Diet. Some people can develop a vitamin B12 deficiency as a result of not getting enough vitamin B12 from their diet. A diet that includes meat, fish and dairy products usually provides enough vitamin B12, but people who do not regularly eat these foods can become deficient.
Key Points. Common causes of vitamin B12 deficiency include inadequate dietary amounts (eg, in vegans), impaired absorption, age-related decreased acid secretion, and autoimmune metaplastic atrophic gastritis (which causes pernicious anemia).
Having a digestive system disorder: Digestive disorders such as celiac disease and Crohn's disease can make it more difficult for your body to absorb vitamin B12. Following a strict vegan or vegetarian diet: Vitamin B12 is only naturally found in animal products such as meat and dairy.
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.
Key points about vitamin B12 deficiency anemia
Without enough red blood cells, your tissues and organs don't get enough oxygen. Without enough oxygen, your body can't work as well. Symptoms include weak muscles, numbness, trouble walking, nausea, weight loss, irritability, fatigue, and increased heart rate.
If the level of vitamin B12 stays low for a long time, it can damage your nerve cells. If this happens, you may have: Numbness or tingling in your fingers and toes. A poor sense of balance.
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.
Recovery from vitamin B12 deficiency takes time. You may not have any improvement during the first few months of treatment. Improvement may be gradual and may continue for up to six to 12 months.
2) High Activity, High Stress
The greater stress load on your body, the greater the demand for vitamin B12 which can put drain your levels, especially when combined with a diet that doesn't contain enough of the essential vitamin.
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.
Coffee also seems to impact on the metabolism of some B vitamins like thiamine. Vitamin B12, though, looks like being a possible exception – indeed, caffeine's stimulation of stomach acid production may actually assist, instead of compromise, your body's B12 absorption.
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.
There's no solid proof that vitamin B-12 shots, also called injections, help you lose weight.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can have distressing neuropsychiatric symptoms. It can have an etiological role in clinical presentations like depression, anxiety, psychosis, dementia, and delirium, requiring screening of at-risk populations.
Both vitamin B12 deficiency and folate deficiency are more common in older people, affecting around 1 in 10 people aged 75 or over and 1 in 20 people aged 65 to 74.
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.
"As you intake more water you can begin to flush water soluble vitamins and minerals," Dr. Kinney told INSIDER. "Water soluble vitamins, such as the B Vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6 & B12) & vitamin C, are not stored long term and may be excreted with excess water intake if you're not taking in proper supplementation, too.
Milk. One of the best drinks with B12 is milk. One cup of whole milk contains approximately 1.32µg of vitamin B12.
There are 13 vitamins the body absolutely needs: vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate). Avocados naturally contain many of these vitamins, and you can start incorporating them into your diet with our avocado recipes.
Clams. Other body benefits: Not only do clams have the highest concentration of vitamin B12 of any food, they're also filled with potassium.