Getting enough Vitamin B12

A lack of vitamin B12 can make you anaemic, cause nerve damage and psychiatric abnormalities, and even raise your risk of heart disease. When did you last have your levels checked?

Deficiency Problems

In the early stages, vitamin B12 deficiency may cause numbness, tingling, poor balance or fatigue. Fortunately, these are all reversible. It’s the long-term lack of B12 that’s a serious cause for concern, since it can lead to irreversible brain damage.

An inadequate diet is one of the main reasons for low levels of B12, especially among vegans and vegetarians. Those over the age of 50 are at particular risk, as are people who are taking metformin medication for diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Where To Get B12

Very small amounts of vitamin B12 can be produced in the mouth and colon, but these are either insufficient to meet the daily requirement or too far down in the intestinal tract to be available for absorption, which occurs in the small intestine. Vitamin B12 needs to come regularly from either food, supplements or injections.

It’s a good idea for those who are over 50, who are taking metformin, or who are vegan (or vegetarians who consume little or no dairy) to check their blood levels of B12 annually.