Vitamin B12 Description

Vitamin B12 - Vitamin B12, also called cobalamin, is important to good health. It helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells, and is also needed to make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. Vitamin B12 is bound to the protein in food. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach releases B12 from protein during digestion. Once released, B12 combines with a substance called intrinsic factor before it is absorbed into the bloodstream. Vitamin B12 is naturally found in animal foods including fish, milk and milk products, eggs, meat, and poultry. Fortified breakfast cereals are an excellent source of vitamin B12 and a particularly valuable source for vegetarians. Diets of most adult Americans provide recommended intakes of vitamin B12, but deficiency may still occur as a result of an inability to absorb B12 from food. It can also occur in individuals with dietary patterns that exclude animal or fortified foods.

As a general rule, most individuals who develop a vitamin B12 deficiency have an underlying stomach or intestinal disorder that limits the absorption of vitamin B12. Sometimes the only symptom of these intestinal disorders is anemia resulting from B12 deficiency. Anyone with pernicious anemia usually needs intramuscular injections of Vitamin B12. Anyone with pernicious anemia has to take lifelong supplemental vitamin B12. Characteristic signs of B12 deficiency include fatigue, weakness, nausea, constipation, flatulence, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Deficiency of Vitamin B12 also can lead to neurological changes such as numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. Additional symptoms of B12 deficiency are difficulty in maintaining balance, depression, confusion, poor memory, and soreness of the mouth or tongue.