Vitamin B12 Deficiency, When is it Likely to Happen?
Diets of most adults provide recommended intakes of vitamin B12, but deficiency may still occur because of a lack of ability to absorb vitamin B12 from food. It can also arise in individuals with dietary patterns that reject animal or fortified foods.
Most individuals who develop a vitamin B12 deficiency have an underlying stomach or intestinal disorder that limits the absorption of vitamin B12. Sometimes the only symptom of these intestinal disorders is anemia resulting from B12 deficiency.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency Symptoms, Signs and Related Problems
Characteristic signs of a vitamin B12 deficiency include fatigue, weakness, nausea, constipation, flatulence, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Deficiency also can lead to neurological changes such as numbness and tingling in the hands and feet.
Additional symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are difficulty in maintaining balance, depression, confusion, poor memory, and soreness of the mouth or tongue. Some of these symptoms can also result from a variety of medical conditions other than a B-12 deficit.
It is imperative to have a physician evaluate these symptoms so that suitable medical care can be given.
Who May Require a Vitamin B12 Supplement?
Individuals with pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia is a form of anemia that occurs when there is an absence of intrinsic factor, a substance normally present in the stomach. Vitamin B12 binds with intrinsic factor before it is absorbed and used by your body.
A lack of intrinsic factor prevents normal absorption of B12 and results in pernicious anemia. Anyone with pernicious anemia typically needs intramuscular injections of vitamin B12.
It is extremely important to remember that pernicious anemia is a chronic condition that should be monitored by a medical doctor. Anyone with pernicious anemia has to take lifelong supplemental vitamin B12.
Individuals with gastrointestinal disorders
Individuals with stomach and small intestinal disorders may not absorb enough vitamin B12 from food to maintain healthy body stores. Sprue and celiac disease are intestinal disorders caused by intolerance to protein in wheat and wheat products.
Regional enteritis, localized inflammation of the stomach or small intestine, also results in generalized malabsorption of vitamin B12. Excess bacteria in the stomach and small intestine also can diminish vitamin B12 absorption.
Surgical procedures of the gastrointestinal tract such as surgery to remove all or part of the stomach often result in a loss of cells that secrete stomach acid and intrinsic factor. Surgical removal of the distal ileum, a section of the intestines, can result in the failure to absorb B12.
Anyone who has had either of these surgeries usually requires lifetime supplemental B12 to avoid a insufficiency.
Older Adults
Vitamin B12 must be divided from protein in food before it can bind with intrinsic factor and be absorbed by your body. Bacterial overgrowth in the stomach and/or atrophic gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach, contribute to vitamin B12 deficiency in adults by limiting secretions of stomach acid needed to separate vitamin B12 from protein in food.
Adults 50 years of age and older with these conditions are able to absorb the B12 in fortified foods and dietary supplements. Health care professionals may recommend adults over the age of 50 to get their vitamin B12 from a dietary supplement or from foods fortified with vitamin B12 because 10 to 30 percent of older people may be unable to absorb vitamin B12 in food.
Vegetarians
Vegetarians who do not eat meats, fish, eggs, milk or milk products, or B12 fortified foods consume no vitamin B12 and are at high risk of developing a deficiency of vitamin B12.
When adults adopt a vegetarian diet, deficiency symptoms can be slow to appear because it usually takes years to deplete normal body stores of B12. However, severe symptoms of a B12 deficit, most often featuring poor neurological development, can show up quickly in children and breast-fed infants of women who follow a strict vegetarian diet.
Fortified cereals are one of the few plant food sources of vitamin B12, and are an important dietary source of B12 for vegetarians who consume no eggs, milk or milk products. Vegetarian adults who do not consume plant foods fortified with B-12 need to consider taking a supplement.
Vegetarian mothers should consult with a pediatrician regarding appropriate vitamin B12 supplementation for their infants and children.
Folic Acid may Disguise Signs of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Folic acid can correct the anemia that is caused by a B-12 deficit. However, folic acid will not correct the original shortage. Permanent nerve damage can take place if this insufficiency is not treated.
Ingesting Folic acid from food and supplements should not exceed 1,000 micrograms (mcg) daily because large amounts of folic acid can hide the harmful effects of B-12 deficit.
Adults older than 50 years are recommend to consult with their physician about the advisability of taking folic acid without taking a B-12 supplement.
If your interested, here is a website that has great prices on B-12 supplements.
Additional Vitamin Information
- Vitamin Supplements
- Vitamin A Facts
- Vitamin A Foods
- Vitamin A Deficiency
- Vitamin A Overdose
- Vitamin B12 Facts
- Vitamin B12 Deficiency
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