Nutritional Deficiency Diseases
Macronutrients:
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Micronutrients:
What Causes Deficiency Diseases?
Most dietary deficiency diseases are caused by a lack
of protein, vitamins, or minerals.
WHY?
Economics
Protein deficiency diseases occur when a person does not eat enough protein; these diseases are prevalent in developing countries where people are too poor to buy protein-rich foods or where such foods are hard to find.
Lack of access to nutritious food
, or poor choices, even if the money is present Generally speaking, vitamin and mineral deficiencies are due to diets that lack some of the nutrients found in fresh vegetables and fruit, as well as milk, cheese, or eggs.Sometimes genetic predisposition/illness
In some cases, genetic metabolicdisorders, or illnesses that prevent the body from digesting or absorbing particular nutrients, will cause the deficiencies
Macronutrients
Calorie Deficiency
•
Lack of caloric intake causes your body to go into starvation
mode over time meaning:
–
Hunger
–
Low blood sugar
–
Weight loss as your body consumes fats for energy
–
Loss of muscle mass as your body starts to consume proteins for
energy
–
Susceptibility to nutritional diseases and other illnesses
–
Eventual Death
Kwashiorkor
Kwashiorkor is a disease caused
specifically by a lack of protein in the diet. The term originates from an African word that describes the situation of an infant being weanedfrom breast milk to make room for the next baby. When weaning occurs and protein-rich food (such as milk, meat, or legumes) is not available, the baby experiences
Marasmus
GLOBAL ACUTE MALNUTRITION (GAM)
The weight to height index of malnourished people between 6 months and age 5 years is compared to the same index for a reference population that has no shortage of nutrition.
All children with weight less than 80% of the median weight of children with the same height in the reference population, and/or suffering from Edema, are classified as GAM.
Vitamin Deficiency Diseases
The term “vitamin” is from the early 20th century and is a contraction of “vital amine”
Fat Soluble Vitamins
Vitamin A – Retinol Vitamin D
Vitamin E – Tocopherol Vitamin K
The Ancient Egyptians and Greeks wrote about night blindness, or ‘nyctalopia’. This affliction makes it impossible to see in dim light, and sufferers become completely blind when night falls. The Egyptians found that they could cure sufferers by feeding them liver, (which contains high levels of vitamin A).
Vitamin A deficiency still affects one third of all children on Earth under the age of five, resulting in over half a million deaths each year.
Most high dose vitamins obtain their vitamin A from liver, which is dangerous at high levels and can cause various health complications. In the past, starving Antarctic explorers would eat their dogs for food but became sick when they ate too much liver. Vitamin A found in carrots is a slightly different molecule to that found in liver and is not toxic in high doses, although it can cause skin to turn yellow. During the Second World War, the Allies announced that they ate carrots to see well, although carrots only help maintain normal vision and do not improve it beyond this. Actually they were lying to hide their development of radar.
Vitamin A deficiency also can cause a disease called
xerophthalmia . The symptoms of this disease are eye dryness and thickening of the surface of parts of the eye. If left untreated,
xerophthalmia may lead to blindness.
Vitamin A can be obtained directly from foods such as milk, eggs, and liver, as well as from carotene, a chemical that is found in green and yellow fruits and vegetables such as apricots, cantaloupe, oranges, peaches, collards, broccoli, turnip greens, kale, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash. Carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body.
Vitamin A Deficiency - Xerophthalmia
Rickets causes muscles and bones to become soft, which can cause permanent deformities in children. It is most common in children and infants who have a poor diet or who are
housebound, but is nowadays relatively rare in developed countries. Breast-fed babies are at higher risk if they or their mothers do not take in enough sunlight, and baby formula is now designed to prevent this.
Rickets is caused by a lack of vitamin D or of calcium. Vitamin D is required for calcium to be properly absorbed into bones to strengthen them. Adults rarely develop rickets because their bones are not growing and do not need much calcium. Vitamin D itself is obtained from many foods but the body can only use it if it has been converted into its active form via sunlight. In recent years there has been a slight increase in children with rickets possibly due to too many of them staying indoors.
Water Soluble Vitamins
B Vitamin Group
B1 - thiamine B2 – riboflavin
B3 - niacin B4 – pantothenic acid
B5 B6 group B7 - biotin
B8 B9 – folic acid
B12
After the discovery and exploration of the Americas, corn was grown by settlers and all around the world. The natives who had originally grown it would treat it with lime, but the taste was unpleasant to the
Europeans and they omitted this part of the
preparation. As corn was increasingly farmed, the disease pellagra began to spread. Symptoms included diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and finally death. Many people believed that corn was in some way toxic, but could not explain the lack of pellagra among natives in the New World. After thousands of deaths, it was discovered that corn, although high in carbohydrates, lacked vitamin B3 (niacin). Farmers would sometimes eat little other than corn and succumb to the
deficiency. The Native Americans had actually been using lime as a way of adding vitamin B3. Today it is well known that by eating a variety of foods vitamin B3 is freely obtained and pellagra is easily treated.
Vitamin B3 – Niacin Deficiency
Pellagra, or Casal’s Necklace
Pellagra affects the skin, nervous system, and digestion, and can cause the "four Ds": diarrhea, dermatitis, dementia, and death. A person who is developing pellagra may feel weak and tired, may have trouble sleeping, and may lose weight. The skin that is exposed to the sun may become scaly, rough, and
reddened, and painful sores may develop in the mouth. There is a loss of appetite accompanied by indigestion and diarrhea. A person with pellagra also might experience headaches,
dizziness, and muscular tremors. Sometimes mental disorders (or dementia) appear.
Pellagra is common around the world, although the
"fortification" of processed wheat with vitamin B in the United States keeps the numbers low. Pellagra is seen in people who eat mostly corn rather than.
Good sources of niacin include liver, lean meat, whole wheat products, fish, eggs, roasted peanuts, the white meat of
Vitamin B1 – Thiamine Deficiency
Beriberi
Beriberi is a disease whose symptoms include weight loss, body weakness and pain, brain damage, irregular heart rate, heart failure, and death if left untreated. It was endemic in Asia for a long time. Strangely, Beriberi occurred almost exclusively amongst the richer members of society, and was unknown in the poor. Although recognized to be a nutritional deficiency, doctors were baffled as to why wealthy people with plentiful and clean food would fall victim to beriberi whereas the poor with limited food did not. As it turned out, beriberi is a deficiency of vitamin B1
(thiamine) which is found in cereal grain husks. The rich had been washing their rice so well that they removed the husk with its vitamin B1, whereas the poor did not wash their food as well and consumed enough vitamin B1. White bread can also potentially cause beriberi, so today developed countries add extra vitamin B1 to it.
Beriberi affects the heart, digestive system, and nervous system. The early stages of beriberi are characterized by fatigue, loss of appetite, and a numb, tingling feeling in the legs. Thiamine is also used to help the body make energy.
Beriberi is still found in Japan, Indonesia,
China, Malaysia, India, Burma, the Philippines, Brazil, Thailand, and Vietnam. In the United States and other developed nations, it usually occurs in a milder form, often accompanying malnutrition and alcoholism.
Beriberi also may affect pregnant women who have a poor diet, and people in institutions where there is poor nutritional planning, such as some prisons, geriatric hospitals, or
institutions for the mentally ill.
Vitamin C Deficiency
Scurvy
Scurvy was first noted among people who spent a long time at sea. Boats would only carry non-perishable foods such as salted meats and dried grain, so sailors ate few if any fruits or vegetables.
Scurvy causes lethargy, skin spots, bleeding gums, loss of teeth, fever, and death.
Ancient sea-faring civilizations would cure it with various herbs. In more recent times, these ancient cures were not used
consistently and their value was not
realized. In the 18th century horse meat and citrus fruits were found to cure scurvy, and British sailors consumed limes to the extent that they were nicknamed ‘limeys’.
Vitamin C Deficiency: Wikipedia excerpt
Scurvy and the Franklin Expedition
In 1981, a team of scientists led by Owen Beattie, a professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta,
began a series of scientific studies of the graves, bodies, and other physical evidence left by Franklin crew members on Beechey Island and King William Island. They concluded that the crew members whose
graves had been found on Beechey Island most likely died of pneumonia and perhaps tuberculosis and that lead poisoning may have worsened their health, owing
to badly soldered cans held in the ships' food stores. However, it was later suggested that the source of this
lead may not have been tinned food, but the distilled water systems fitted to the expedition’s ships.Cut marks on human bones found on King William Island
were seen as signs of cannibalism. The combined evidence of all studies suggested that
hypothermia, starvation, lead poisoning and disease including scurvy, along with general exposure to a hostile environment whilst lacking adequate clothing and nutrition, killed everyone on
the expedition in the years following its last sighting by Europeans in 1845.
Mineral Deficiency Diseases
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Boron
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Cobalt
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Chromium
•
Calcium
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Copper
•
Fluoride
•
Iodine
•
Iron
•
Manganese
•
Molybdenum
•
Selenium
•
Zinc
Iodine is necessary for the proper functioning of the thyroid, a gland in your neck region that controls the body's metabolic rate and produces essential hormones. Without
sufficient iodine in the diet, the thyroid begins to enlarge its cells in an effort to produce its hormones, and this activity may produce a goiter, which is a swelling in the front of the neck.
Some geographic regions lack iodine in the soil, which can lead to hypothyroidism
(underactive thyroid) and to arrested physical and mental development in infants. One very common source of iodine is iodized salt.
Another excellent source of iodine are foods form the sea.
Iodine Deficiency:
Goiter
Graph shows the prevalence of goiter in schoolchildren in some Iranian villages before and after the distribution of iodized salt, in 1993, to the
Iron and anemia
Iron is necessary for the
formation of certain proteins and enzymes. Hemoglobin, which is the oxygen-carrying protein in the blood, is one such iron-dependent protein. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, a lack of oxygen in the blood,
which in turn can lead to fatigue and other complications. Good food sources of iron are liver, lean meats, legumes, dried fruits, and green leafy
vegetables.
Iron Deficiency:
Double-Fortified Salt –
A zinc deficiency can lead to prostate and skin disorders, while a copper deficiency can lead to metabolic disorders.
Zinc and copper are trace elements that are found in a variety of foods. Deficiencies of these minerals are rare.
Calcium and Phosphorus Deficiencies
Deficiencies of calcium and phosphorus lead to softening of the bones (including Rickets) or to hypercalcemia, a condition in which too much calcium leads to a surplus formation of bone.
Calcium and Phosphorus work together to maintain good bone health; when one or the other is out of balance due to dietary
deficiency, bone formation is compromised.
https://bu.digication.com/Lewallen-IH887-Oct-2011/Micronutrient_Deficiencies
Digestive System
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