Are You Also Suffering From Vitamin B12 Deficiency?
Vitamin B12 is also called Cobalamin and it is an important water-soluble vitamin. You can suffer from Vitamin B12 deficiency if you are not including food sources that can contribute to your Vitamin B12 levels. Also, Vitamin B12 is a very common nutrient deficiency.
What exactly is Vitamin B12 Deficiency?
Vitamin B12 Deficiency will happen when you start to have low levels of stored B12 in your body. It produces healthy RBCs (Red Blood Cells) in the Bone Marrow. Vitamin B12 Deficiency can lead to Anaemia where your body will not produce adequate amounts of red blood cells.
The higher risk of people comes under the category who are vegetarians, or who are under medications for diabetes. Because almost all the food sources from which we get Vitamin B12 are non-vegetarian. So, Vitamin B12 is naturally found in animal foods. Some fortified products also contain Vitamin B12 Levels.
Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
One can suffer from a number of symptoms and they are:
Weakness & Fatigue
A very common symptom of Vitamin B12 Deficiency. It happens because when your body doesn’t produce enough Vitamin B12 to make RBCs, the oxygen transported to all the body organs and cells decreases. And as such, the person feels weak and tired always.
They have very low energy levels and they do not feel like working on anything. If the same deficiency happens in elderly people, it is termed pernicious anemia which is considered an autoimmune condition.
Breathlessness & Dizziness
People suffering from this deficiency get breathless soon while running or while performing some heavy workout sessions, cardio exercises, etc. The body gets exerted very easily.
The simple reason is the deficiency of oxygen in the body parts. A person also feels dizzy when he gets up from bed after a long time. Sometimes, the person’s vision is purely blacked out.
Poor Vision
One can have blurry or disturbed vision because of this deficiency.
In certain severe cases, where the treatment of this deficiency is not done, the nervous system gets damaged, further damaging the optic nerve. And that leads to poor eyesight and vision.
Mood Fluctuations
People suffering from this deficiency often have mood swings. People start to feel very low, irritated, and depressed. They easily get prey to mental diseases such as dementia and depression.
It is because low levels of Vitamin B12 damage the brain tissue and interfere with signals to and from your brain which leads to changes in behavior and mood.
Basically, Vitamin B12 breaks down a chemical in the brain called homocysteine. But when Vitamin B12 Deficiency is present in the body, homocysteine levels go up and that is the reason behind Mood Disturbances.
High Temperatures
This is a very rare symptom, also an occasional one. But some people suffer from this too.
High Temperatures can be a cause of some other illnesses, inflammations, or infections faced by the body. It is not directly related to Vitamin B12 deficiency but few Doctors have reported such symptoms in patients, suffering from this particular deficiency.
Numbness, Sensations & Tingling of Hands & Feet
It can cause a tingling kind of feeling in your hands and feet, feels like sensations of pins and needles.
This happens because the nervous system gets damaged. There is a substance called Myelin which is a protective coating that shields the nerves. But if Vitamin B12 deficiency is present, the body is unable to produce enough Myelin. And as such, the protection of nerves is damaged.
Loss of Appetite & Weight Loss
People also suffer from low appetite, they don’t feel like eating much. As such their weight starts to decrease. And the person gets weak, ill, and can have a tremendous weight loss.
A Decrease in Cognitive Thinking & Memory Loss
Problems with thinking and reasoning start to decline with this deficiency. In some cases, people also suffer from Memory Loss.
This happens because the amount of oxygen is low that reaches the brain which hampers the cognitive thinking of a person very badly. One is unable to concentrate on his/her work. They get distracted very easily.
They also have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and even Parkinson’s disease.
Rapid Heartbeat & Shortness of Breath
Because of the low oxygen supply to the body, a person gets short of breath sometimes. A person can also have the symptom of a fast heartbeat.
These symptoms should not be ignored and a person should consult a doctor immediately because difficulty in breathing is never a good sign for the body. It hints that the person is in some serious trouble.
Food Sources That Can Bring Your Vitamin B12 Levels to Normal
As mentioned above in the article, Vitamin B12 is mostly found in animal foods such as:
- Red Meat
- Poultry
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Fish
- Clams
Some of the foods other than non-veg sources are:
- Fortified Cereals
- Plant Milk
- Bread
- Nutritional Yeast
- Sprouts
Treatment for Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Taking Vitamin B12 Supplements is what the doctors suggest to the people who suffer from this deficiency.
But, it is always better to normalize your deficiency by having healthy food sources rather than by taking supplements.
People who have a high deficiency of Vitamin B12 should consult a doctor and should take supplements prescribed by them. Else, if it’s not that severe one should try to bring their Vitamin B12 Levels to normal by eating healthy and clean.
There can be cases where a person is not able to absorb vitamin B12 even after taking B12 sources, then he/she should be given shots of Vitamin B12.
How to Prevent Yourself from the Deficiency of Vitamin B12
A simple way of prevention is to keep consuming Vitamin B12 food sources. But, if someone follows a vegetarian diet, then they must take multivitamins daily after their meals. As Vitamin B12 is also present in a multivitamin tablet.
Actually, we all should have a multivitamin tablet daily along with a balanced diet, as it helps to fulfill the vitamin levels of the body. Also, one cannot easily get their daily recommended vitamins just by having food. Point to note, that it is not at all harmful to consume multivitamins.
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