11 Symptoms That Show You May Have a Vitamin-B12 Deficiency

Vitamin-B12 is essential for the production of DNA and red blood cells, as well as the neurological system’s function. As such, a vitamin B-12 deficiency affects the production and function of healthy blood cells and can cause various symptoms. For the organs to function properly, the body needs a lot of these cells. When a person is deficient in vitamin B-12, it can lead to symptoms that affect both their mental and physical health.

Causes of vitamin-B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency is more likely to occur in vegans or vegetarians. Even if a person consumes an adequate amount of vitamin B-12 through their diet, the absorption of this vitamin in the gut can be compromised by certain underlying health conditions like:

• Crohn’s illness
• Gluten intolerance or celiac disease
• Atrophic gastritis
• Pernicious anemia

Certain factors make people more susceptible to a vitamin-B12 deficiency:

• Old age because B-12 absorption declines with age.
• Eating a plant-based or vegan diet.
• Taking anti-acid medications for long periods of time.
• Weight loss surgery or other stomach surgeries decrease the digestive system’s ability to absorb vitamin B-12.

Img Src: mskcc.org

Symptoms of vitamin-B12 deficiency

Several studies show that between 5% and 15% of the population may be deficient in vitamin B-12. Numerous signs and symptoms, both mental and physical, can result from a lack of this vitamin. Vitamin B-12-rich meals should be consumed on a regular basis to prevent its deficiency. A daily intake of 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B-12 is recommended for healthy adults. You can get this water-soluble vitamin from animal-based foods such as red meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and fish.

Vegetarian and vegan sources of vitamin B12 are necessary if a person does not consume animal products. Fortified cereals, plant milk, bread, and nutritional yeast are all examples of these products. Some people may not recognize that they have a vitamin B-12 deficiency since it has many symptoms as other nutritional deficiencies and health issues. People who are aware of all of the symptoms can recognize the problem and seek medical help. So here are 11 symptoms that you might think are normal health issues but, in reality, are caused by a deficiency in vitamin-B12.

Img Src: pinimg.com

1 Fatigue

Patients with megaloblastic anemia caused by a lack of vitamin B-12 may experience weariness. A person can become highly fatigued if they don’t have enough red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout their body.

Img Src: rehabr.com