Vitamin B12 Benefits for Hair

Keeping healthy hair is a reflection of overall health, and there is no healthy growth of hair if the overall consumption of vitamins and minerals is imbalanced.

Among all those necessary vitamins and minerals for hair health, vitamin B12 plays the most important role by maintaining the health of hair follicles, providing support to healthy hair growth, and preventing hair loss.

We will be discussing the benefits of vitamin B12 for hair, reasons for deficiency, and how an adequate level of vitamin B12 can be a support towards vibrant healthy hair in this article.

Vitamin B12 is an essential, naturally occurring water-soluble vitamin that supports a number of functions in the body, including the production of red blood cells, synthesis of DNA, and preservation of the nervous system.

This vitamin also helps promote healthy hair growth.

In cases when a body has adequate vitamin B12 levels, it therefore ensures that the hair follicles get adequate oxygen and nutrients hence producing robust and healthy hair.

One of the important vitamin B12 benefits is in the production of red blood cells. 

Since it is responsible for carrying oxygen to different body parts, such as the scalp, if enough vitamin B12 is not received, the body's ability to create adequate red cells will be weakened and will eventually lead to a deficiency in the availability of oxygen to hair follicles, which can end up causing hair loss eventually.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can significantly affect hair health as well. Loss of hair may be one of the early symptoms or signs of vitamin B12 deficiency as the failure of oxygen supply to the hair follicles weakens the hair structure such that it can fall off much earlier than expected.

Hair loss and thinning caused by vitamin B12 deficiency often develop gradually, but if left untreated for long periods, they can be highly significant.

Hair loss is precipitated by several factors, including genes, hormonal imbalance, stress, and lack of certain nutrients. Vitamin B12 deficiency has sometimes been overlooked to be a contributing factor.

It is thus likely that someone presents with hair thinning with some loss of hair, even if it is occasioned by nutrient deficiency in the hair follicle.

This is the reason why this vitamin B12 plays an important role in maintaining the hair in a healthy condition and hence it is very important to know how to maintain optimum levels of the vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 is thus crucial for maintaining healthy hair growth because it sees to the uptake of red blood cells that are heavily loaded with oxygen into the hair follicles.

Healthy hair follicles are needed since they produce new strength-giving hair strands. In the event your body has enough vitamin B12, you can produce and sustain healthy red blood cells, which in turn feed the hair follicles.

Hair follicles will weaken, resulting in slow hair growth or stunted hair development, when vitamin B12 is insufficient.

This results in the vital deficiency in vitamins, which affects hair with hair loss and brittle hair, thus causing intense shedding of hair.

If one takes proper care to ensure that he or she has enough vitamin B12, healthy hair growth will be supported and risks of nutrient-deficient hair loss minimized.

The relationship between vitamin B12 and hair health is mostly through the vitamin's role in red blood cell formation. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, including to the scalp and hair follicles, thus relating hair health to vitamin B12.

Hair follicles, like all other tissues in the body, require oxygen to survive and thrive well and to grow hair at its best; deprived of this oxygen, hair follicles can become undernourished, resulting in poor hair growth and even hair loss.

Hence, vitamin B12 will facilitate the red blood cell formation and be necessary for proper health of hair. If there are not appropriate red blood cells in one's body, then less oxygen is transported into the cells, which might give way to numerous other disorders or alopecia.

Proper delivery of sufficient vitamin B12 through one's diet or supplementations is the primary requirement to facilitate healthy hair growth.

There are several causes of vitamin B12 deficiency. However, some of the leading causes of this deficiency include the poor dietary input, certain diseases, and an inability to absorb vitamin B12 correctly within the body.

Vitamin B12 is found mostly in food items of animal sources such as meat, dairy products, and eggs. One on a vegetarian or vegan diet is more likely to become a victim of vitamin B12 deficiency because the required amount must be in scarcity in their menu of diet.

Pernicious anemia, gastrointestinal disease, or surgery that adversely affects the stomach or intestinal region can impair the body's ability to absorb vitamin B12; thus, deficiency develops.

The older an individual is, the more stomach acid they produce and utilize for absorption of foods. Older adults may more easily develop vitamin B12 deficiency through such aging processes, hence resulting in hair loss and other issues as a consequence.

Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency may include everything from hair loss to a myriad of other complications.

Vitamin B12 deficiency will include symptoms like weakness, fatigue, dizziness, pale skin, and even the neurological problems such as numbness or tingling in the extremities.

Because vitamin B12 deficiency could lead to tissues, including hair follicles, being deprived of oxygen, hair loss may seem to be one of the most visible early indicators.

If you suspect a vitamin B12 deficiency, it's time to visit your healthcare provider.

A simple blood test will establish your vitamin B levels and help determine whether you will need supplementation with this vitamin for treatment of the deficiency.

Maintaining adequate vitamin B12 levels triggers the growth of healthy hair. Supplementation of vitamin B12 can result in the restoration of normal body levels and, correspondingly, promote a healthy scalp condition if there is a deficiency.

It has been claimed that the majority of individuals who have received vitamin B12 supplements have indicated improvement in the thickness of their hair and a reduction in hair shed.

Apart from vitamin B12 supplementation, your diet should include other basic vitamins and minerals that are necessary for the health of your hair.

Some of these include biotin, vitamin D, and iron, among others, to encourage hair growth and prevent loss.

Favoring Hair Health and Being Aware of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Add necessary vitamin B12 nutrition through:

• Meat, especially beef, chicken, and pork

• Fish, including salmon, tuna, and trout

• Dairy, including milk, cheese, and yogurt

• Eggs

• Vegetarian or vegan choices like fortified plant-based milk and cereal

If you cannot get enough vitamin B12 from your diet alone, you might also benefit from a supplement. Its variety comes in both tablets and capsules as well as injections.

The best course of treatment for you will be determined by your healthcare provider, especially if you are at risk, perhaps because of diet, age, or other health conditions.

Hair loss, though disconcerting, can often be related to a vitamin B12 deficiency. If this is indeed the case, then resolving the deficiency will probably correct the condition.

Providing vitamin B12 replacement may help promote healthy hair growth while lowering the likelihood that the lost hair will never grow back.

Let hair loss not be left for too long or even linger as an issue-you begin acting proactively towards hair health.

Although vitamin B12 deficiency might be one of the possible causes of hair loss along with various other possibilities, correcting nutritional deficiencies tends to have broader effects to improve hair growth and health.

Proper nutrition, vitamin B12 in particular, can allow for years of healthy great-looking hair.

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient in the sustenance of health in hair follicles.

Hair loss may even become an issue if there are inadequate amounts of vitamin B12 because its deficiency will continue to block insufficient oxygen and nutrients from being circulated to the scalp, thus causing hair loss and thinning.

Hair loss and thinning due to vitamin B12 deficiency can be troubling; however it is one of those health issues that can easily be reversed with adequate supplementation.

If you suspect hair loss caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency, you should have your vitamin B12 level checked.

Your health care provider will then assess the best course of action possible: a possible change in diet, vitamin B12 supplementation, or possibly both.

Other important benefits of vitamin B12 include healthy growth of hair, prevention of hair loss, and harder and healthier-looking locks.

Never underestimate what this essential nutrient does in your body system, whether it is about health or wellness.

* Medical Disclaimer - The following information is for educational purposes only. No information provided on this website, including text, graphic, and images, are intended as substitutes for professional medical advice. Please consult with your doctor about specific medical advice pertaining to your condition(s).