The essentiality of most vitamins and minerals was discovered in this way. First people became sick with a deficiency disease, then someone discovered an ingredient in food that could remiss the problem. Some classic deficiency diseases such as Beriberi, lack of thiamine, cause paralysis, heart failure and edema, whereas goiter, a lack of iodine, creates an enlarged thyroid. Pellagra, the niacin deficiency, causes redness and rash that turns rough and dark as well as mental disturbance. Rickets, a vitamin D deficiency softens the bones, which can produce deformities. Scurvy, a lack of vitamin C produces bleeding gums, loose teeth, multiple bruises, rough skin and loss of appetite. Below is a list of nutrients which you should specifically be concerned with:
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