Signs of Vitamin B12 Deficiencies: Food and Nutrition Series

By Joyce Zborower, M.A.

Signs of Vitamin B12 Deficiencies

Who’s at Risk – Why – What Can Be Done

-- Strict Vegans
-- Newborns of Strict Vegans
-- The Elderly
-- Dialysis Patients
-- Pregnant Women

Are you or any of your loved ones among the above groups? If so, then you/they are in danger of suffering the effects of a serious vitamin B12 deficiency. These “effects” can take various forms such as anemia where you feel tired all the time and that your strength has absolutely vanished to real neurological damage as in newborn babies of strict vegan mothers to mental disorders in the elderly mimicking Alzheimer’s disease. Without proper testing, even doctors can be fooled into providing inaccurate diagnoses.

Signs of Vitamin B12 Deficiencies is written in straight-forward, easy-to-understand language so anyone with an interest in the subject matter can quickly grasp the concepts. However, self-diagnosis and treatment is highly discouraged.

To peek inside the book and read the first few pages, scroll up the page and click on the book’s cover (different excerpt below). You’ll get a sense of the writing style and be able to decide if it’s for you. To purchase, click the purchase button on the upper right.

Excerpt from Signs of Vitamin B12 Deficiencies:
. . . Vitamin B12 Deficiency: Neurological Symptoms

One of the most important functions of vitamin B12 in the body is helping to form the protective coating, called the myelin sheath (i.e. Schwann cells), around the nerves. They make the nerve fiber in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) look like a string of pearls.

Schwann cells are one of two supporting cells in the PNS. The other is called a satellite cell and surrounds cell bodies within the ganglia (cell bodies that lie along the nerves in the PNS). It is believed that both types of supporting cells provide insulation for the electrical current that flows through the nerves, but their function is still largely unknown.

When vitamin B12 is deficient, this protective covering does not develop properly. One of the conditions caused by B12 deficiency is neuropathy in the feet and lower limbs. The definition of neuropathy is: Any disease of nervous tissue, but particularly a degenerative disease of nerves. Accompanying symptoms include:
-- tingling
-- numbness
-- loss of sensation (heat/cold)
-- and sometimes a burning sensation

Since vitamin B12 can be stored in the liver for between 3 – 5 years to provide tiny amounts for the body’s use, the symptoms of deficiency can take a long time before becoming noticeable. Also, the pernicious anemia that also accompanies B12 deficiency can be hidden by the ingestion of folic acid. If the anemia is hidden and the deficiency symptoms are not treated, permanent neurological damage occurs.

It is always important to consult a doctor in any instance where anemia is suspected. The doctor should be able to tell if the anemia is caused by a B12 deficiency or some other cause. Never try to treat anemia without consulting professional medical advice. Never give a child iron supplements without professional advice.

B12 deficiency is usually the result of an inability of the stomach to produce intrinsic factor which is necessary in the body’s ability to absorb B12. However, sometimes a person may become deficient in this vitamin because they don’t eat animal products such as meat, fish, or dairy. If this vegan is a female who is pregnant or breast feeding an infant, the fetus or infant is in much greater risk of developing neurological damage because their liver has not stored any B12 because it has not received any.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joyce Zborower, M.A.
• Release date: Dec 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781507069837

Book preview

What is Vitamin B?

Vitamins are macro-nutrients (macro = large; nutrient = a life-giving substance). The primary method of getting vitamins into our bodies is by eating food. Vitamins are also produced synthetically in the laboratory. Ingesting man-made vitamins when the vitamins in food are insufficient or unable to be absorbed is another way of supplying the body with what it needs to maintain health and function properly.

Vitamin B is a complex group of 5 different, but related, macro-nutrients used by the body to assist in the body’s chemical reactions. These chemical reactions produce protein for use in building muscle. They also are used for changing fats and carbohydrates into energy.

The 5 B vitamins are called:

B1 (thiamine) which helps in carbohydrate metabolism

B2 (riboflavin) which act as hydrogen acceptors and is a component of amino acid oxidases

B5 (pantothenic acid) which functions as a coenzyme and is involved in the synthesis of steroids and heme of hemoglobin

B6 (pyridoxine) which is involved in amino acid metabolism and various conversion processes

B12 (cyanocobalamin) which functions as a coenzyme in all cells but is particularly important in the gastrointestinal tract, nervous system, and bone marrow, and is essential for certain synthesizing processes

There are two classifications of vitamins: 1) fat soluble; and 2) water soluble. Vitamin B is classified as a water-soluble vitamin. This means that in order for the B vitamins to function properly, they must be dissolved in water.

This property of B vitamins has special implications in the kitchen. For example, some foods – like some containing thiamine (leafy green vegetables) are best eaten raw as heat rapidly destroys thiamine. The other B vitamins are more heat-stable and keep most of their viability through the cooking process. However, since vitamin B is soluble in water, when you cook foods in water – as in soups, stews, boiled chicken or ham, etc. – drink the cooking water.

Facts about Vitamin B

There are five B vitamins:

B1 = thiamine

B2 = riboflavin

B5 = pantothenic acid

B6 = pyridoxine

B12 = cyanocobalamin

The B vitamins are within the category water-soluble vitamins. One vitamin cannot substitute for another since each vitamin has its own specific function within the body. Many of the body’s chemical reactions require several different vitamins so lack of a specific vitamin can interfere with the activity of others.

All of the B vitamins are available to the body through various food groups. Healthy diets containing recommended amounts of the five food groups provide adequate amounts of all vitamins except vitamin D which is produced by sunlight on bare skin. Natural animal products (meat, fish, poultry) are outstanding sources of B6 and B12. The body needs only a tiny amount of B12 to function properly. Upon ingestion, B12 is stored in the liver for later use. B12 deficiency is very rare.

There are four primary reasons for someone becoming deficient in vitamin B12:

1) they are strict vegetarians who don’t eat any animal products

2) their bodies don’t absorb – and therefore cannot

Reviews for Signs of Vitamin B12 Deficiencies

[Marvelyn Ferrer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thank for sharing some facts. AMAZING book! read more and share more.