Can Dry Lips Be a Sign of Vitamin Deficiency?

Dry, chapped lips can be incredibly uncomfortable. Everyone experiences chapped lips from time to time. Whether you get a sunburn or have been exposed to cold temperatures, you can develop dry lips that are usually fixable with lip balm or increasing your water intake. If, however, you find you are not able to rid yourself of your lip woes, there could be a deeper reason why.

Vitamin deficiencies are rare in well-developed countries, but it is still possible you could be missing a key nutrient that is causing you to experience side effects like chapped lips. Restrictive diets, underlying illness, and lifestyle habits can all contribute to vitamin deficiencies.

Finding the underlying cause of a vitamin deficiency is the first step in correcting it. Together, we’ll explore what vitamin and nutrient deficiencies could be causing dry lips and what you can do to fix the problem. We’ll also discuss a newly discovered nutrient deficiency and talk about why a new deficiency is really big news. Fixing it is easy with a simple once-a-day supplement.

Vitamin Deficiencies That Cause Dry Lips

Your chapped lips are more likely to be caused by cold, dry weather, too much sun, or dehydration. But if you’ve checked those boxes and still have cheilitis (the medical term for chapped lips) you could be experiencing dry lips due to a vitamin or nutrient deficiency. 

Here’s a breakdown of the most likely culprits.

Iron

Your body needs iron to support red blood cell production and to help with the transportation of oxygen to all parts of the body. Fun fact, iron is also a crucial element of skin health. Iron is needed for wound healing and the creation of new skin cells. 

If you aren’t getting enough iron, you may begin to notice changes in your skin health, especially around the outside corners and insides of your mouth. If your lip changes are accompanied by sores inside your mouth, have your healthcare provider check you for iron deficiency anemia. 

B Vitamins

There are eight essential B vitamins the body needs to thrive. B vitamins help with everything from basic cellular functions to the creation of red blood cells. 

B vitamins are also needed for repairing bodily tissues, like the delicate membranes on your lips. If you develop a deficiency with a B vitamin, you could experience chapped lips. Usually, you’ll experience other symptoms too, like fatigue, mood changes, and additional skin issues like dermatitis. 

Zinc

Switching gears from vitamins to minerals, let’s consider zinc. Zinc is a mineral found in animal protein, and also in yeast, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, and legumes. 

Zinc plays a role in skin health and immunity. If you aren’t getting enough zinc in your diet, you could experience lip dryness as well as inflammation and sores inside and around your mouth. Skin ulcers are a known side effect of zinc deficiency. 

If you are deficient in any of these vitamins or minerals, dry lips could be a side effect. Let’s look at potential reasons why you might be dealing with a deficiency in the first place.

What Causes Vitamin Deficiencies?

Vitamin deficiencies occur less frequently in well-developed countries due to increased food access. 

However, deficiencies can still occur for several reasons.

• Restrictive diets. Diets that eliminate entire food groups or sources of nutrients (think vegan diet or carnivore diet) place a person at higher risk of developing a nutrient deficiency.
  
  
• Underlying illness. Certain diseases, like Crohn’s disease or Celiac disease, can lead to nutrient deficiencies because a person is less able to absorb nutrients properly.
  
  
• Medication. Some medications can lead to a vitamin deficiency. Antibiotics, medications used for treatment of type 2 diabetes, and birth control may lead to the inability to absorb certain key nutrients.
  
  
• Weight loss surgery or extreme dieting. If you aren’t able to consume enough calories in your diet due to weight loss surgery or extreme dieting, you run the risk of a dietary deficiency.
  
  
• Lifestyle habits. Some lifestyle habits, like over-consumption of alcohol, smoking, or yo-yo dieting, can lead to vitamin deficiencies.
  
  
• Limited food access. Even in well-developed countries, access to nutritious, vitamin-rich foods is restricted in some areas. Inability to gain access to healthy foods can lead to a vitamin deficiency. 

If you aren’t sure if you have a vitamin deficiency, you can ask your healthcare provider to perform a routine blood test to check. If you discover you have a deficiency, correcting the deficiency can be as simple as making a change to the way you eat or taking a supplement. If, after correcting the deficiency, your lips are still bothering you, consider seeking help from a dermatologist.

In the meantime, grab your lip balm and get ready to learn about a newly discovered nutrient deficiency that is making headlines in both the medical field and the longevity research forums.

Are Nutrient Deficiencies Still Being Discovered?

A few years ago, the answer to this question would have been a resounding “no.” Science has identified all the key vitamins, minerals, and nutrients the body needs, and any accompanying deficiencies (like scurvy for vitamin C or rickets for vitamin D) have been discovered, addressed, and virtually eliminated. 

However, in 2020, doctors working to help bottlenose dolphins live healthier for longer flipped the essential nutrient world upside down with the discovery of the first essential fatty acid in more than 90 years. 

These scientists discovered that populations of dolphins that had a higher level of a particular fatty acid known as pentadecanoic acid, or C15:0, had fewer occurrences of age-related illness compared to other dolphins. 

They took their research further and discovered that these benefits were available to humans, too. Not long after, they proved that not only was C15:0 essential, but it was also possible (and common) to be deficient in this key fatty acid.

What is Pentadecanoic Acid?

Pentadecanoic acid, or C15:0 for short, is an odd-chain saturated fatty acid that is essential to our bodies. Essential acids, vitamins, and minerals must be obtained by the body to work properly, but the body can’t readily make them on its own. That means we need to get these essential ingredients from our diets or from a supplement. 

C15:0 works by supporting cellular and metabolic health through the following mechanisms and pathways:

• Keeping the membranes of our cells (which get flimsy with age) strong. In one study, C15:0 strengthened these membranes by up to 80%.
  
  
• Fixing mitochondria. Mitochondria inside our cells create the energy our cells use to carry out all cellular functions. This is a baseline for energy production that our entire bodies use for every single process. Sluggish mitochondria can translate to impaired health. This study showed that C15:0 rescued mitochondria and increased ATP (energy) production by up to 350%.
  
  
• Cleaning up. Sometimes our cells lose function but never die. In a kind of cellular zombie apocalypse, these cells hang out in our bodies and create an inflammatory environment that can lead to negative health impacts. C15:0 activates AMPK and inhibits mTOR, which help clean up and clear away these zombie cells and also lowers levels of proinflammatory cytokines.
  
  
• Restoring total body homeostasis. Restoring balance to our bodies is one of the tasks C15:0 does best! By activating AMPK and binding to receptors known as PPARs, C15:0 helps restore balance and regularity to glucose update, immunity, metabolic health, sleep cycles, and even appetite. 

In addition to these benefits, C15:0 is consistently associated with better outcomes for cardiovascular health, like lowering LDL cholesterol levels and supporting a lower risk of heart disease. There are now over 100 peer-reviewed papers supporting C15:0’s essentiality and efficacy. 

Sounds like great news, right? Not so fast. Although the benefits of C15:0 are encouraging, there’s an important part of the story you should know: you might not be getting enough of this essential nutrient in your diet to gain access to these important benefits. 

C15:0 Deficiency

With the discovery of C15:0 came the additional discovery that approximately one in three people globally may not be getting enough of it. The discovery of a new nutrient deficiency is rare, but once identified can be easily tested for and treated, which is why this is so important. 

“The discovery of a nutritional C15:0 deficiency syndrome is the culmination of over a decade of rigorous studies,” shared Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, the lead author and co-founder of Seraphina Therapeutics. “As a hopeful inspiration to fellow and future scientists, this shows that there are still simple and impactful discoveries to be made that can meaningfully improve global health.”

C15:0 deficiency is referred to as Cellular Fragility Syndrome. This syndrome causes cells to become fragile, weak, and susceptible to damage and early death. Cellular Fragility Syndrome has also been associated with a unique type of cell death known as ferroptosis, which accelerates the aging process and negatively impacts our metabolic health. 

Unfortunately, many of us have C15:0 levels that are considered deficient, which means we may already have Cellular Fragility Syndrome, and we don’t know it. 

How Much C15:0 Do We Need?

Experts agree that optimum levels of C15:0 should range from >0.2% to 0.4% of a person’s total fatty acid count. As a quick aside: it is worth noting that people living in those famous Blue Zone areas of the world have levels much higher, measuring around 0.68%. 

So, how do you find out your C15:0 levels? There are a few ways to approach it. First, you could have your doctor order a C15:0 test. Or, you can hit the easy button by clicking hereand ordering our easy-to-use at-home testing kit, which only requires a finger-prick blood sample that you mail to the lab for analysis. The results can help you determine if you are deficient and how to optimize your C15:0 levels.

Fixing Cellular Deficiency Syndrome

Fixing Cellular Deficiency Syndrome is a bit of a challenge to do with diet alone. C15:0 is only found in trace amounts in full-fat dairy products like whole milk and full-fat butter. Most of us aren’t regularly consuming these products any longer, which is likely why global levels of C15:0 have declined over the past 40 years. 

However, increasing our intake of whole dairy isn’t the ideal option for fixing Cellular Fragility Syndrome for a few reasons:

• In full-fat dairy products, C15:0 is attached to triglycerides and must be broken down before it can be used. This extra step makes the absorption of C15:0 less efficient.
  
  
• Whole milk and butter contain excess calories and sugar from lactose that don’t necessarily support weight maintenance goals.
  
  
• Full-fat dairy contains C15:0, but it contains much higher levels of bad, even-chain saturated fats that are associated with negative health outcomes.
  
  
• There’s a lot of mooing going on. If you’re vegan or looking to reduce your carbon footprint, consuming animal products doesn’t align with your goals.

A solution? A supplement known as fatty15. Fatty15 is the first and only supplement that contains the pure, vegan-friendly version of C15:0. 

It only has one simple calorie, no other ingredients, and is already in its most bioavailable free-fatty acid form. It’s a simple way to prevent and treat Cellular Fragility Syndrome and support your long-term health in an actionable way.

Chapped Lips No More

If you’re struggling with cheilitis, consider diving deeper into an underlying cause. Although a nutritional deficiency might not be the most likely cause, it is an important one to rule out. Taking fatty15 can help prevent C15:0 nutritional deficiencies and support your long-term health and wellness.

Sources:

Angular cheilitis induced by iron deficiency anemia | PubMed

Causes, Consequences and Public Health Implications of Low B-Vitamin Status in Ageing | PMC

Zinc Deficiency - StatPearls | NCBI Bookshelf

Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans: could it be essential? | Scientific Reports

A review of odd-chain fatty acid metabolism and the role of pentadecanoic Acid (c15:0) and heptadecanoic Acid (c17:0) in health and disease

Effect of an Asian-adapted Mediterranean diet and pentadecanoic acid on fatty liver disease: the TANGO randomized controlled trial | ScienceDirect