Even Borderline Vitamin Deficiency Can Sabotage Your Motivation
The thief of your motivation and energy may be a simple vitamin deficiency. Yet, is it fair to suggest that it is simple? After all, it hardly seems logical to label something as simple when it is significant enough to change your entire day. Think about it. Are you going to be the best version of you with low motivation and energy. Of course not! Without you realizing it, a vitamin deficiency could be the primary reason you dread starting each day.
Are You Making This False Assumption?
Let’s go ahead and state a fact. It is not if a vitamin deficiency is contributing to low motivation and energy, it is. The real question is how deficient are you. See, you are likely like so many others that have been misled into the apparent safety of taking a multivitamin. Even with so many taking multivitamins, vitamin deficiency is still an ongoing problem. Ironically, it is rarely considered as a cause of symptoms and little acknowledgement is given to the poor performance of most multivitamins.
Vitamins and minerals are critical. Without them, normal function of the body should not be expected. According to one lab’s review of data, up to 50% of those taking a multivitamin still had deficiencies. Let me say this differently. Even when you are taking the treatment, you still have the condition. There are many reasons for this, but regardless, you are not getting what you need. If you fail to provide the right amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to the body, don’t expect to have high horsepower motivation and energy.
Almost Doesn’t Count – The Borderline Vitamin Deficiency
“It’s not that bad.” This is the most misleading mindset that you can have when thinking about your health. It lulls you into thinking nothing is wrong. In reality, it is the first indication that something is going seriously wrong. I see this all the time when talking about a vitamin deficiency. It is not that low. Yet, the level of the vitamin is still low. Low equals suboptimal. Suboptimal equals low motivation and energy. Why would you settle for anything other than 100% optimal?
Here is how it breaks down when it comes to having a vitamin deficiency. You have 3 categories you can fit into.
- Optimal – You have enough of a vitamin or mineral, even under states of stress.
- Borderline Deficient – You do not have enough of a nutrient to function optimally under stress (which we all routinely deal with)
- Functionally Deficient – There is not enough of the nutrient available to function even in the absence of stress. In this state, lack of vitamins and minerals is absolutely sabotaging your motivation and energy.
Correcting a Vitamin Deficiency for More Motivation and Energy
Let me break this down into a “Do” and “Don’t” list.
Do:
- Test your levels of nutrients to find out if your sufficient, borderline deficient or functionally deficient
- Only take the nutrients that you specifically need to improve your motivation and energy
- Be consistent with correcting nutrient deficiencies, which can take up to 6 months when done correctly
- Use food and supplements as needed to correct your deficiencies
Don’t:
- Guess which nutrients you need. Find out specifically with testing and eliminate the guessing
- Take random “feel good” supplements like B12 pills
- Change your diet or take the right supplement for a week and wonder why it didn’t work, it needs time
Motivation and energy and are obtainable. I realize it can feel daunting to get out of bed some days feeling that you have to pull yourself your another day. Often times however, the most complex presentations require getting back to the basics. Starting with investigating your nutrients deficiencies should be top priority. Chances are you will likely find more out about yourself than you realized.
Which tests can be run to determine if a deficiency exists
Here is a list of the best tests to determine if you have a deficiency. I have listed them in order of which tests I would give preference.
1. White blood cell proliferation (performed by SpectraCell)
2. Red blood cell analysis (performed by a handful of labs)
3. Organic acids (performed by specialty labs with some being better than others)
4. Serum blood tests, or what we would think about as traditional blood tests for nutrients like B12 and folate (performed by most doctor’s offices)
How can one get these tests if their doctor will not do them?
It is best to work with a doctor that understands how to interpret these tests and provide you with the most information from the results. Here is a link to help you get started moving forward, regardless of your location.