Some people are more sensitive to cold environments than others. Having a heightened reaction to cold, or always feeling cold, is known as cold intolerance.
There are many reasons you may always feel cold, including chronic illnesses, low body weight, hormone imbalances, and anemia (low red blood cell count).
If you always feel colder than others, it may also be because you are lacking in certain vitamins, especially those that help regulate blood flow and control body temperature.
Studies have shown that people who are deficient in vitamin B12 tend to experience greater sensitivity to cold temperatures.
The exact reason why people lacking B12 tend to feel colder is not known. However, it may be because a B12 deficiency can lead to anemia, which is a known cause of cold sensitivity.
It is generally recommended that people aged 14 and older consume about 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 daily, and pregnant people consume about 2.6 micrograms daily.
You can include vitamin B12 in your diet by eating foods like eggs, dairy, and meat. However, people on a strict vegan diet or those who find it difficult to absorb vitamin B12 from food, such as people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), may need supplementation to meet their needs.
If you are diagnosed with a B12 deficiency, your healthcare provider may recommend B12 injections to help replenish your stores before switching you to an oral medication.
Just like B12, a deficiency in vitamin B9 can also lead to anemia, which can make you more sensitive to cold temperatures.
You can get folates naturally in fruits, legumes, eggs, green leafy vegetables, and liver. Folates are poorly stored in the body, so deficiency can develop in a few weeks to months if your diet lacks folate. Adults need approximately 400 micrograms of folate daily to replenish their stores.
Pregnant people need more folate, as it’s essential for fetal development. It’s recommended that pregnant people get 600 micrograms of dietary folate daily.
People who drink high amounts of alcohol and people with hemolytic anemia (a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they are replaced) may also be at risk for folate deficiency.
Your healthcare provider will typically recommend taking about 1-5 milligrams of oral folic acid daily to treat folate deficiency.
Low iron stores can lead to a condition known as iron deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency anemia can make you feel cold in your hands and feet.
If your iron stores are low, it can reduce the production of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that helps carry oxygen throughout the body.
With less oxygen circulating, your body may have trouble performing the typical responses to cold, including:
- Vasoconstriction: This is when the blood vessels in the skin narrow to keep heat in.
- Increasing metabolism: This produces more heat in the body.
Iron deficiency is widespread in pregnant people, those with heavy menstrual periods, people with peptic ulcer, and people with gastrointestinal diseases like celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis. If you fall into one of these groups, you may need to increase your iron intake by using a supplement.
You can also get iron from meat (especially liver), chicken, fish, green leafy vegetables, and legumes (such as beans and black-eyed peas). Some foods are enriched with iron, such as cereals, pasta, rice, and grains.
The recommended daily intake of iron is approximately 8 milligrams for males aged 19-50 years and about 18 milligrams for females of the same age. However, the amount of iron needed to manage iron deficiency is higher than the amount found in food and most daily multivitamin supplements.
If you have low iron stores, your doctor may prescribe between 150-200 milligrams of elemental iron daily. However, always consult your doctor to determine the exact dosage you need.
Due to the important roles zinc plays in metabolism, zinc deficiency can lead to poor temperature regulation, which may cause you to feel cold.
You may be zinc deficient if your serum zinc levels fall below 70 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL) for women and 74 mcg/dL for men. If you are zinc deficient, your healthcare provider may recommend taking between 20-40 milligrams of oral zinc daily.
The richest food sources of zinc are fish, seafood (especially oysters), and meat. You can also get zinc from poultry, wheat germ, wild rice, and nuts. If you are a vegetarian, consider foods like cashews, almonds, baked beans, and peas as options. However, the amount of zinc you get from grains is lower than that in animal sources.
Copper deficiency may lead to hypothermia (when your body temperature drops below normal), which can make you feel unusually cold. A copper deficiency can also lead to anemia, which has been linked to cold intolerance.
You can find copper in many foods, including beef liver, shellfish, nuts, seeds, potatoes, mushrooms, tofu, and chickpeas.
Most people get enough copper from their diet. However, people with celiac disease and Menkes disease (a rare genetic disorder) may have difficulty meeting their copper requirements due to absorption issues.
The recommended dose of copper varies with age and individual needs. People aged 19 and older need about 900 micrograms of copper daily, while pregnant people need about 1,000 micrograms daily.
In large amounts, copper can be toxic, so it’s best always to follow your pharmacist’s or healthcare provider’s recommended dose.
Other reasons you can feel more sensitive to cold include:
- Eating disorders like anorexia
- Anemia
- Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
- Problem with the hypothalamus (part of the brain that controls body temperature)
- Diabetes
- Raynaud’s disease (a condition causing low blood flow to extremities like fingers and toes in response to cold or stress)
- Fabry disease (a rare genetic condition causing an enzyme deficiency)
- Surgeries
Feeling cold is not necessarily a telltale sign of a vitamin deficiency. There is no sure way of knowing you are deficient in a particular vitamin without consulting a doctor and having a lab test done.
Taking supplements to manage a self-diagnosed deficiency can be harmful. For example, zinc and copper supplementation are toxic in high doses. Also, dietary supplements may interact with your medications, interfere with lab tests, or complicate surgery.
If you are concerned about your cold intolerance, consult your doctor, who will recommend the best treatment based on your lab results. If you need a supplement, they can recommend the exact dosage you need to prevent over-supplementation.
Deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals, like B12, folate, iron, zinc, and copper, can make you feel cold. If you feel constantly or extremely cold, even when others appear comfortable, consult your healthcare provider.
Your doctor will often ask you routine questions to rule out other causes and may refer you for lab tests to see why you developed cold intolerance. If you are deficient in certain vitamins, they will be able to recommend the right supplements for you.
