Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause nervous and mental disorders, which without treatment can progress and lead to irreversible consequences. Fortunately, if you recognize the symptoms in time, they can effectively fight. I spoke to Dr. Donald Hensrud (Donald Hensrud), Program Director of healthy lifestyles at the Mayo Clinic (Mayo Clinics Healthy Living Program), answering questions of readers of the New York Times.
Vitamin B12 is necessary for proper red blood cell formation, nerve function and DNA synthesis. It is present primarily in fish, meat, eggs and dairy products and some Breakfast cereals, enriched with vitamins, and foods containing yeast.
Vegans do not consume animal products over time can develop vitamin B12 deficiency, unless they take vitamin supplements. However, in two thirds of cases of vitamin B12 deficiency observed in older adults, because this vitamin is poorly absorbed they have food and they don’t get enough of it.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause a number of symptoms, including fatigue, weakness, constipation, loss of appetite and weight. In addition, when it nedostatke may experience depression, confusion, dementia, poor memory and soreness in the mouth or on the tongue.
B12 deficiency can also lead to some form of anemia called megaloblastic or pernicious. It can also cause a deficiency of folic acid, another b vitamin B. If the blood test reveals anemia, you should check the levels of both vitamins in the body.
However, some neurological symptoms can occur in the absence of anemia. Vitamin B12 deficiency should begin to fill as early as possible to avoid the occurrence of irreversible health effects.
Particularly susceptible to B12 deficiency are the elderly, as they have often observed the reduction of acid secretion in the stomach, making it harder to absorb vitamin.
Also susceptible to vitamin B12 deficiency are people with gastrointestinal disorders such as celiac disease or Crohn’s disease, and those who drastically dropped weight or had undergone surgical intervention in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the lack of vitamin B12 can suffer, and people using certain medications against heartburn or Metformin (antidiabetic agent).
What foods will help to avoid deficiency of vitamin B12, Mednovosti wrote earlier.
Dmitry Kolesnik