Micronutrient Deficiency and Its Impact on the Eye

What is micronutrient deficiency?

To maintain cognitive functions, stay healthy, and manage the day-to-day task our body needs micronutrients also known as trace elements. Hence along with the daily intake of carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins, we need trace elements in our diet. The vitamins and trace elements are vital even though required in small amounts. When the body falls short of any of these minerals we suffer from micronutrient deficiency as is known in the scientific parley.

The most essential micronutrients are:

Minerals

• Zinc
• Iron
• Boron
• Manganese
• Copper
• Molybdenum
• Chlorine
• Iodine

Vitamins

Vitamins too are important for health. and the deficiency can lead to many diseases and anomalies in the body.

Some of the Major Vitamins are:

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin B 12
• Vitamin B 6
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin A

Only vitamin D is manufactured by the body, while all trace elements and vitamins have to be obtained through a healthy diet. Other vitamins and trace elements are absorbed through the digestive system in case of a good diet. Hence nutritious food is a must for a healthy body. While meat and eggs are rich in minerals and vitamins green leafy vegetables are the doctors' first choice as healthy food. Apart from being rich in vital nutrients, they contain many healthy chemicals. They do not cause obesity and bad cholesterol problems.

Deficiency Impact on Eye

Almost all vitamins when deficient in the body weaken the immune system and lead to many disabilities and diseases.

Among the vitamins, vitamin A is the most important for the eyes. Its deficiency can lead to eye damage. Night blindness and blindness. Fortunately, it is found in many fruits, meat, egg, milk, and vegetables. But people with extremely poor diets suffer from eye disease in India and many developing countries.

Lack of Vitamin A leads to dryness in the eyes which can damage the cornea. The deficiency impacts 190 million children all over the World. The severity of the problem is being met by institutional programs that aid by providing supplements to poor children who are most likely to suffer from malnourishment.

Even vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to disturbed vision and difficulty in focusing. Damage to the optic nerve is the main cause that leads to vision impairment. Zinc causes altered vision when not included in the diet. Its shortage in the body impacts not only the eye but the whole body suffers due to lack of immunity. A severe lack of Zinc can damage the retina.

Lack of folic acid in the diet can cause nutritional ophthalmic neuropathy leading to bilaterally symmetrical, cecocentral vision loss. The normal need for folate per day is 400 µg. Vitamin C shortage leads to capillary fragility that can cause ocular hemorrhage.

Other Causes & Remedial Action

Gastric atrophy is caused by bacterial interference and excessive use of antacids among older populations also causes optical disturbances. Procedures like gastric bypass can lead to malabsorption of vital nutrients and lead to vitamin B12 shortage in the body and cause optical damage. Gastric bypass is becoming very popular all over the World due to the rise in obesity hence care should be taken to assure proper food absorption in the active portion of the digestive system. Acute alcoholism also leads to malabsorption of vital nutrients and vitamins hence specialists should advise eye patients to cut down on alcohol.

The patient should be under the care of a leading micronutrient expert before undergoing eye treatment. It is becoming more and more important for ophthalmologists and surgeons to read reports of serum levels of vitamins and minerals that impact eye health. This could lead to a better and swift treatment to bring back normal vision among the people. Most of the advanced abnormalities in the vision can be corrected by refractive eye surgery.

Uday writes often on Indian wildlife especially about the tigers. He works as a naturalist and is fond of travel. Uday also provides search engine optimization service and website contents in English.