Which accompanying symptoms indicate a mineral deficiency?
Other common symptoms of a mineral deficiency are failure to thrive, concentration problems, sleep problems, weak nerves and muscles, coagulation problems and anaemia. A twitching eyelid can also occur. Coagulation disorders can occur both with a vitamin K deficiency and with a calcium deficiency.
Vitamin K plays an important role in the synthesis of some coagulation factors (2,7,9 and 10) in the liver. A vitamin K deficiency can therefore lead to bleeding complications, among other things. In the vascular system, there is a balance of thrombus formation and dissolution in the optimal case.
This means that neither thrombus formation nor bleeding occurs. During the clotting process, calcium is released by the thrombocytes (“blood platelets“) and helps to ensure that they congregate and dock to the vessel wall. This process can be suppressed if there is a calcium deficiency.
In anemia, iron deficiency should be mentioned as described above. Iron deficiency anemia is the most common form of anemia (80%) and is particularly prevalent in developing countries. Like the other hair cells, the hair root cells need some essential minerals for their daily metabolic processes.
Besides the genetically caused type of hair loss, mineral deficiency-associated hair loss is one of the acquired causes. The most important minerals for healthy hair growth are calcium, zinc, selenium and iodine. Calcium plays a key role in hair growth.
It stimulates growth in the proliferation zone in the hair root. Foods containing calcium are milk and dairy products, nuts and almonds, sesame and linseed, Chinese cabbage, kale and spinach. Calcium also plays a decisive role in the formation of enamel and the formation of a healthy tooth structure.
Nevertheless, adequate dental hygiene as primary prevention of diseases such as caries must be pointed out here. Above all, potassium plays a very decisive role in the excitation of the heart. This is also used, for example, during heart operations.
Potassium-rich solutions (cardioplegic solutions) cause cardiac arrest and can be used to operate very precisely on a non-beating heart by using a heart-lung machine. Pathological influence is exerted by an increased or decreased potassium concentration. Hyperkalemia (from about 5.5 mg/dl) can lead to life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia with subsequent cardiac arrest.
Hypokalemia (< 3.5 mg/dl) also has a negative influence on heart excitation. The ECG shows a flattening of T and U waves. However, potassium is not only the strong influence on the heart.
A disturbance in the potassium balance can also lead, among other things, to a weakening of the muscular reflexes, a general muscular adynamia, i.e. an exhaustion of the musculature, and to a paralysis of the smooth musculature with subsequent constipation including paralytic ileus (intestinal paralysis), bladder paralysis with an overfilled bladder. Minerals also play an important role in nail formation. Onychoschisis z.B.
a lamella-like splintering off of the nails beginning from the edge wall, can be approximately consequence of an iron or vitamin deficiency. Also with the Onychorrhexis, the splintering following the longitudinal axis of the nail, a mineral deficiency seems to be a possible cause. The reason for generally brittle nails can be a calcium deficit.
