Why Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency A Serious Health Concern?

why is vitamin b12 deficiency a serious health concern?

New Delhi: Vitamin B12 is one of the most important nutrients that the body needs for its overall health and well-being. Also known as cobalamin, this vitamin is naturally found in animal foods, or can be added to foods or supplements.

It is required to form red blood cells and DNA and is a key player in the function and development of brain and nerve cells. Vitamin B12 binds to the protein in the foods we eat.

According to experts, a deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause serious physical, neurological, and psychological problems if it is not treated well in time. A study published in the British Medical Journal has stressed on the neurological symptoms, which affect your body’s movement and function, as the main issue when there is a lack of this vitamin in many people. It said neurological symptoms occur in 85 per cent of vitamin B12 deficiency cases. 1

Adults need at least 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 in a day, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding need more. The amount of vitamin B12 babies and children need varies based on their age.

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Plenty of B12 is found in animal products like meat, dairy, and eggs, apart from fortified foods like cereals, bread, and nutritional yeast.

According to John Hopkins University, at least 1.5-15 per cent of people across the world suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency, ranging from ages 20 to 60 years.

Signs and symptoms

Experts say even though the symptoms of B12 deficiency develop slowly, but get worse over time, with anemia as a major issue. A few symptoms are:

• Feeling fatigued all the time
• Experiencing nausea, vomiting
• Not feeling hungry
• Unexplained weight loss
• Sore mouth with blisters
• Yellowish skin
• Numbness in your hands and feel
• Lack of proper vision
• Memory loss
• Not being able to speak properly

Neurological symptoms include:

Paresthesia

The condition causes a tingling, burning, or prickling sensation in the hands, arms, legs, feet, and other parts of the body. Even though the sensation is painless it causes discomfort and irritation with skin crawling or itching.

Experts say it is important to consult your doctor if you experience paresthesia for treatment.

Ataxia

Ataxia is a condition that causes a lack of muscle control in the arms and legs. 2

It leads to imbalance, lack of coordination, and trouble walking. Ataxia affects the fingers, hands, arms, legs, body, speech, and even eye movements.

Myelopathy

Myelopathy causes a severe injury to the spinal cord due to compression that results in trauma, congenital stenosis, degenerative disease, or disc herniation.

It causes extreme pain in the neck or back, tingling, numbness, or weakness in your arms, hands, legs, or feet. It also leads to difficulty with fine motor skills, such as buttoning a shirt, balance or coordination issues, and loss of bladder or bowel control.

Tinnitus

A lack of vitamin B12 in the body also causes tinnitus, which damages the nerves in the cochlea – a fluid-filled structure in the ear that is vital for hearing.

Tinnitus fills your ears with sounds no one else hears and is a common problem affecting more than 50 million people across the world every year.

Tinnitus can be severe, affecting people’s daily lives, and cannot be cured.

The condition causes sounds like ringing, buzzing, whooshing, humming, hissing, throbbing, and music or singing.

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.