Nutrition • Minerals • Everyday energy
Mineral Deficiency Symptoms: Signs, Causes, and What to Do
Tiredness, muscle cramps, or brittle nails can make you wonder if you are low on a mineral. Sometimes you are, and often something else is going on. Here is how to tell, and what to do next.
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Key points
- Most Americans get too little calcium and potassium from food, and many get too little magnesium.
- Low iron is the most common cause of anemia, which brings tiredness, dizziness, and pale skin.
- Muscle weakness and cramping, numbness, and an irregular heartbeat can come from low magnesium, potassium, or calcium.
- Health conditions and some medicines, such as water pills and acid reflux drugs, are common causes.
- Get checked before taking high doses. Too much of a mineral can be as harmful as too little.
This page is general information, written by our founder. It is not a substitute for advice from your own doctor.
What a Mineral Deficiency Is
Essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc help build bones, carry oxygen, keep the heart beating steadily, and support nerves and muscles. A shortfall happens when your body does not have enough of one, either because you do not get enough from food or because a health problem keeps you from absorbing or holding on to it.
Low intake is common. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans name calcium and potassium, along with fiber and vitamin D, as nutrients of public health concern because so many people get too little of them (Dietary Guidelines for Americans). Low intake is not always the same as a true nutritional deficiency, though. Your body has ways to protect itself, and deficiency symptoms often appear only after a long time, or when a health condition is involved.
Common Signs to Watch For
Low mineral levels tend to share the same few warning signs. None of them proves you are low on a mineral, but together they are a good reason to get checked.
Frequent Fatigue and Low Energy
Consistently low energy levels are one of the most common complaints. Anemia from low iron causes tiredness, shortness of breath, and dizziness (NHLBI). Frequent fatigue that does not get better with rest is worth a checkup. Low magnesium can leave you tired and weak, and very low potassium can cause tiredness too (NIH ODS).
Muscle Weakness and Cramping
Painful muscle cramps, such as foot cramps or a tight calf at night, are common. Mayo Clinic says too little potassium, calcium, or magnesium in the diet can cause leg cramps, and that blood pressure pills that increase urination can drain the body of these minerals (Mayo Clinic). Overworking a muscle, losing fluid through sweat, and poor hydration can cause them too, and often the cause is not known. Severe cases of low magnesium can cause muscle cramps and spasms, numbness, and tingling (NIH ODS).
Trouble Sleeping and Feeling Run Down
Trouble sleeping and stress are often listed online as signs of low magnesium. The NIH fact sheet on magnesium does not list them as deficiency signs, and poor sleep has many causes. If you sleep badly and also feel weak or crampy, mention all of it to your doctor.
Slow Healing and Frequent Colds
Zinc deficiency can cause slow wound healing, hair loss, loss of taste and smell, and frequent colds and other infections (NIH ODS).
A Closer Look, Mineral by Mineral
Iron
Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia. Mild cases may have no symptoms. More serious cases cause cold hands and feet, pale skin, and sometimes chest pain. Heavy periods, bleeding in the digestive tract, pregnancy, celiac disease, and regular use of aspirin or ibuprofen are common causes (NHLBI).
Magnesium
Magnesium deficiency does not cause obvious symptoms in the short term, because the kidneys hold on to it. Over time it can cause loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, and weakness, and severe cases can cause seizures and an abnormal heart rhythm. People with Crohn’s or celiac disease, type 2 diabetes, or long-term heavy drinking, and older adults, are more likely to run low (NIH ODS).
Potassium
Too little potassium in the diet can raise blood pressure and the risk of kidney stones. Very low blood potassium usually comes from long-lasting vomiting or diarrhea, laxative overuse, or some water pills. It causes constipation, tiredness, and weakness, and severe cases can cause an irregular heartbeat (NIH ODS).
Calcium
Over the long term, too little calcium weakens bones and leads to osteoporosis, with a higher risk of fractures. Postmenopausal women and people who avoid dairy are more likely to fall short (NIH ODS). Low calcium usually does not cause day-to-day symptoms, which is why bone loss often goes unnoticed.
Zinc and Other Minerals
People who have had stomach or weight-loss surgery, people with digestive diseases, vegetarians and vegans, and people with alcohol use disorder are at higher risk of low zinc (NIH ODS). Iodine deficiency is uncommon in the United States, but it can cause a goiter, an enlarged thyroid gland, because the body needs it to make thyroid hormone. It matters most during pregnancy, when a baby’s brain and bones are developing (NIH ODS).
What Causes Mineral Depletion
Mineral depletion usually has more than one cause. These are the most common ones.
- Diet: few vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, and dairy foods. Restricted diets, including some vegan diets, can run low in several minerals.
- Digestive conditions: celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and gut surgery can limit absorption (NIH ODS).
- Blood loss: heavy periods and slow bleeding in the gut are leading causes of anemia (NHLBI).
- Medicines: some water pills change how much magnesium and potassium you lose in urine, and long-term use of some acid reflux drugs can lower magnesium (NIH ODS).
- Alcohol: heavy drinking lowers zinc absorption and raises zinc loss in urine, and long-term heavy drinking raises the risk of low magnesium (NIH ODS).
- Life stage: pregnancy and older age raise needs or lower absorption.
Minerals Tests: What Your Doctor May Check
Because the signs of mineral deficiencies overlap, lab work is the best way to know what is going on. Some vitamin deficiencies cause similar signs, which is another reason to check rather than guess. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may order:
- A complete blood count and ferritin: to look for anemia and check your body’s iron stores (NHLBI).
- A basic or comprehensive metabolic panel: includes potassium and calcium levels, along with kidney function.
- Magnesium level: often added if you have cramps, take water pills or reflux drugs, or have a digestive condition.
- A thyroid panel: because thyroid problems cause many of the same signs, such as tiredness and feeling cold.
These minerals tests are routine, and results usually come back within a few days. Bring a list of everything you take, including vitamin and mineral pills, because it helps your doctor read the results.
Vitamin and Mineral Food Sources
For most people, a varied diet is the best place to start. The Dietary Guidelines say a healthy eating pattern can meet recommendations for calcium and potassium (Dietary Guidelines for Americans). Good sources include:
- Magnesium: beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and leafy greens such as spinach (NIH ODS).
- Potassium: white potatoes, sweet potatoes, white beans, beet greens, and plain yogurt (Dietary Guidelines for Americans).
- Calcium: low-fat milk and yogurt, fortified soy drinks, and canned sardines or salmon (Dietary Guidelines for Americans).
- Iron: meat, seafood, beans, and fortified cereals. Vitamin C foods help absorption, and black tea with meals reduces it (NHLBI).
- Zinc: meat is a good source. Compounds called phytates in beans and grains reduce how much zinc you absorb (NIH ODS).
Mineral Pills: Helpful or Harmful?
Mineral supplements help when a shortfall is confirmed or when you have a condition that makes one likely. Pills are the usual treatment for this type of anemia, and it often takes three to six months to restore stores (NHLBI). But more is not better:
- Magnesium: the adult upper limit from pills and medicines is 350 mg a day. High doses cause diarrhea and cramping, and extremely high doses can affect the heart (NIH ODS).
- Zinc: taking too much for a long time can lower copper levels and weaken immunity. The adult upper limit is 40 mg a day from all sources (NIH ODS).
- Potassium: people with kidney disease, or who take ACE inhibitors or potassium-sparing water pills, can develop dangerously high potassium even from normal amounts (NIH ODS).
- Calcium: the upper limit is 2,000 to 2,500 mg a day from all sources, depending on age (NIH ODS).
Tell your doctor and pharmacist about any dietary supplements you take, because minerals can affect how some medicines are absorbed.
Magnesium, Sulfur, and Tarsul
Magnesium is an essential mineral with clear deficiency signs and a daily recommendation. Sulfur is different. It is part of two amino acids, methionine and cysteine, so most people get it from protein foods such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and beans. There is no official daily amount for sulfur and no recognized sulfur shortfall. A 2007 study suggested that some people, especially older adults and people who eat little protein, may get too little sulfur, but the authors called their findings preliminary, and this has not been confirmed (Nimni et al., Nutrition and Metabolism, 2007).
Tarsul provides MSM, a source of sulfur, and cream of tartar, which is high in potassium. Neither is a treatment for low minerals. If you are low on magnesium or another mineral, the fix is finding the cause and correcting it with food or a targeted pill.
A Note from Russ, Our Founder
In 2008 I was looking for answers to a health problem of my own, and I found an old pairing of sulfur and cream of tartar. I started Tarsul in 2010 so other people could use that simple two-ingredient mix without guessing at amounts.
People sometimes ask whether they need more minerals. Feeling run down is real, and it is worth getting checked rather than guessing. A simple lab check can point you in the right direction, and the fix is often as simple as changing a few foods.
When to See a Doctor
See your doctor if you have ongoing tiredness, weakness, dizziness, shortness of breath, numbness or tingling, or cramps that happen often, cause severe discomfort, or come with leg swelling (Mayo Clinic). Get care right away for chest pain, a racing or irregular heartbeat, fainting, or seizures. Lab results can help find the cause, such as bleeding, a digestive condition, or a medicine side effect (NHLBI).
About Tarsul’s ingredients. Because Tarsul’s main ingredient is high in potassium, please talk with your doctor before using Tarsul if you have kidney problems or take medicines that raise potassium, such as some blood pressure pills or potassium-sparing water pills (NIH ODS). Swallowing large amounts of cream of tartar has caused dangerously high potassium levels (Medical Journal of Australia, 2025). Details are on our ingredient safety page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the signs of low minerals?
Common signs include fatigue and weakness, cramps, numbness or tingling, pale skin, slow wound healing, and frequent infections. These signs are not specific, so a blood check and a talk with your doctor are needed to find the cause.
Which mineral causes tiredness when it runs low?
Low iron is the best-known cause, through anemia. Low magnesium and low potassium can also cause tiredness and weakness. Thyroid problems, poor sleep, and many other conditions cause fatigue too.
How do I find out if I am low on a mineral?
Your doctor can test your levels with blood work, such as a complete blood count, ferritin, and levels of magnesium, potassium, or calcium, based on your symptoms and history.
Should I take a multimineral pill?
Food is the best source for most people. A pill can help if you have a confirmed shortfall, a health condition that affects absorption, or a restricted diet. Taking more than the upper limit can cause harm.
Is there such a thing as sulfur deficiency?
There is no recognized sulfur deficiency and no official daily amount. Most people get sulfur from protein foods. Researchers have asked whether people who eat little protein get enough, but this has not been established.
Can Tarsul fix a mineral deficiency?
No. We do not claim Tarsul treats any deficiency. If you think you are low on a mineral, get checked so you can treat the real cause.
Tarsul and Your Daily Routine
Tarsul is two ingredients, cream of tartar and MSM, with no proprietary blend, made in San Diego since 2010. Read about our main ingredient and MSM, see dosage and ingredients, or see Tarsul capsules and powder.
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Sources
NIH ODS (National Institutes of Health). Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, Zinc, and thyroid mineral consumer fact sheets.
NHLBI. Anemia caused by low iron.
Mayo Clinic. Muscle cramp: symptoms and causes.
US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
Nimni ME, Han B, Cordoba F. Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? Nutr Metab. 2007;4:24.
NIH ODS. Potassium fact sheet for health professionals.
Hyperkalaemic cardiac arrest due to cream of tartar ingestion. Med J Aust. 2025;222(11).
About this page — last reviewed October 2026
Written by Russ Guillemot, founder of Tarsul. Tarsul is a family-run dietary supplement company in San Diego, California, selling since 2010. We are not physicians, and nothing on this page is a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Where we cite research, we link to it so you can read it yourself.
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.