In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining optimal health can often feel like an uphill battle. Between juggling work, family, and personal commitments, many of us might be neglecting one critical aspect of our well-being–our nutritional status. Our modern lives, combined with modern foods, can lead to a phenomenon known as nutritional depletion—a state that has far-reaching impacts on our health and vitality. While a food first approach to nutrition is key, research suggests that most Americans do not adhere to healthy eating patterns. And even if you are consuming a close-to-ideal diet, studies show that this is still likely not good enough to give you everything your body needs. So, in modern contexts it has become increasingly challenging to meet nutritional needs through diet alone.

Understanding Nutritional Depletion

Like other aspects of health, nutritional status is a continuum. Nutritional depletion occurs when your body lacks sufficient status of essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients which support optimal function. This is, in part, related to dietary micronutrient inadequacies, or intake of nutrients below requirements and additional environmental and genetic influences. Unlike acute deficiencies, which are more obvious and can lead to severe health issues, nutritional depletion is often subtler and more challenging to detect. It can manifest over time, leaving you feeling off without a clear reason why, with feelings of fatigue, mood challenges, and a lowering of your body's natural immunity.

The Gender Gap in Nutritional Depletion

Certain subgroups of the population, including women, are more vulnerable to nutritional depletion, particularly during critical life stages such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause. For example, requirements for most nutrients increase in pregnancy due to the various biological adaptations that occur to support a healthy gestation and fetal development. 

However, there remain knowledge and research gaps regarding optimized nutrition for supporting women's health outcomes across the perinatal health continuum. Women have been historically excluded from medical research, especially diverse women in nutritionally vulnerable life stages such as pregnancy and lactation. This exclusion also persisted in high-quality studies which informed nutritional recommendations for pregnant and lactating women. This has left us with gaps in our understanding of specific nutritional needs in pregnancy and lactation, compounded by a historical lack of emphasis on nutritional optimization across the perinatal health span by clinicians, researchers, and major health organizations. In recent years, women’s health and nutrition has been gaining traction as a focus area for public health and much research is underway to investigate the nutritional status and needs of women. Unfortunately, as with all research, it tends to take time (~17 years!) for clinical practice to integrate and implement findings.

Nutrition is now widely acknowledged by women’s health experts as critical for shaping maternal and child health outcomes across the lifespan. However, the lack of emphasis on nutrition to support women’s health outcomes in standard practice has generated widespread confusion as mothers and practitioners navigate the approach to nutrition and the choice of dietary supplements for all stages of womanhood. And – this is evident in findings from the recent research on prenatal nutrition. For example, contemporary research suggests that up to 95% of women are not meeting even current nutritional recommendations for certain key nutrients like choline in pregnancy. Therefore, tackling nutritional depletion is of critical importance for supporting women’s health and the health of future generations.

Understanding Nutritional Status Assessment 

So how do we assess nutritional status and risk for nutritional inadequacies and deficiencies in individuals and populations? Nutritional status is commonly assessed in populations using standardized dietary intake surveys. Then, average dietary intakes of nutrients are compared to population-specific recommendations, based on age, gender, and life stage (e.g., pregnancy or breastfeeding). However, survey data is subjective (reliant on human recall!) and studies also measure objective biochemical markers of nutrient intake and status – known as nutritional biomarkers. Despite the importance of objective status measures, quantifying levels of nutrients or markers of their function in circulation come at a higher cost and are used less frequently. Further complicating objective assessment, nutritional biomarkers also have limitations. For example, not all nutrients have clear status biomarkers and some biomarkers require adjustments for states such as inflammation, age, or life stages including pregnancy. Unfortunately, comprehensive assessment and reporting of usual dietary intake and nutritional biomarkers in representative samples of nutritionally vulnerable groups, like pregnant and lactating women tends to be limited.

Causes of Nutritional Depletion

Several factors can contribute to nutritional depletion including:

Life Stages: Life stages such as pregnancy and breastfeeding come with increased nutritional requirements. Additionally, short intervals between pregnancies have been associated with nutritional depletion, as mothers may not have adequate time to recover nutritional stores after prior pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Shifts in Modern Dietary Patterns: American dietary patterns have shifted, leading to increased consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor diets, with the majority of energy [calories] coming from ultra-processed foods. These dietary patterns tend to be high in added sugar and sodium but poor in micronutrients such as iron, iodine, folate, vitamin B, vitamin D, choline, and omega-3 fatty acids. Additionally, restrictive diets may result in nutrient shortfalls that can result in depletion. For example, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that vegans supplement with vitamin B12 during pregnancy and lactation. 

Depleted Soil: Modern agricultural practices have led to soil depletion, meaning the soil in which our food grows contains fewer nutrients. This results in crops with lower nutritional value compared to those grown decades ago. Multiple studies, dating as far back as 1936, have found that farmland soil across the globe is deficient in micronutrients, lowering their content in produce. To further prove this theory, in 2003, Canadian researchers compared data on current vegetable nutrient content to data from 50 years ago. Their findings showed that the mineral content of cabbage, lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes had depleted from 400 milligrams to less than 50 milligrams throughout the twentieth century. 

Environmental toxicants and climate change: For example, estimated rises in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can lead to disproportionate carbon elevations in plants, with declines in soil-derived nutrient content. A 2018 study examining the impact of atmospheric CO2 exposure on rice found that increased CO2 levels reduced the protein, iron and zinc content and led to declines in B vitamins. Additionally, while the reality is that some limited amount of heavy metals are everywhere, from our water supply to organic vegetables, human exposure to environmental toxicants, such as heavy metals is continuously increasing.  Some of these toxicants can compete with nutrients for absorption, and nutrient inadequacies may be exploited by environmental exposures. 

Genetic factors: Many individuals have genetic variations which impact nutrient utilization in the body. For example,  many prenatal supplements and fortified foods contain folic acid, which must be converted in our bodies to the active form of folate that we can use – L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate, or L-5-MTHF. However, many adults have a genetic variation that makes it difficult to convert folic acid into its active form—which means that they may have less biologically active folate available in the body to support processes like healthy methylation.

Medications: Some medications, including common ones like birth control, can interfere with nutrient utilization. For example, the use of oral contraceptives has been shown to modify the absorption of B vitamins, specifically vitamin B6.

Stress: Life stress can increase the body's nutrient needs, especially for vitamins like B-complex and minerals like magnesium.

Social Determinants of Health: Lower socioeconomic status and relatedly, food insecurity (the lack of access to nutritionally adequate food), have been associated with poor dietary quality. About one in 7 households in the US experience a lack of access to affordable, nutritious foods.

Importance of nutrient synergy:

Nutrients work together in the body to carry out its essential functions. Therefore, nutrient depletion does not occur in isolation and shortfalls in one nutrient can impact the status of other nutrients and synergistic body processes. For example, in the body folate and vitamin B12 work synergistically to support processes such as neural tube development. Therefore, even with adequate folate in the diet, deficiencies in vitamin B12 can impact these complementary processes.

Signs You Might Be Nutritionally Depleted

The signals of nutritional depletion can be varied and sometimes vague, making it challenging to pinpoint the exact cause. Common signs include:

• Fatigue (low energy)

• Gastrointestinal discomfort

• Mood and concentration challenges

• Skin dryness, discomfort, and tightness

• Hair thinning and brittle-feeling nails

• Poor sleep quality

• Headaches

Some of The Most Commonly Depleted Nutrients:

Vitamin D: Supports bone health and healthy immune system function

Vitamin B6: Supports healthy nervous system function 

Vitamin B12: Supports energy metabolism and red blood cell production

Choline: Supports healthy lipid (fat) metabolism and healthy cognitive function

Magnesium: Supports bone health and muscle relaxation

Zinc: Supports a healthy immune system and healthy skin

Iron: Support red blood cell formation and energy-producing metabolism

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Support a healthy heart and maternal mood

How to Combat Nutritional Depletion

The good news is that nutrition can be modifiable. Therefore, nutritional depletion can be reversible. Lifestyle adjustments which can help support nutritional needs include:

Eat a Balanced Diet: Focus on a variety of whole foods, including plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats.

Manage Stress: Incorporate stress-reducing activities into your routine, such as yoga, meditation, or simply spending time in nature.

Stay Active: Regular physical activity can improve nutrient absorption and overall health.

Get Regular Check-Ups: Routine blood tests can help identify deficiencies early, allowing for timely intervention.

Supplement Wisely: Nutritional depletion is widespread in modern contexts, even with a balanced diet. However, many supplements fail to provide the optimal quality and amounts of nutrients needed. Alarmingly, 95% of pregnant women remain nutritionally depleted despite taking a prenatal.

That's why Needed has committed to the Needed Standard, a research-backed and expert-vetted daily supplement plan designed to end perinatal depletion. The constantly improving Needed Standard demonstrates our commitment to providing unrivaled nutrition for fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum.

Our uncompromising promise includes:

• Uncompromising Nutrient Levels

• Designed to Support Optimal Absorption

• Every Nutrient and Form Vetted by Perinatal Experts

• Always Rigorously 3rd Party Tested

• Backed by Pioneering Science and Clinical Insights\

The Bottom Line

Nutritional depletion is more common than you might think and can significantly impact your quality of life. By paying attention to your body’s signals and making informed dietary and lifestyle choices, you can ensure you’re giving your body the nutrients it needs to thrive. Remember, small changes can lead to big improvements in your overall health and well-being. So, start today and give your body the nourishment it deserves.