Vitamin B12 supplements: 7 signs of deficiency that can cause severe neurological issues
Dr Dawn Harper on signs of vitamin B12 and vitamin D deficiency
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Experts at Harvard Medical School warned that a vitamin B12 deficiency can be “sneaky” and “harmful”, so it is a good idea to become familiar with the bodily warning signs that you need a nutrient top up. Without adequate supplies of vitamin B12, red blood cells, nerves, and DNA are negatively affected. At first, one of the earliest warning signs of a vitamin B12 deficiency is fatigue.
As fatigue can be attributed to a number of health conditions, it is conceivable how a nutritional deficiency may not be at the forefront of your mind.
Anaemia can develop as the red blood cells are malformed and mis-shaped due to a lack of vitamin B12 – and all the symptoms associated with the condition.
Because the body is incapable of producing its own reserves of vitamin B12, your diet directly influences how much – or how little – you get.
Furthermore, to complicate matters, even if you had a diet sufficient in vitamin B12, malabsorption issues can mean that your body can not hold onto the essential nutrient.
Without vitamin B12, you can expect “strange sensations” to develop, such as numbness or tingling in the hands, legs or feet.
Very low reserves of vitamin B12 can even lead to walking difficulties, with the affected person appearing more clumsy than usual.
What is actually happening, in fact, is that a lack of vitamin B12 is causing balance issues by interfering with brain function.
Another cognitive issue to be aware of is when memory is affected, which can be mistaken for simply older age or – worryingly – wrongly thought of as dementia.
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Seven signs of a vitamin B12 deficiency
- Strange sensations, numbness, or tingling in the hands, legs, or feet
- Difficulty walking (staggering, balance problems)
- Anemia
- A swollen, inflamed tongue
- Difficulty thinking and reasoning (cognitive difficulties), or memory loss
- Weakness
- Fatigue.
A vitamin B12 deficiency must be addressed at the earliest opportunity to prevent “severe neurological problems”, said the experts at Harvard Medical School.
The most efficient way to determine a vitamin B12 deficiency is to ask for a blood test that specifically tests for nutritional deficiencies.
Thankfully, a vitamin B12 deficiency can be “corrected” in two ways.
Firstly, a more severe deficiency can be managed by weekly injections of vitamin B12.
If, however, the deficiency is mild, a standard multivitamin supplement would be beneficial.
As with any health condition, early diagnosis is critical to prevent long-lasting damage.
Furthermore, as to be expected, prevention is better than cure – so how can you prevent a vitamin B12 deficiency?
If you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, you need to eat foods fortified with vitamin B12 – and a daily supplement wouldn’t go amiss.
It is also a great idea to have annual health check-ups at your doctor’s clinic – even if you don’t have any concerning health conditions at the moment.
Then, if you do have a health condition that does affect gut absorption, you need to keep a close eye on your health.
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