Vitamin B12 deficiency is a common health problem that can have serious consequences.news

“For several months in the summer of 2022, my dog ​​Scout vomited almost every day at 3am. It swallowed up the confusion and made it difficult to diagnose the cause.

“The vet and I eventually figured out that my hydrangea was causing the problem, but keeping Scout away from the hydrangea didn’t work. She started looking tired all the time – It is very worrisome in lab puppies, which are typically very yellow.

“One day, Scout vomited up a ball of hair, but it wasn’t just a hairball. In dogs, hair normally passes easily through the digestive system, but this ball was too big to move.” Once this foreign object was removed, the night’s vomiting was over, but Scout still needed treatment for another astonishing reason: the object was vitamins in her body. B12 was inhibiting the stage of absorption. B12 is an essential nutrient involved in the proper functioning of blood cells, nerves, and many other vital processes in the body.

Kress is a registered dietitian and teaches college students nutrition and food science, but she still overlooked the B12 deficiency that caused fatigue in puppies. Even though B12 deficiency is a common health problem that affects a high percentage of people, doctors can easily blind it in people.

B12 is rarely found in the diet and is found only in foods of animal origin. Luckily, a human needs only 2.4 micrograms of he B12 daily. This he equates to one ten-millionth of an ounce. Not having enough of her B12 in her body negatively impacts her overall health and quality of life.

signs and symptoms

One of the main symptoms of B12 deficiency is fatigue. This is a level of fatigue or exhaustion that is severe enough to affect daily life.

Other symptoms are neurological and include tingling in the extremities, confusion, memory loss, depression, and difficulty maintaining balance. Some of these can become permanent if the vitamin deficiency is not addressed.

“But with so many possible causes for these symptoms, health care workers may overlook the possibility of B12 deficiency and fail screening. That might seem to rule out vitamin deficiencies. Case in point: I knew Scout’s diet was healthy, so I didn’t think B12 deficiency was the cause of her problems.

Absorption method of B12

Studies show that people who follow a plant-based diet usually need to take B12 supplements in amounts provided by standard multivitamins. People may be at risk because it may interfere with the body’s absorption of vitamin B12.

Absorption of B12 is a complex multistep process that begins in the mouth and ends at the far end of the small intestine. When we chew, saliva and food mix. When food is swallowed, a substance in saliva called R-protein (a protein that prevents B12 from being destroyed by stomach acid) moves with the food to the stomach.

Certain cells of the stomach mucosa called parietal cells secrete two substances important for the absorption of B12. One is stomach acid, which breaks down food and vitamin B12, allowing the vitamin to bind to her R-protein in saliva. Another substance called intrinsic factor mixes with the contents of the stomach and travels to the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. Once in the duodenum, pancreatic juice releases B12 from the R protein and passes it to intrinsic factor. This pairing allows B12 to be absorbed into cells where it helps maintain nerve cells and form healthy red blood cells.

B12 deficiency usually involves breakdown at one or more of these points on the way to absorption.

Risk factors for B12 deficiency

Without saliva, B12 does not bind to the salivary R protein, inhibiting the body’s ability to absorb it. Also, there are hundreds of different medications that can cause dry mouth and produce too little saliva. Blood pressure medications, benzodiazepines such as Xanax.

The last three categories alone account for 100 million prescriptions issued each year in the United States.

Another potential cause of B12 deficiency is low levels of stomach acid. Millions of people take anti-ulcer medications that reduce the stomach acid that causes ulcers. Researchers have firmly linked the use of these drugs to his B12 deficiency, but that possibility may not outweigh the need for medication.

Gastric acid production may also decrease with age. The population over the age of 60 is at increased risk of B12 deficiency, which may be further increased by the use of acid-suppressing drugs.

The production of gastric acid and intrinsic factor by specialized parietal cells in the stomach is critical for B12 absorption to occur. However, damage to the stomach lining can interfere with the production of both.

In humans, damage to the gastric mucosa results from gastric surgery, chronic inflammation, or pernicious anemia. This is a medical condition characterized by fatigue and many other symptoms.

Another common cause of B12 deficiency is poor pancreatic function. Approximately one-third of patients with pancreatic insufficiency develop B12 deficiency.

Finally, metformin, a drug for treating type 2 diabetes, has been associated with B12 deficiency for decades.

Treatment of B12 deficiency

Some providers routinely measure levels of B12 and other vitamins, but a typical well-check test only includes a complete blood count and metabolic panel, both of which are B12. Seek medical attention if you have underlying symptoms of B12 deficiency and have any of the risk factors listed above. Whether insufficient B12 levels are the cause Detecting or ruling out requires proper testing and discussion with a doctor.

“For my dog ​​Scout, her symptoms caused the vet to do two blood tests: a complete blood count and a B12 test. It disappeared after several months of taking an oral B12 supplement that also contained the active form of B-folate.

“In humans, the type of treatment and duration of recovery depend on the cause and severity of the B12 deficiency. Complete recovery can take up to a year, but recovery is highly unlikely with proper treatment. will be higher.”

Treatment for B12 deficiency may require oral, sublingual application, nasal administration, or various types of injections. It may be enough, but it’s best to work with your healthcare provider to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment.