Vitamin B12 is one of the groups of water soluble vitamins that comprise the B group. It's also known as cyanocobalamin or hydoxycobalamin. Unlike most of the water soluble vitamins the body is able to store it in large amounts and this is a reflection of its importance to our health.
Vitamin B12 is vitally important to the formation of red blood cells DNA replication and the functioning of nerves. A healthy human liver will store enough B12 to last for up to 5 years of normal use.
People usually get vitamin B12 from animal products in the diet particularly eggs, meat, cheese and milk. Deficiencies generally result from poor absorption of the vitamin instead of inadequate intake. The only people at risk of deficiency from their diets are vegans and the breast fed babies of vegans. They are recommended that vegans use a supplement because of this.
Available intrinsic factor might also be reduced by surgical bowel removal following cancer or inflammatory disease by infection or by autoimmune disease. Poor absorption could also be the result of unhealthy bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and malabsorption syndromes. Patients who take more amounts of acid reducing drugs will reduce their absorption of vitamin B-12.
The basic symptoms of a deficiency of Vitamin B-12 are generally tiredness and paleness. This is due to lowered red blood cell production as vitamin B12 is necessary for normal red blood cell production. The initial symptom of anemia is paleness and tiredness. This could progress to cause brittle nails, breathlessness and palpitations in some cases. A simple blood test will reveal a type of anemia known as pernicious anemia in which red blood cells are produced but don't contain enough hemoglobin.
Symptoms frequently develop slowly and are put down to aging by sufferers. Injections or simple dietary manipulation are used to replace the missing Vitamin B-12. This is often given in conjunction with Folic acid which is also necessary for red blood cell production.
If symptoms go unchallenged the next symptom will be a raised heart rate. The liver and spleen become enlarged if the deficiency is untreated. After this nerve damage occurs with sufferers unable to tell the position of their limbs correctly. They might feel tingling in the extremities or numbness. This is accompanied by a loss of the sense of balance. Muscle weakness develops and reflexes are lost. Finally mental function gets impaired and sufferers might develop symptoms of dementia.
If Vitamin B12 deficiency goes untreated in young patients there's a higher risk of bowel cancers but it's unclear whether this is due to the deficiency in B-12 itself or due to the initial cause of the deficiency.
Vitamin B12 is essential for our daily health and this is reflected in the fact that it's one of the few water soluble vitamins that humans store successfully. It's not freely available in the diet our ancestors evolved with and this is probably why we can store it. Deficiencies of Vitamin B12 have both short-term and long term consequences.
Deficiency in vitamin B-12 causes a disruption in the DNA production and abnormal red blood cells could occur as a result. Poor resistance to listlessness, infection and skin pallor may result and most dangerous is nerve degeneration. In severe, long time vitamin B-12 deficiency irreversible neurological damage could occur.
Our diets usually contain enough B-12, because our diet is rich in animal products however, vegans and strict vegetarians might be at risk for vitamin B12 insufficiency.
Most problems of vitamin B-12 insufficiency occur when vitamin B-12 isn't absorbed properly.
B12 is synthesized from bacteria and is bonded to proteins in our food. The human body processes the proteins in the stomach where hydrochloric acids release the B12 from the protein. Then the human factor called IF (intrinsic factor, needed to absorb B12), combines with B-12 during digestion and the body takes up the vitamin B-12.
Some people don't have the IF and can not absorb vitamin B-12 into their bodies. When the body can not absorb B12, people often show symptoms of pernicious anemia. If diagnosed with this disease, they'll have to take vitamin B-12 for the rest of their lives to prevent progressive spinal degeneration. Without B-12, the anemia could be controlled with folic acid but the spine will continue to degenerate.
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