“These are the 5 most common nutritional deficiencies I see in my Orange, chiropractic and integrative medicine practice: Magnesium, Zinc, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Omega 3 Fatty Acids (ALA, EPA, DHA). I feel that these deficiencies are not just representative of my local area but are a glimpse of what the world, in general, is experiencing. Below is a brief summary for each nutrient. My ranking of nutritional deficiencies are based on dietary analysis, clinical observation and blood tests.” Marcus Ettinger BSc., DC

1. Magnesium

Deficiency: 8 out of 10 clients show clinical signs of magnesium deficiency. The average American diet only contains 50% to 60% of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). According to Dr. Guosong Liu, half the population of industrialized countries have a magnesium deficit, which increases with aging.

Symptoms: Anxiety, confusion, heart attack, hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD), insomnia, nervousness, muscular irritability (twitches, spasms or cramps), restlessness, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), weakness, heart palpitations, depression….

Recommended Foods: All green leafy vegetables (ex. Swiss chard and spinach), Seeds (pumpkin or sunflower seeds), Beans (black or navy beans).

Recommended Nutritional Supplements: Calm “magnesium caps” See: Magnesium and the Pathogenesis of disease (400 – 600 mg’s per day)

2. Zinc

Deficiency: 7 out of 10 clients show clinical signs of deficiency.

Symptoms: Acne, ADD/ADHD, brittle nails, delayed sexual maturity, depression/apathy, diarrhea, eczema, fatigue, growth impairment, hair loss, high cholesterol levels, immune impairment, impotence, irritability, lethargy, loss of appetite, loss of sense of taste, low stomach acid (HCl), male infertility/abnormal sperm, memory impairment, night blindness, paranoia, white spots on nails, poor wound healing, psoriasis….

Recommended Foods: Calf’s liver, beef, mushrooms, spinach, green peas and pumpkin seeds.

Recommended Nutritional Supplements: Zinc Glycinate (50 – 100mg’s per day).

3. Vitamin D

Deficiency: 10 out of 10 clients show deficiency (99.8% of all of my Labcorp, client blood tests have shown deficiency).

Symptoms: Allergies, auto immune diseases, burning sensation in mouth, cancer, diarrhea, insomnia, myopia, nervousness, osteoporosis, poor calcium utilization, rickets, scalp sweating, weight gain….

Recommended Foods: Cod liver oil, shrimp and eggs.

Recommended Nutritional Supplements: Power Vitamin D3 or Power D3 Softgels. Recommended dosage of Vitamin D3/Cholecalciferol is (6,000 – 10,000 IU’s per day for adults and 2,000 IU’s for children above the age of five. A base-line blood test should be done with a goal of achieving a blood level between 50 – 70 ng/mL ). Skin exposure to the sun, 15 minutes per day, is another great way to get adequate Vitamin D exposure. Note: living in southern California, I only take my Vitamin D during the months of October – the beginning of June. I surf a lot and as soon as my wetsuit comes off and I can get 15 minutes+ of direct sunlight, I no longer need the supplement form. In fact if if I kept taking it I would sunburn within 15 minutes. This is what your body does when the vitamin D level is sufficient.

4. Vitamin E

Deficiency: 3/10 Males and 2/10 Females show signs of deficiency.

Symptoms: Neurological disturbances (gait disturbances, poor reflexes, loss of position sense, loss of vibration sense), shortened red blood cell life….

Recommended Foods: Green leafy vegetables (Mustard greens, chard, spinach and turnip greens), almonds and sunflower seeds.

Recommended Nutritional Supplements: Power E Complex – d-alpha Tocopherol w/mixed Tocohperols (400 – 800 IU’s per day)

5. Omega 3 Fatty Acids (ALA, EPA, DHA)

Deficiency: 8/10 show signs of deficiency.

Symptoms: Diarrhea, dry skin and hair, hair loss, acne, eczema, psoriasis, immune weakness, infertility, poor wound healing, premenstrual syndrome, gall stones, liver degeneration, ADD/ADHD and depression….

Recommended Foods: Wild-caught salmon (Important: avoid farm-raised salmon because of pollutants, artificial color and lack of EFA’s), flax seed and/or flax seed oil, walnuts and sardines.

Recommended Nutritional Supplements: Ultra Omega 3-6-9 (2 – 4 caps per day) or High Lignan Flax Seed Oil (3 – 6 caps per day)

Power Vitamin D3

Older Adults With Higher Vitamin D Levels Have Improved Mobility, Study Finds
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News

April 26, 2010 (Anaheim, Calif.) — Vitamin D, already considered a way to help fight colds, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other ills, may also keep people mobile in their golden years, according to a new study.

Older adults who had higher blood levels of vitamin D had better physical functioning, says Denise Houston, PhD, RD, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. She presented the findings Sunday at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting.

“Those with better vitamin D levels started out better and ended up better on physical performance tests,” she tells WebMD.

We offer two easy ways to obtain your daily Vitamin D:

Liquid Power Vitamin D – and -  Power Vitamin D3 (soft gels)

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) Softgels

Q: Hi,

Does the Vitamin D3 Softgels need to be refrigerated after opening?

Thanks

Julie

A: Julie,

That’s not needed and if you take it daily there will be do chance of it ever losing potency.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger DC, BSc

Men with low blood serum levels of Vitamin D (cholecalciferol) fare worse on tests requiring rapid thinking

May 21, 2009 – Men 60 and older may think faster if they have adequate blood levels of vitamin D, according to a new European study.

The study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, included more than 3,100 men 40 and older in eight European cities: Florence, Italy; Leuven, Belgium, Lodz, Poland; Malmo, Sweden; Manchester, England.; Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Szeged, Hungary, and Tartu, Estonia.

The men, who were about 60 years old, on average, provided blood samples so the researchers could check their vitamin D levels. Their average vitamin D level was in the adequate range.

The men also took three tests of their visual memory, visual scanning, and speed at processing visual information.

Men in their 60s and 70s with low levels of vitamin D were the most likely participants to have low scores on the visual scanning and processing test.