You may be coming across hundreds of articles relating to vitamin deficiencies and though you may just pass them by, you can’t really afford to ignore Vitamin B12. In fact, you shouldn’t because it is one of the most important vitamins crucial for healthy nerve tissue, brain function and red blood cell production. Continued deficiency in B12 can ultimately lead to irreversible neurological damage. If that doesn’t affect you, then consider this! Between 1.5 percent of the population of the US alone are currently diagnosed with Vitamin B12 deficiency.
1There are many factors causing a vitamin B-12 deficiency
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Remember!! With aging, the body’s ability to absorb vitamin B-12 from food reduces. There are many causes leading to becoming B-12 deficient. Long-term use of antacids, the absence of meat from a diet, drugs like Metformin, weight loss surgery and chemotherapy are all leading factors that could cause a deficiency in vitamin B12. The biggest problem with us is that we don’t tend to attribute various problems with a vitamin deficiency because not many really bother about whether we are getting an adequate dose of essential vitamins from our diet or not.
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2What is Vitamin B-12?
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Not to bore you but if you are going to read about symptoms of Vitamin B-12 deficiency, then you might as well know what the vitamin is all about. It’s not just a vitamin that health sites and doctors will advocate because of commercial supplements, no!! Vitamin B-12 or Cobalamin as it is called is extremely essential for your body in case you don’t know it.
Vitamin B12 is a crucial B vitamin. It is needed for nerve tissue health, brain function, and the production of red blood cells. Cobalamin is another name for vitamin B12. It is a water soluble vitamin which means it travels through your bloodstream. Your body can actually store the vitamin upto 4 years and excess quantities are excreted out of the body through urine.
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3Vitamin B-12 is the most complicated of all vitamins
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This is why you should be paying extra attention when you lack it. The vitamin is found naturally in meat products but you also get B-12 from eggs, milk, cheese, shellfish and poultry. The results of a vitamin B-12 deficiency can range from poor vision to fatigue. The best way to find out if you are running short is to consult a doctor who will prescribe a blood test for the same. Supplements will soon set you right but that needs to be prescribed by your doctor.
Vegans and vegetarians may be frowning by now but then you don’t really have to worry because there are vegetarian sources of vitamin B-12.
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