Feed your DNA with vitamin B12

Did you know vitamin B12 is vital for your DNA formation? Actually, it does a lot of other things as well. It determines the way our body functions which includes making of healthy red blood cells and ensuring proper functioning of nerve tissues – healthy brain and immune system.

Diagnosis

Deficiency of vitamin B12 is often missed out or can be termed as under diagnosed. This is because its symptoms are very vague and difficult to be caught at early stages. The body easily stores B12 up to five years. However, the physician may want to get you to undergo certain investigations before confirming his doubt. These include,

• Blood test– to know the red blood cell count, its appearance, level of B12 and blood intrinsic factor (IF) antibody levels
• Bone marrow biopsy – to rule out possible causes of red cell abnormalities or anemia.

Symptoms

• Feeling dragged & forgetful
• Irritability, confusion
• Yellowing of the skin, tender calves
• Lethargic feeling, lack of appetite
• Numbness, tingling of limbs
• Weakness, balancing issues
• Out of breath, palpitations
• Sore, red tongue, mouth ulcers
• Anaemia
• Easy bruising, bleeding, including bleeding gums
• Depression, paranoia, hallucinations

Seniors & Babies can get it too

The capacity to absorb the vitamin is reduces with age. Hence, the elderly may often be found to be low on B12. Also, B12 deficiency is rarely seen among in infants. It may happen if the breastfeeding mom is a vegan and not on vitamin B12 supplements

Causes

The deficiency begins with the reducing blood levels of vitamins, followed by low cellular vitamin concentrations, increased levels of homocysteine and low DNA synthesis and finally macrocytic anemia. Some of the causes for the B12 deficiency are given below.

• Vegan diet: Our body doesn’t produce vitamin B12 and there are no plant sources of it either. So, to the vegetarians have to depend solely on milk and cheese to meet their B12 needs.  However, the deficiency can also occur in people who include meat, poultry and fish as part of their regular diet.
• Digestive ailments: Those with digestive issues like colitis, bacterial growth, crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and malabsorption syndrome are generally B12 deficient. This happens because the problem makes it difficult for the body to absorb the vitamin.
• Short bowel syndrome: Those who have had their bowels surgically shortened may also face vitamin B12 absorption problems. So, the small intestine cannot absorb the required amount of vitamins, water other nutrients essential for the body.
• Excessive alcohol: Excessive consumption of alcohol, or irritation of the stomach lining, etc, leads to low stomach acid and reduced B12 absorption. Also, B12 is stored in liver which gets impaired due to alcohol consumption. This makes it even more difficult for the liver to use it.
• Post weight loss surgery: People undergone gastric bypass may be required to live on B12 supplements for the remaining part of their life as absorption of the vitamin could be a permanent feature.  
• Acid-reducing medicines: Consumption of certain medicines suppresses the production of essential stomach acid. This acid is required to absorb vitamin B12. Stomach acid helps break animal proteins with B12.
• Genetic reasons: Those with severe MTHFR, homocystinuria, and transcobalamin deficiency are generally low on B12.
• Pernicious anemia: This is an autoimmune condition wherein a person’s own immune system attacks the stomach lining and damages intrinsic factor producing cells. It is this intrinsic factor that is aids absorption of vitamin B12 in intestines.

What happens if ignored for long?

Deficiency of vitamin B12 may lead to anemia and may do irreversible damage to the nerves and brain if it goes undiagnosed or is ignored for long.  It could sometimes be mistaken for dementia due to similarities of symptoms. The neurologic damage could include memory loss, disorientation, low concentrate span etc. Also, the person may suffer permanently from insomnia, erectile dysfunction, even difficulty with bowel and bladder control.

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