Vitamin B12 is critical for your health because it is responsible for a number of fundamental processes such as DNA formation and red blood cell (erythrocyte) production.
Know about Vitamin B12 Deficiency:
Vitamin B12 deficiency is a health condition involving low levels of vitamin B12 in your blood. It’s also known as cobalamin deficiency or hypo cobalaminemia.
This deficiency has become a worldwide problem, particularly in developing countries because your body can’t synthesize vitamin B12 on its own. It has to be taken from an outside source regularly considering that your body doesn’t store vitamin B12 for long.
Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency:
Vitamin B12 deficiency slowly develops and gradually intensifies over time. Because of the symptoms it shows, it can be overlooked or confused with some other health condition. Vitamin B12 deficiency may include:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Trouble in walking (staggering, balancing problems)
- Numbness and tingling in the hands, legs, or feet
- Difficulty in thinking and reasoning (cognitive impairment), or memory loss
- Paranoia or hallucinations
- Yellowish skin (jaundice)
- Anemia- To find the best hematologists in Pakistan, visit marham.pk.
- A swollen, inflamed tongue
Consequences of Vitamin B12 Deficiency:
It’s very important to have an early diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency for effective treatment.
“If left untreated, the deficiency can cause severe neurologic problems and blood diseases,” says Dr. Bruce Bistrian, chief of clinical nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
In pregnant women, lack of vitamin B12 can cause developmental delays in the baby. Without this vitamin, the baby is not able to thrive and grow normally.
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How to Overcome B-12 Deficiency:
If you are diet conscious and prefer to go full vegetarian or vegan by avoiding foods from animal sources then there’s bad news for you.
Plants don’t synthesize vitamin B12. The only foods that contain it are meat, eggs, poultry, dairy products, and other foods from animals. Being a strict vegetarian or vegan increases the risk of developing a B12 deficiency if you don’t eat vitamin fortified grins or take a vitamin supplement.
Afterthoughts:
B12 is needed in very minute quantities but its involvement in the healthy functioning your body is of optimal importance. You are what you eat, so taking care of your diet determines the level of your physical and mental health.