Almost one in four Germans eats fast food at least once a week. More and more doctors are becoming concerned about their patients, as about 25 percent show symptoms of malnutrition. That sounds almost crazy when you consider the abundance of food available in Germany.
These days, the classic image of a thin and sickly-looking person no longer fits “modern malnutrition.” Because the problem has two faces: Undernutrition can also show up as being overweight.
At Orgainic, we’re here to clear things up and explain what malnutrition means today, how you can recognize it, and how to break out of the downward spiral.
Malnutrition – Does it still exist today?
The definition of malnutrition is right there in the word itself. It occurs when your body doesn’t get enough nutrients.
And it’s not just about macronutrients like carbs, fats, and proteins—lacking vitamins or trace elements can also lead to unhealthy undernourishment. Poor nutrition doesn’t always mean being underweight; it can also show up as being overweight.
But how can malnutrition even happen with such an abundance of food available to us? The main reason for poor nutrition in the 21st century is a lack of variety in our diets.
“Poor nutrition doesn’t always mean being underweight; it can also show up as being overweight.”
It’s really easy to slip into undernutrition. A quick sandwich in the morning, lunch at the restaurant next door, and maybe something from the freezer in the evening. With this kind of routine, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients often fall by the wayside.
Am I suffering from malnutrition?
If there’s no variety in your diet and home-cooked meals are often replaced by fast food, it’s time to take a closer look. Keeping a food diary is a great way to get an overview.
Malnutrition can have serious health consequences. (Image: Negative Space)
If our body is missing something, it lets us know pretty quickly. The problem is, we often misinterpret its signals and don’t understand what it’s telling us. If it doesn’t get what it needs, it responds with headaches, dizziness, and feeling unwell.
If we ignore our body’s messages for too long, it’s forced to adapt to the new situation. It starts limiting nutrient availability for vital organ functions. You can recognize the one-sided functioning caused by malnutrition by these symptoms:
- Fatigue and sleep problems
- Weakened immune system
- Muscle loss and loss of strength
- Depression and lack of motivation
- Increased falls or bone fractures
- Poor wound healing
- Neurological disorders, water retention in the brain, or dementia
The diagnostic process
If you suspect poor nutrition, you can have your blood tested for deficiencies. While checking iron levels or blood salts like sodium and potassium is usually covered by health insurance, vitamin D levels unfortunately are not. You can still get the test done at your doctor’s office for about 30 euros.
Malnutrition due to lifestyle changes
Poor nutrition can also occur when you change your lifestyle. If you decide to go vegan, giving up dairy often leads to a calcium deficiency.
If sports suddenly become a huge part of your life and you’re pushing yourself in extreme obstacle races, your body needs way more electrolytes, magnesium, and carbs than before.
“Poor nutrition can also occur when you change your lifestyle.”
You can see how quickly we can slip into malnutrition without even noticing. The important thing is to keep an eye on your nutrition with your new lifestyle, so your body gets what it needs. For extreme sports, for example, high-calorie drinks with a high nutrient density can quickly provide energy.
This is how quickly malnutrition can occur
Many nutrients are stored by our bodies in tissues. If we don’t get enough vital nutrients from our food, our body taps into these reserves and makes them available for metabolism.
But if we don’t make sure to refill our reserves, a deficiency will develop. This causes the many different metabolic processes—which work together like gears—to stop running smoothly.
Imbalances occur and our body doesn’t get the nutrients and building blocks it needs for regeneration and tissue repair in time or in sufficient amounts. Nutrient deficiencies can also lead to hair loss, as vitamins are used up for organ functions and aren’t available for nourishing the hair roots.
As we age, the effects of malnutrition can become dramatic: concentration declines even more and the risk of falling increases. A lack of nutrients in the bones makes them more likely to break. That’s why older people should pay special attention to a wholesome and balanced diet to help prevent bone fractures from falls.
Outsmarting the Devil
Preventing malnutrition is easier said than done. The most effective tool for prevention is a wholesome and balanced diet. It’s even better if you choose your foods seasonally and locally.
That’s not just good for the environment—fruits and vegetables also stay fresh thanks to shorter transport routes. You should also only eat processed foods whose ingredients you actually know. If the packaging lists strange chemical terms, think twice about whether you really want them in your body.
The same goes for foods with low nutrient density. They just fill our stomachs, but the body can’t extract vitamins and trace elements from them. Here are some steps you can take to prevent malnutrition:
- Avoid soft drinks like sodas, iced teas, and energy drinks
- Swap out white flour products like pizza and white rolls for whole grain options
- Avoid baked and fried potato products like fries and chips as much as possible. A tasty alternative is homemade vegetable chips.
- Cut back on ready meals for the microwave and prep your meals for the next few days
- Avoid consuming alcoholic drinks
Malnutrition is a vicious cycle. (Image: VisionPic)
It’s also important to avoid additives in food. These unnatural substances can’t be properly processed by the body and end up stored in fat deposits.
In the long run, all this additive junk accumulates in our bodies and poisons our health. If you want to know how these chemicals affect our bodies, check out our blog post “No More Additives in Food – Time to Feel Good".
The better alternative is to eat natural, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, use whole grain products, and drink water and tea.
Quickly Caught in the Trap
Malnutrition happens faster than you think. A one-sided diet or extreme sports without adjusting your nutrition can quickly empty your vital nutrient stores.
Our body does its best to compensate for this imbalance, but the result is often a drop in energy and performance. In the long run, it can even lead to health problems and hair loss.
A high-calorie drink solution can quickly give your body a boost during intense activity. Break out of the vicious cycle with us, eat healthy, and keep reminding yourself of your fitness goals.
Title image from Pixabay