Symptoms Due to Vitamin-B12 Deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency is rare in young people. It is more common among the elderly and those who follow the stick to vegetarian diet are at more risk. The deficiency leads to anemia because the body should produce large number of red blood cells but lack of vitamin B12 it is unable to to produce sufficient red blood cells.

Causes for Vitamin-B12 Deficiency:
It is because of several causes. It is observed especially in people whose digestive systems does not absorb the vitamin from the food which they take.

• It may be caused due to dietary factors like:
• Eating a vegetarian diet, because the best food sources of vitamin B12 are observed in animal products. The people who do not eat any animal products including egg, milk, meat are at great risk, and the people who eat egg and milk are also at the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, because an average, they consume less than the half of the adult Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin B12 and the child/babies who born to the mother who is vegetarian may also be deficient in vitamin B12.Poor diet in infants, or poor nutrition during pregnancy and certain health conditions
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Long term use of acid reducing drugs.
• Some conditions effecting the small intestine, such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease, a parasite or a bacteria growth.
• Atrophic gastritis, a thinning of the stomach line which effects the 30% of the people under age 50 and above.
• Precocious anemia, it is a condition in which there is a lack of protein called intrinsic factor. The protein, which is made on the stomach, is necessary for absorption of vitamin B12.
• Surgery in which a part of the stomach or small intestine is removed.

Symptoms for Vitamin-B12 Deficiency:
The deficiency of vitamin-B12 may not have symptoms. If it has may be mild. Such symptoms include:

• Fatigue, lack of energy, tiredness, light-headedness when standing up or with exertion
• Pale skin
• Loss of appetite, loss of weight, and stomach upset
• Shortness of breath, mostly during exercises
• Swollen, red tongue or bleeding gum
• Diarrhea or constipation
• If vitamin-B12 deficiency is for long time, then you can have the nerve damage.
• The symptoms for nerve damage are:
• Depression
• Loss of balance
• Numbness, tingling of hands and feet, and
• Memory loss, disorientation, confusion or change in mental status (Dementia) in severe cases
• Difficulty walking

Health Issues for Vitamin-B12 Deficiency:
Anemia, cardiovascular diseases

Sources of Vitamin-B12 Deficiency:
Some food sources of vitamin B12 are as follows:
Beef, breakfast cereals, haddock, ham, egg, chicken, beef taco, cheese, salmon, liver, clams, milk, yogurt, beans, nuts etc.

Generally we do not get this vitamin in plant foods but we can find vitamin B12 in animal products like: fish, meat, poultry, milk and milk products. But in fortified breakfast cereals it is readily available source with high bio availability for vegetarians and some nutritional yeast products also contains vitamin B12. Fish and red meat are excellent sources for vitamin B12