poisons toxins and vitamin b12 deficiency

Prevent Vitamin B12 Deficiency - Vitamin B12 Important Facts



Vitamin B12 helps maintain a healthy nervous system and is vital for production of the body's red blood cells. This vitamin is also needed to make DNA, the

genetic material in all cells. If vitamin B12 deficiency occurs, DNA production is disrupted in the bone marrow and abnormal cells called megaloblasts

occur. This leads to anemia.

When you have anemia, your body is either not producing enough red blood cells or your existing red blood cells are not able to carry enough oxygen around

in the blood stream. Red blood cells have a life span of about four months. Hence, your body needs vitamin B12 to continouusly produce new red blood cells

and replace the old ones.

What are the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency?


1. Unusual tiredness, breathlessness (Due to reduced amounts of oxygen carried in the body)
2. Feeling faint, looking pale
3. Poor resistance to infection
4. A sore mouth and tongue

If left untreated, Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to nerves problems. Such symptoms include shaky movements and unsteady gait), muscle weakness, confusion

and numbness.

What can be done to avoid vitamin B12 deficiency?

The human body stores five to six years' worth of vitamin B12, so nutritional deficiency of this vitamin is rare. Although vitamin B12 is a water soluble

vitamin, it is not excreted quickly in the urine. And even though the body only needs a small amount of vitamin B12 daily, it is not absorbed very well by

the body. Hence, large amounts of the vitamin need to be supplied in the diet in order for the daily minimum to be absorbed.

Vegetarians are most at risk because vitamin B12 is only found in food of animal origin such as meat, liver, poultry, fish and dairy products. The elderly

are also at risk because a protein found in the stomach is needed to absorb the vitamin from the intestines and this protein production declines with age.

About 10-15 percent of adults over 60 have some form of vitamin B12 deficiency.

Because vitamin B12 is only found in food of animal origin, strict vegetarians and people over 55 years of age should consider some form of vitamin B12

supplements to avoid deficiency.