Most people can prevent vitamin B12 deficiency by consuming foods and drinks that have vitamin B12. Options for consuming vitamin B12 include: Animal food products: Red meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk and other dairy products all contain vitamin B12.
How to raise your B12 levels fast. The most common way to treat B12 deficiencies is by adjusting your diet. If this is unsuccessful, vitamin supplements may be recommended. If you're looking to boost the amount of vitamin B12 in your diet, you should eat more animal products, like meat, seafood, dairy and eggs.
It may take a few weeks before your vitamin B12 levels and symptoms (such as extreme tiredness or lack of energy) start to improve. If you have hydroxocobalamin injections to boost your vitamin B12 levels at the start of treatment, the cyanocobalamin tablets may start to work within a few days.
A vitamin B12 deficiency can cause megaloblastic anemia. Megaloblasts are immature red blood cells that are larger than normal. They usually have an odd shape, too. When you have anemia, your red blood cells have trouble getting oxygen to your tissues and organs.
Symptoms of a B12 deficiency can develop over time or come on suddenly, says Kailey Proctor, a board-certified oncology dietitian at the Leonard Clinical Cancer Institute with Mission Hospital. Symptoms can also vary depending on the severity of the deficiency.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause symptoms that affect your brain and nervous system (neurological symptoms), including: numbness. muscle weakness. psychological problems, which can range from mild depression or anxiety, to confusion and dementia.
If you have only mild symptoms of B12 deficiency, you should notice the effects of treatment relatively quickly. For instance, if you've only noticed mild fatigue, and your provider treats your deficiency with an intramuscular injection, you should notice an improvement in just a few days.
Inadequate dietary intake
A balanced diet typically provides sufficient vitamin B12; however, strict vegans and people with a poor diet are at higher risk of developing a deficiency. Good sources of vitamin B12 include: Meat. Fish.
Long-term vitamin B12 deficiency can cause nerve damage. This may be permanent if you do not start treatment within 6 months of when your symptoms begin.
There are certain foods that also need a cut-down in case of vitamin B12 deficiency. “Some foods and drinks can interfere with vitamin B complex intake like alcohol, caffeine and processed foods, etc should be avoided completely,” Shah added.
If you're at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency, the following can provide some protection: Supplements. Even the lowest doses in B12 supplements are many times the recommended dietary allowance. Doses up to 1,000 mcg, though unnecessary, aren't harmful.
The main causes of B12 malabsorption include inherited disorders (Intrinsic factor deficiency, Imerslund-Gräsbeck disease, Addison's pernicious anemia, obesity, bariatric surgery and gastrectomies.
Methylcobalamin. Methylcobalamin is the most bio-available type of Vitamin B12 which means the body absorbs it more easily. Naturally occurring, it is found in animal-based foods such as meat, fish, milk and eggs so Methylcobalamin B12 is readily available in many people's daily diets.
Milk and milk products are good sources of vitamin B12. Many ready-to-eat breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin B12. Fish and red meat are excellent sources of vitamin B12. Poultry and eggs also contain vitamin B12.
Since your body doesn't make vitamin B12, you have to get it from the foods you eat or from supplements. You can get vitamin B12 deficiency if you can't absorb vitamin B12 due to problems with your gut or if you have pernicious anemia, which makes it difficult to absorb vitamin B12 from your intestines.
Bananas are a cheap, healthy, and nutrient-dense fruit that can easily become a part of every individual's diet. It is one of the best fruits rich in vitamin B12.
People who are deficient in vitamin B12 are often prescribed B12 shots. This method is a very effective way of reversing or preventing a deficiency because it allows for 100% absorption directly into the tissues. These days, vitamin B12 shots have even become popular in people without the vitamin deficiency.
Injections are usually for people with bodies that have problems absorbing vitamin B12 and those who have undergone gastric surgery. This is because shots enable the body to absorb vitamin B12 without it having to go through the digestive system.
Stage 1 is decreased levels of vitamin B12 in the blood. Stage 2 is low concentration of vitamin B12 in the cell and metabolic abnormalities. Stage 3 is increased levels of homocysteine and MMA and decreased DNA synthesis resulting in neuropsychiatric symptoms. Stage 4 is macrocytic anemia.
Several commercially available test kits allow you to collect a sample for vitamin B12 testing at home. Some kits test only your vitamin B12 level. Others test B12 in combination with other vitamins, and there are at-home micronutrient test kits that include B12 in the panel.
Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
Vitamin B-12 deficiency can affect the digestive tract. A lack of red blood cells means that not enough oxygen reaches the gut. Insufficient oxygen here may lead to a person both feeling and being sick. It may also cause diarrhea.
B12 and Anxiety: The Basics
Some studies have found people experiencing anxiety have lower levels of vitamin B12, and that people with anxiety and depression at more likely to have a vitamin B12 deficiency.
A vitamin B12 deficiency may increase the risk of fat storage, impair protein synthesis, and leave you too tired to exercise—all of which may lead you to gain weight.