Your skin is your body’s outer barrier to infection and injury. It protects you, but it also needs protection. Often the first signs of illness manifest as skin disorders. Rashes, pustules or a flushed or pallid complexion can indicate other health problems. Dryness is one of the more benign symptoms your skin can experience, but it can indicate trouble elsewhere, such as in your diet. Inadequate supplies of certain vitamins can lead not only to dry skin, but to other symptoms that are more serious.
Vitamin A and Beta-carotene
Vitamin A, or retinol, is a vital nutrient in ensuring that skin cells function properly and maintain their integrity. Beta-carotene is a nontoxic substance that the body can readily convert to vitamin A. Retinol is popularly prescribed as a topical medication to reduce facial wrinkles sometimes associated with inadequate hydration of the skin. In “The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book,” Shari Lieberman recommends beta-carotene for the treatment of dry skin, stating that skin disorders are a traditionally recognized symptom of vitamin A deficiency. The Merck Manual also lists “drying, scaling, and follicular thickening” of the skin among the consequences of vitamin A deficiency.
Zinc
Zinc helps assist in the metabolism of vitamin A, and in doing so bears an influence on skin-related conditions. Without enough zinc, according to Jane Higdon of the Linus Pauling Institute, the body experiences a decrease in the transport of vitamin A to tissues, as well as decreases in the levels of crucial enzymes that assist the function of vitamin A. Higdon notes that severe zinc deficiencies can lead to skin rashes, while Yang Song, also of the Linus Pauling institute, reports that zinc deficiency causes skin changes such as roughness and dryness.
Vitamin C
Collagen is a connective tissue protein that is found in skin, tendons, hair, cell membranes, bones and blood vessels. Vitamin C is a crucial factor in the body’s ability to manufacture collagen. According to Dr. Bruce M. Rothschild, professor of medicine at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, a lack of vitamin C for a period of two to three months would cause the condition known as scurvy. This disease is the result of inadequate diet. Its symptoms include skin-related repercussions due to an ability of the vitamin C-deprived body to adequately manufacture collagen. Dry, rough skin and a swollen, pallid complexion occur in patients suffering from the effects of scurvy.
