Vitamins and Natural Supplements

Nutritional Disorders

A vitamin deficiency can cause a disease or syndrome known as an avitaminosis or hypovitaminosis. This usually refers to a long-term deficiency of a vitamin. When caused by inadequate nutrition it can be classed as a primary deficiency, and when due to an underlying disorder such as malabsorption  it can be classed as a secondary deficiency. An underlying disorder may be metabolic as in a defect converting tryptophan to niacin. It can also be the result of lifestyle choices including smoking and alcohol consumption.