Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause symptoms that affect your brain and nervous system (neurological symptoms), including: numbness. muscle weakness. psychological problems, which can range from mild depression or anxiety, to confusion and dementia.
Neurological symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can include:
Numbness or tingling in your hands and feet. Vision problems. Having a hard time remembering things or getting confused easily. Having a difficult time walking or speaking like you usually do.
There are certain foods that also need a cut-down in case of vitamin B12 deficiency. “Some foods and drinks can interfere with vitamin B complex intake like alcohol, caffeine and processed foods, etc should be avoided completely,” Shah added.
Inadequate dietary intake
A balanced diet typically provides sufficient vitamin B12; however, strict vegans and people with a poor diet are at higher risk of developing a deficiency. Good sources of vitamin B12 include: Meat. Fish.
Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
Vitamin B-12 deficiency can affect the digestive tract. A lack of red blood cells means that not enough oxygen reaches the gut. Insufficient oxygen here may lead to a person both feeling and being sick. It may also cause diarrhea.
It may take a few weeks before your vitamin B12 levels and symptoms (such as extreme tiredness or lack of energy) start to improve. If you have hydroxocobalamin injections to boost your vitamin B12 levels at the start of treatment, the cyanocobalamin tablets may start to work within a few days.
If your anemia goes untreated for a long time, it can lead to heart failure. That's because your heart has to work harder. B12-related anemia may also raise the chances you'll have a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular problem.
Several commercially available test kits allow you to collect a sample for vitamin B12 testing at home. Some kits test only your vitamin B12 level. Others test B12 in combination with other vitamins, and there are at-home micronutrient test kits that include B12 in the panel.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can indeed lead to weight gain. But the weight gain is not a direct result of the deficiency. Instead, vitamin B12 deficiency causes lethargy or lack of energy, and in turn, inactivity causes weight gain. When you lack the energy to move, you don't burn fat.
Bananas are a cheap, healthy, and nutrient-dense fruit that can easily become a part of every individual's diet. It is one of the best fruits rich in vitamin B12.
Pernicious anaemia causes your immune system to attack the cells in your stomach that produce the intrinsic factor, which means your body is unable to absorb vitamin B12.
Since your body doesn't make vitamin B12, you have to get it from animal-based foods or from supplements. And you should do that on a regular basis. While B12 is stored in the liver for up to 5 years, you can eventually become deficient if your diet doesn't help maintain the levels.
As the human body is incapable of producing vitamin B12 on its own, it's necessary to be active in consuming foods that are a rich source of this vitamin. The recommended daily intake of B12 is about 2µg, with a serving of two eggs satisfying 15% of your everyday requirements.
Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is naturally found in animal foods. It can also be added to foods or supplements. Vitamin B12 is needed to form red blood cells and DNA. It is also a key player in the function and development of brain and nerve cells.
The impact of B12 on gut microbial communities, although minor, was distinct and attributed to the changes in the Lachnospiraceae populations and reduced alpha diversity. Cyanocobalamin treatment disrupted the activity of the low-abundance community members of the gut microbiota.
Gastric acid inhibitors include omeprazole (Prilosec®), lansoprazole (Prevacid®), cimetidine (Tagamet®), and ranitidine (Zantac®). Metformin is used to treat prediabetes and diabetes. Metformin might reduce vitamin B12 absorption and lower blood levels of vitamin B12.
Older people are more likely to get vitamin B12 deficiencies because it is absorbed from food by stomach acid. As you age, however, your stomach acid starts to decline. That's why it is important to get tested for a vitamin B12 deficiency as you age.
There are 13 vitamins the body absolutely needs: vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate). Avocados naturally contain many of these vitamins, and you can start incorporating them into your diet with our avocado recipes.
Vegetables– Usually, most vegetables contain some amount of Vitamin B12, but there are some Vitamin B12 foods for vegetarians that contain a very high amount of Vitamin B12 namely- Spinach, Beetroot, Potatoes, Mushrooms, alfalfa, and others.
If you follow a plant-based diet, then vegetables like spinach, beetroot, butternut squash, mushroom and potato contain good amounts of vitamin B12. However, it is less likely to receive the whole amount of nutrients just from vegetable sources.