Vitamin B12. A vitamin of madness.

Aptly named that way.

This vitamin is so important that when there is a great deficiency, the Central Nervous and Peripheral System is affected producing:

• Deep depression.
• Change of mood.
• Hallucinations.
• Paranoia.
• Memory loss.
• Loss of smell and appetite.
• Urinary Incontinence.
• Paraesthesia or tingle.
• Numbness of fingers and toes.
• Tiredness.
• Loss of energy.
• Difficulty in walking.
• Both the tongue and throat are red.
• Yellow skin.
• Anaemia etc. 

The vitamin B12 is found in meat, fish, eggs, milk, etc.. It is produced by the body in a small quantity.

This vitamin deficiency causes an increase in the size of red blood cells, hindering the correct transportation of the haemoglobin that is contained within them. It also affects the development of nerves and the creation of cellular DNA, etc.

Eventhough anaemia can occur, it is not always associated with it.

Vitamin B12 is commonly associated to Folic Acid or Vitamin B9, contributing to the metabolism, so a reduction in vitamin B12 would also lead to a reduction in the metabolism.

The main causes of this deficit would be:

Pernicious anaemia, which is the most important cause of deficiency in the UK.

This is an alteration of the immune system which alters the walls of the stomach where vitamin B12 is absorbed making it impossible for this action to take place.

The cause of this is unknown, but it tends to be found in people with other autoimmune pathologies, within their families and in women over the age of 60.

Other problems that would generate this deficit would be:

• Gastrostomies or stomach surgery.
• Chronic colon diseases such as Chrohn’s disease.
• A number of medicines such as antacids or proton bomb inhibitors such as Nexium, Zantac, etc. which are used for indigestions, hiatal hernias and other gastric problems, or Metformin which is used for diabetes.
• Vegans are at a greater risk of experiencing this deficiency, especially if they have been adhering to a vegan diet for more than 2 years, as their deposits would be already empty by that time.
• People over the age of 50, also are at a greater risk of suffering from Vitamin B12 deficiency.

According to ‘The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey’ in USA, 3,2% of the population over the age of 50 have low levels of B12 and up to 20% of the population is on the edge of suffering from a deficit. It would increase up to 25% in other countries and continents.

The treatment for this deficiency consists of supplements of this vitamin in the form of capsules, or injections in severe cases, which should always be under medical supervision and knowing the level of deficiency.

Lastly I want to say that the damage caused to the central nervous system is irreversible, which is something that can be easily avoided with an early diagnostic and treatment.  

Dr. J. Hurtado Martínez

Medical Director of HealthSalus