“Vitamin B-12 Deficiency and How to Recognize It”
Vitamin B-12 deficiency can be sneaky and harmful. Spotting the signs of vitamin B-12 deficiency early on and getting the right treatment can improve a person’s outlook. In most cases, doctors can treat vitamin B-12 deficiency. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may lead to a reduction in healthy red blood cells (anemia). Symptoms of vitamin B-12 deficiency include fatigue, low mood, and nerve problems. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may affect between 1.5 and 15.0 percent of people. The body needs vitamin B-12 for a range of bodily functions. Being deficient in vitamin B-12 causes physical and psychological symptoms, including nerve problems, fatigue, and difficulty thinking and people with long-term deficiency may have long-lasting effects, such as nerve damage. Most vitamin B-12 deficiency symptoms occur due to a lack of red blood cells, which means that the body does not get enough oxygen. The body’s oxygen supply is crucial for many aspects of health and insufficient oxygen here may lead to a person both feeling and being sick. The reduced amount of oxygen reaching the brain might be to blame for the thinking and reasoning problems, also called cognitive impairment. One study even linked low vitamin B-12 levels to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. The human body does not create vitamin B-12, so people must get this nutrient from their diet.
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