Understanding Nutrient Deficiency

Good morning!

In this week's edition, I want to break down what I consider to be the biggest contributor to seemingly arbitrary health problems. I’m breaking it into a two-part series. This week, we’ll unpack nutrient deficiencies, and why they are so problematic. Then, we’ll connect the dots to something that affects us all, soil depletion.

Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways

• Most people don’t get enough of certain vitamins and minerals, and these mild, long-term shortfalls (subclinical deficiencies) weaken the body long before symptoms appear.

• You can protect your long-term health by ensuring consistent intake of all 29 essential micronutrients.

• Prevention is the most powerful form of healthcare, and supporting micronutrient sufficiency today saves you from major health consequences tomorrow.

CORE

The Big Picture

Before we get into exactly what nutrient depletion is, we should ask a very important question… why should you care?

As a healthcare professional, I can tell you that most people only adjust their lifestyle when the threat of losing their health finally taps them on the shoulder… or throws a brick through the window, if you know what I mean.

Many people only start taking our health seriously after a scare, when blood sugar numbers come back high, when a long-standing habit catches up to us, or when stress finally shows up in our bodies. It’s human nature to delay change until something forces our attention.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because these are the obvious examples. The loud ones. But what if I told you that far more people are deficient in at least 1 micronutrient? The cumulative effects of this aren’t as direct as the first examples but when the basics crumble, everything on top of them becomes shakier.

What Is Subclinical Deficiency?

The medical community generally operates with the ‘black or white’ logic. Either you’re deficient, or you’re sufficient. Being nutrient deficient as defined by our handy Webster Dictionary means, “An inadequate supply of essential nutrients (vitamins and minerals) in the diet resulting in malnourishment or disease”.

Did you catch the caveat? To be considered nutrient deficient, you already need to have physiological problems. And your system will do whatever it takes to keep blood levels looking normal because of homeostasis, even if it has to quietly steal nutrients from other tissues. That means by the time a biomarker becomes abnormal, you’re not just “a little low”… you’re basically running on fumes.

Take magnesium: only 1% of it is in your blood. The other 99% is in your bones and tissues. Your body will happily pull magnesium out of your bones to keep your serum levels looking tidy for the lab report. Everything looks normal until suddenly it doesn’t.

See where this is heading? And that’s subclinical deficiency. A situation where you’re low on a nutrient without obvious symptoms.

What Can You Do About It?

You essentially have one solution, make sure your body actually receives the 13 essential vitamins and 16 essential minerals it needs. Something that’s much easier said than done. To my liking, there are 3 good options to meet this goal:

Option 1: Work with a dietitian to build a perfectly calibrated diet.

This usually means weighing food, tracking macros, and eating with the precision of someone training for the Olympics. It works, that’s for sure. But it’s time-consuming, tedious, and not compatible with “I have 12 minutes to eat lunch.”

Option 2: Eat a varied diet.

For most people, this works well. Plenty of fish, lean meats, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and minimal processed junk. It covers most nutrient needs, but personal food preferences matter. If you consistently avoid certain foods, like leafy greens, you could slowly develop a marginal deficiency, such as low B9 (folate), which adds up over time.

Option 3: You eat a balanced, varied diet and enjoy your favorite foods, but you also choose to take a micronutrient supplement as a form of “insurance.”

RDIs (recommended daily intakes) are minimums, not maximums, so it’s safe to get a little extra of certain nutrients, like vitamin C. Supplementation helps fill small gaps that can naturally occur in any diet, giving you confidence that your body has everything it needs to thrive.

When it comes to micronutrient supplements I’ve done my fair share of homework. 4 years of studying to become a licensed EMT and dietitian, so I can spot a good supplement from a wannabe. I’m not going to name names, but I really have seen it all:

• Hydration mixes that have more vitamins than minerals.

• “Electrolytes” are just table salt + flavorings.

• Trace mineral products that have 0.0000000001mg of each mineral

That’s why OmniBlue stands out. No fillers. No contaminants. No pretending. Just naturally concentrated minerals from remote locations (far from any industrial sites), created by solar evaporation. Everything you want, nothing you don’t.

ENDNOTE

Final Thoughts

And hey, tomorrow’s Thanksgiving! So take a breath, relax, and enjoy the day. Eat what you love, laugh a little too loud, and soak in the moments with friends and family. Health matters, but so does celebrating the little joys.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Adrian Macdonald | Team Dietitian | The 8% Newsletter Author