Food vitamins and minerals can lead to diseases that can have far-reaching effects on health. For instance, 30% of the world's population either has, or is at risk for developing, iodine deficiency. It is estimated that at least 3 million children are blind due to vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin C deficiency results in scurvy. Calcium, Vitamin D, and phosphorus are inter-related; the consumption of each may affect the absorption of the others. Kwashiorkor and marasmus are childhood disorders caused by lack of dietary protein. Many individuals limit what foods they eat for reasons of morality, or other habit. For instance, vegetarians
Vitamin K deficiency Newborns, as mentioned above, fit into this category, as their colons are frequently not adequately colonized in the first five to seven days of life. (Consumption of the mother's milk can undo this temporary problem.) Another at-risk population comprises those individuals on any sort of long-term antibiotic therapy, as this can diminish the population of normal gut flora. Vitamin K deficiency Vitamin K deficiency results from insufficient dietary vitamin K or vitamin K or both. Symptoms include bruising, petechiae, hematomas, oozing of blood at surgical or puncture sites, stomach pains; risk of massive uncontrolled bleeding; cartilage calcification; and severe malformation