A gold jeweled crown rests on a pile of vitamin pills.
(Illustration by MRhea using Leonardo.Ai.)

Here’s a list of deficiency symptoms I’ve noticed over the past decade or so, many of which have changed or disappeared over time.

Where blank, symptoms are no longer noticed. To put this more accurately, these are symptoms which resolved with the noted supplements, repeatedly over a period of years.

Nutrient (vitamin, mineral, etc.)Past deficiency symptomsCurrent symptoms
Vitamin A dry eyes, dry lips, earache, vertigo, acne
Vitamin B-complex (that is, B vitamins in general)bad facial skin, low mood, fatigue
Vitamin B1 (thiamin or thiamine)suppressed breathing
Vitamin B3 (niacin)burning tongue
Vitamin B12fatigue, low mood, heels split open dramatically, headaches when taking vitamin b6 or iron, getting up at night to use loo, sweating, burning tongue
Biotinhair fall, blurry vision, low blood sugar 
Vitamin Ceasy bruising, (also used to lower high histamine not caused by vitamin C deficiency)
Calciumfacial numbness, insomnia, leg pain, anxiety, carb cravings/high cortisol, fatigue, joint pain
Vitamin Dfatigue, insomnia
Digestive enzymesbad digestion
Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) – all All EFAs: bumpy skin, difficulty concentrating
Omega-3 EFAs in particular: bumpy skin, minor seizures, mild OCD thing where you doublecheck to see if you locked your car or dropped something behind you
Fiberborborygmus when taking iron
Folatebad nails, difficulty concentrating, restless legs
HCl (stomach acid)bad digestion, thin hair, peeling fingernails
Iodinesoy allergy, high histamine, fatigue, low-grade UTIUTI
Iron (Note: Took me way too long to determine that ferrous “anything” supplements suck. Beef spleen supplements work MUCH better.)fatigue, difficulty concentrating, ridged fingernails, wimpy hair, cracked lipsdifficulty breathing
Vitamin Kmenorrhagia, fatigue, intolerance to vitamin D supplements, difficulty breathing
Magnesiumskin reaction to wool, anxiety, insomnia (with calcium), tight neck muscles, difficulty concentrating
Proteinthin hair, weak fingernailsfatigue
Sodium(when dehydrated) nausea, headache, bad digestionStill happens cuz I am dumb and lazy about dehydration in the desert. Also, got very bad during beginning of menopause. Had to take 2 tsps salt every day for a year or so.
Zincdepression, poor appetite, intolerance to dairy, irritability, fatigue, acne, hangnails, paranoia, anxietyanxiety, low mood.
Waterbad facial skin, strange sensation of despair and homesickness, fatigueStill happens due to stupidity about hydration in desert.


When this content was published or posted

This post was first published on April 6, 2011 and updated in May 2022, October 2022, and October 2023.

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