In today’s topic, we will discuss how Vitamin B12 Deficiency can harm your system and how one can detect the signs and symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency.
If you know the warning symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency, it is much easier for you to get the right treatment on time.
Why is Vitamin B12 essential for you?
This vitamin that is mainly stored in your liver does various functions in your body. Cobalamin is the scientific name for vitamin B12.
Vitamin B12 helps to form red blood cells, and this is one of the vital functions of this vitamin. This vitamin also helps to maintain the nervous system and prevent diseases like megaloblastic anaemia.
The only issue is that vitamin B12 is not easy to find in plant-based sources. Mainly vitamin B12 is found in animal origins like eggs, fish, meat, dairy products and seafood. This can be a drawback for people who are pure vegetarian.
Foods that are rich in B12 vitamin are:
- Octopus.
- Salmon.
- Cheese.
- Pork loin.
- Milk.
- Mussels.
- Beef tenderloin.
- Sardines.
- Beef liver.
Risks of Vitamin B12 Deficiency:
- The major risk of vitamin B12 deficiency is that it leads to the formation of large, immature red blood cells, and this increases the risk of developing megaloblastic anaemia.
- The risk of vitamin B12 deficiency gets high when a person’s absorption of micronutrients is poor and this is the major cause of vitamin B12 deficiency. If there is a failure in the digestive system, this can also cause vitamin B12 deficiency.
- As we mentioned earlier that vitamin B12 is majorly found in animal sources and some dairy products and therefore, vegetarians are more likely to develop vitamin B12 deficiency compared to others.
Therefore, people who do not consume foods of animal origin are more likely to develop vitamin B12 deficiency.
How to detect a lack of vitamin B12?
It is not easy to detect a deficiency in an individual, however when a person is deficient in a certain vitamin this can show some symptoms or signs after a prolonged period, and you must know these signs and symptoms so that you get alert to take the right treatment for the problem.
Some of the common signs are:
- Weakness.
- Feeling of tiredness.
- Memory loss.
- Blurred vision.
- Tingling in legs and arms.
All these indications appear because the damage is occurring in the nervous system of the human body. When a certain micronutrient lack in a person, this can result in risks like megaloblastic anaemia and heart failure.
Also, the person who is deficient in vitamin B12 experiences constant tiredness, dizziness, confusion and weakness along with other symptoms like decreased reflexes, loss of memory and difficulty in language.
If you are not consuming foods that are rich in vitamin B12, this can lead to problems like cognitive impairment. However, the treatment for this problem is possible and, in most cases, the person who is deficient in vitamin B12 is injected to alleviate the risk of this dangerous micronutrient deficiency.
This is a quick way to prevent the patient from the risk involved due to the lack of vitamin B12. Also, people who suffer from Helicobacter Pylori are prone to develop vitamin B12 deficiencies because of a bacterium that affects the stomach, causing gastritis.