Vitamin B12
About Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is a vitamin that is essential for maintaining healthy nerve cells, producing DNA, and synthesizing red blood cells.
It is one of the eight classes of B vitamins absolutely essential for proper body function.
While most vitamins can be produced by the human body, vitamin B12 cannot be created by the human body, so it must be obtained through diet or supplements.
People mostly neglect the importance of vitamin B12 until they begin developing health complications arising from its deficiency.
This paper analyzes what vitamin B12 is, its role in the body, the effect of a deficiency in vitamin B12, and how to maintain sufficient levels.
What is Vitamin B12?
Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin and is mainly found in animal products, including meat, eggs, dairy products, and fish.
This vitamin is useful to generate red blood cells and has the role of synthesizing DNA in the formation of proteins.
Other than these factors, vitamin B12 is also essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system and subsequently for the brain.
In the stomach, an intrinsic factor secreted helps your body absorb vitamin B12.
The intrinsic factor binds to the vitamin B12 and allows its absorption into the small intestine.
Without intrinsic factor in your body, you will struggle to naturally uptake vitamin B12 effectively, leading to deficiency.
Vitamin B12 and Red Blood Cells
The primary function of vitamin B12 is to facilitate the production of healthy red blood cells.
This kind of cell carries oxygen from the lungs to the other parts of the body. In case a person suffers from inadequate vitamin B12, red cells would be larger and irregularly shaped. Their ability to carry oxygen would be handicapped.
Such a condition is called megaloblastic anemia or vitamin B12 deficiency anemia.
Therefore, vitamin B12 deficiency might cause feeling fatigued, weak, and short of breath.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency Symptoms
A B12 vitamin deficiency can manifest in different ways, depending on how advanced the disease is and how long the patient has had the condition.
The common symptoms of a patient suffering from a vitamin B12 deficiency include:
1. Tiredness and Weakness:
The reduced levels of Vitamin B12 contribute to the lesser amount of oxygen carried to other body tissues, which them exhibit a state of continued fatigue and weakness.
2. Pale or Yellowish Skin:
A deficiency in Vitamin B12 affects the red blood cell production thus leading to pale skin and yellowish tinge as there occurs destruction of red blood cells.
3. Nerve Damage:
The severe symptoms of chronic deficiency in this vitamin include damage to nerves, causing numbness, tingling sensations, and trouble maintaining balance and coordination.
4. Cognitive Impairment:
Vitamin B12 is also very essential for a healthy brain. Its deficiency causes memory problems, confusion, mood swings, and even dementia.
5. Mouth and Tongue Problems:
Swelling of the tongue is smooth or mouth ulcers are symptoms of this vitamin's deficiency.
6. Shortness of Breath and Dizziness:
The deficiency of vitamin B12 affects the red blood cells, thus potentially causing a lack of oxygen in the body, which would often get the patient very frequent bouts of shortness of breath and dizziness.
The symptoms tend to worsen over time if the condition remains untreated, which is why a diagnosis and cure for this should be identified as early as possible.
Causes of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
There are many things that cause a vitamin B12 deficiency. Having an insight into these causes can help in preventing the disorder:
1. Dietary Deficiency:
People maintaining a strict vegan or vegetarian diet and with insufficient B12 supplements are at higher risk since vitamin B12 is found naturally in only a few sources other than animal-based food products.
2. Malabsorption Disorders:
Sometimes, people absorb adequate vitamin B12; however, they cannot absorb it because of disorders of the alimentary canal, which include lack of intrinsic factor, pernicious anemia, and other gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn's disease or celiac disease.
3. Age:
With old age, the stomach acids that help separate vitamin B12 from proteins in food tend to be lacking, and therefore, placing older individuals in a position of risk for deficiency of vitamin B12.
4. Drugs:
Proton pump inhibitors and antacids are among the drugs that interfere with the adequate absorption of the vitamin B12 by the body because they interfere with acid production in the stomach.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency Anemia
Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia is a state when there is less-than-adequate vitamin B12 quantity in the body, which leads to fewer healthy red blood cells production.
Insufficient with B12, the red cells are too large and cannot be released from the bone marrow into the bloodstream. This disease is fatal because it decreases the amount of oxygen delivery to tissues in the body.
Common manifestations of this vitamin B12 deficiency anemia include marked weakness, fatigue, palpitations, and pale color of the skin.
The disease may cause irreparable damage if it remains untreated, especially to the nervous system.
Vitamin B12 and Pernicious Anemia
Pernicious anemia is an explicitly defined disease among vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, characterized by the body's inability to produce intrinsic factor which in turn enables absorption of vitamin B12.
The immune system of pernicious anemia patients attacks the cells responsible for intrinsic factor production in the stomach resulting in the body's inability to absorb vitamin B12 from its foods.
This is a disease that affects the elderly to a great extent and has to be lifelong treated.
Risk Factors for Vitamin B12 Deficiency
There are several groups who have a higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. They include:
1. Vegans and Vegetarians:
Since most of the sources of vitamin B12 are found in animal products, vegans and vegetarians need to take extra precautions to ensure that they get enough vitamin B12.
2. Senior :
You may recall that elderly individuals typically have less secretion of gastric acid which implies they can't absorb B12.
3. Pregnant and Breastfeeding Woman:
Pregnant or a breastfeeding woman requires a higher amount of vitamin B12 intake to guarantee the fact that their developing baby would turn out healthy. Otherwise, those whose mothers are deficient in B12 during the intrauterine period face serious neurological conditions.
4. Those with gastrointestinal diseases:
Crohn's disease, celiac disease, as well as infection of the gastrointestinal system-results in malabsorption of vitamin B12
5. Medication consumers:
Consumption of certain medications such as proton pump inhibitors and metformin continuously declines the human body's ability to absorb vitamin B12 in food for very long.
Vitamin B12 Testing
Diagnosis of a deficiency is done through a blood test that checks the levels of vitamin B12.
Other tests, though, need to be carried out once a deficiency has been diagnosed for the purpose of confirming whether it results from the absence of intrinsic factor. That would generally lead to pernicious anemia.
If you suspect that you are experiencing a condition of vitamin B12 deficiency, visit a health care professional so that appropriate diagnosis may be done and treatment given accordingly.
Treatment of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
In most cases, treatment for vitamin B12 deficiency depends on the cause.
In the case of a dietary insufficiency, an increase in food intake rich in vitamin B12 or vitamin B12 supplementations could also be a remedy to that problem.
Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient, very commonly found in the following sources in diets:
- Meat, especially liver
- Fish (salmon and tuna, among others)
- Dairy products- milk, cheese, yogurt
- Eggs
- Fortified cereals and plant-based milk
Where the problem is absorption, such as with pernicious anemia or gastrointestinal disorders, large intramuscular doses of vitamin B12 can be used to bypass the requirement for intrinsic factor, thus ensuring adequate supply to the bloodstream.
Vitamin B12 supplements can be a viable option for those who need more amounts of vitamin B12 than what they can derive from the food they consume.
There are three types of B12 supplements: oral tablets, oral tablets that have to dissolve under the tongue, and nasal spray types.
While others may get treated intravenously with vitamin B12 injection if their absorption issues are too serious.
Prevention of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Preventive measures against vitamin B12 deficiency include a diet rich in sources of vitamin B12 or supplements, if necessary.
Vitamin B12 levels should be monitored periodically in all individuals at increased risk, such as the elderly and vegetarians.
In addition, the patient should consult their physician on the treatment of conditions interfering with vitamin B12 absorption, such as pernicious anemia or digestive disorders, in order to receive adequate dosing of vitamin B12 levels.
Conclusion
Vitamin B12 is another essential nutrient that one requires for the maintenance of healthy red blood cells, nerve function, and brain health.
Vitamin B12 deficiency not only leads to extremely widespread health impairments, such as anemia, nerve damage, and cognitive impairment, but it also is a cause for not going about many other activities in the proper manner.
Being proactive about your intake of vitamin B12 is one step closer to overall enhancement of well-being.
Frequency asked questions (FAQ)
1. What is Vitamin B12 and why it's necessary?
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is considered one of the essential nutrients that play an important role in maintaining nerve and blood cells. This vitamin helps in the DNA synthesis and also guards against a condition named megaloblastic anemia that can let a person feel tired and week.
2. What are the Symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency?
It has symptoms of fatigue, weakness, numbness or prickling and tingling in hands and feet, dizziness or losing one's balance, problems with memory, such as forgetting how to do simple things, and pale or yellowish skin due to anemia. Its extreme condition causes neurological complications.
3. List of Vitamin B12 rich foods:
One can find vitamin B12 naturally in animal-based food stuffs; one can refer to fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and dairy products. For vegetarians and vegans, these fortified breakfast cereals are considered a good source of this vitamin.
4. Who is most susceptible to Vitamin B12 deficiency?
Groups of people at higher risk for developing deficiency are vegetarians or vegans because B12 is mainly found in animal food products; older adults; those with gastrointestinal disorders, including pernicious anemia; and those who have had surgery that alters their digestive system, such as weight loss surgery.
5. Am I able to take a supplement and how much would I require?
Vitamin B12 is available as a supplement in various forms and presentations, such as tablets and capsules, but can also be injected. The recommended daily allowance for adults is about 2.4 micrograms. However, if the body presents an obvious deficiency, he will prescribe a larger dose, of course observing and adjusting it.
* 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).
