Vitamin B-12: Preventing Deficiency, Especially in Veg Eaters

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By Debi Rideout

What is Vitamin B-12 and Why Do We Need It?
Everyone needs to have vitamin B-12 in their diet. It’s a water-soluble vitamin that is part of the vitamin B complex. B-12 primarily comes from animal products and can be found in eggs, meat, poultry, shellfish, milk, and milk products. It helps our metabolism to work, in the formation of red blood cells, and in the maintenance of the central nervous system. The best way to get vitamin B-12 is to eat a balanced diet that contains a variety of foods from the food guide pyramid.

The average person stores between 2,000 and 3,000 micrograms of B-12, and then loses about 3 micrograms a day. Almost 60 percent of all vitamin B-12 in the body is stored in the liver, 30 percent is stored in the muscle, and the rest throughout the body. Our bodies create a special circulation pattern between the liver and the digestive tract, with the average person secreting 1.4 micrograms per day of vitamin B-12 into the small intestine. Most healthy people reabsorb about 0.7 micrograms. Usually people are just fine if they eat a balanced diet, but some people do have to worry about being deficient in vitamin B-12.

What if you have a B-12 Deficiency?
Vitamin B-12 deficiency is something that you really have to worry about. Although a deficiency is rare because the human body generally stores several year’s worth of vitamin B-12, once it’s depleted the damage has already been done. Many people with low vitamin B-12 levels simply have difficulty absorbing vitamin B-12 from their stomach or small intestines, which is often caused by the loss of intrinsic factor and/or a lack of stomach acid. The intrinsic factor is a glycoprotein which is a protein produced by the glands in the stomach lining. It is secreted by the gastric mucous membrane that is essential for the absorption of the vitamin B-12. The failure to produce the intrinsic factor leads to the condition of pernicious anemia (an autoimmune disease).

Low levels of vitamin B-12 can cause anemia, depression, dementia, numbness or tingling of the extremities, diarrhea, frequent upper respiratory infections, enlargement of the mucous membranes of the mouth/stomach/ vagina, increased bleeding, fever, impotence, low white cell count, and low platelets, and neurological symptoms. It’s even proven that some people who have low vitamin B-12 also have high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid (a building block of protein) in the blood. People suffering from this may also have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. While everyone needs to be aware of a possible deficiency, some need to keep an even closer eye on their intake.

“You have to be especially careful if you are a vegan. You need to eat fortified cereals, soy milks, whole grains, nutritional yeast (you can find this at health stores), and meat analogues in order to have enough B-12,” says Kathee Varner, R.D L.P.N a nutritionist from Charlotte, North Carolina.

What are the Symptoms of a B-12 Deficiency?
For vegans and vegetarians there are several symptoms of B-12 deficiency you can watch for. The first sign is low energy. Other signs include neurological symptoms including depression, nervousness, the tingling and numbing sensation in the hands and feet, impaired memory, behavioral changes, and paranoia.

Sometimes people just have trouble absorbing vitamin B-12 due to a disease called pernicious anemia. This can destroy the cells in the stomach so that they’re simply unable to absorb vitamin B-12. Some people who have used medicines for heartburn and ulcers for an extended time, or have had surgery on their stomach or intestines. may also have trouble absorbing vitamin B-12.

How to Avoid a Deficiency
For good health it’s important to get enough vitamin B-12 every day. One way is to eat a diet rich in Vitamin B-12, another is to take a vitamin B-12 pill everyday to keep the levels stable. However, once you are deficient in B-12, taking a pill will no longer be enough to help. When you’ve reached the point of severe deficiency your only option is a special vitamin B-12 pill or get Vitamin B-12 shots.

The special vitamin B-12 pills are different than regular vitamin B-12 pills. The normal daily dose of vitamin B-12 requirement is only 2 mg. The special vitamin B-12 pills contain 1,000 to 2,000 mg. If you end up having to take shots you’ll need one every one to two days for about two weeks, followed by one a month. Once you start taking shots it’s likely you’ll have to receive them for the rest of your life. And a great reason for either following a balanced diet or taking a vitamin supplement.

© Debi Rideout

Debi Rideout is a freelance writer who lives in Charlotte, NC with her wonderful husband and two amazing children. Her work can be found both in print and on the web all over the country. She is also the co-creator and site administrator for “Moms World of Charlotte” www.momsworldofcharlotte.com.