causing it. Talk to your doctor if you’re worried about your level of fatigue.
