It is hard to get kids to eat right, even though this is the most important thing that they can do for their bodies. Vitamin B12 plays a vital role in a child’s development, not just for a healthy body but for a healthy mind as well. Vitamin B12 is directly linked to a healthy nervous system and brain function. It is also responsible for the production of red blood cells. Vitamin B12 is also indicated in healthy heart function. A diet rich in vitamin B12 can be snuck in without them ever even knowing it.

Vitamin B12 Naturally Found in Foods

Animal products are the only way to get natural Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is synthesized naturally by bacteria found in the stomach of all animals, plants can not synthesize Vitamin B12, so although it is important to eat vegetables, animal products should also be present.

There are fun natural foods that contain vitamin B12. Ice cream is a great example of natural foods containing vitamin B12. Ice cream is made from milk and cream which comes from cows which are animals that produce this key vitamin. A dose of ice cream once a week will keep that vitamin B12 up to par. Milk, chocolate milk, real milk chocolate all sound options for sneaking in the vitamin B12, of course everything should be tempered with common sense, obviously eating milk chocolate and drinking chocolate milk at every meal is not healthy.

Cheeseburgers, high in Vitamin B12, any kind of meat really will deliver a good pat of the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of Vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 Fortified Foods and Supplements

Breakfast cereal is usually fortified with Vitamin B12, and not just the stuff kids do not want to eat but the stuff the kids beg for at the grocery store. Almost all breakfast cereal is fortified with vitamin B12. Look for low sugar options. Breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamin B12 for kids.

There is also vitamin waters that are fortified with vitamin B12 that the kids may like, but the Vitamin B12 content is only around ten percent of the RDA.  If all else fails it is better than nothing.

Most daily supplements that are made for kids usually will contain one hundred percent of the RDA for vitamin B12. There is some question as to how effective these supplements are and whether they are absorbed correctly or not. The best option for a vitamin B12 supplement would be drops as opposed to the popular gummie vitamins or chewable.

Vitamin B12 can be found in a host of food sources and it is the best possible way to absorb the vitamin, if the child just will not eat the foods that are rich in vitamin B12, then supplements will be the only choice. This key component to a healthy body and mind should be offered in any form that will be accepted.  If  a vitamin B12 deficiency is suspected a simple blood test at the doctors office can determine if there are proper levels present.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can turn into a debilitating disease with ongoing repercussions, nothing is as simply prevented as largely ignored. Vitamin B12 deficiency often initially presents itself as fatigue, in today’s busy world it is often chalked up to lifestyle and ignored, over time the results can be devastating and irreversible.

Neurological Implications of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

With the initial onset of Vitamin B12 deficiency the neurological implications may not be immediately obvious. The symptoms are usually dismissed as being stress related. The initial neurological implications can be very mild, a change in mood, some occasional forgetfulness an increase in irritability – all symptoms that can also be attributed to stress and other lifestyle issues. Over time the symptoms may increase to include depression, memory loss, dementia and psychosis.

The treatment for the Vitamin B12 deficiency is Vitamin B12 shots that will cure the underlying deficiency but may not help to regain the mental faculties that were lost during the deficiency period.

There are some implications that prolonged Vitamin B12 deficiency can result in permanent damage to the nervous system and permanently effect brain function.

Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating disease that effects many millions of people around the country. Primarily Alzheimer’s is thought of a disease that effect older folks, but in cases of early onset it can affect people as young as thirty five. Little is known about this debilitating disease other than the damage that is causes to the brain and the lives that it destroys.

There is no sue reason as to why Alzheimer’s sets in or what the cause is. There are several theories, one of which seems to correlate a relationship between Vitamin B12 deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The testing and research is still in the early stages but it is hypothesized that a prolonged Vitamin B12 deficiency can contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease with the most radical theory hypothesizing that Alzheimer’s disease is actually caused by Vitamin B12 deficiency.

There seems to be a strong correlation between those that have been determined to have suffered from Vitamin B12 deficiency and a high rate of the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.

There have been cases where a patient was diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s when in fact it was a Vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitamin B12 deficiency causes nerve damage over time and some of those nerves that are damaged are located in the brain, the damage is irreversible and likely cannot be corrected. There are scientists that have set out to prove that the relationship between Vitamin B12 deficiency and Alzheimer’s disease is beyond coincidence and is actually a causal relationship.

Vitamin B12 deficiency goes largely undetected, by the time dementia has set in due to the Vitamin B12 deficiency the condition has been prolonged and present for some time.

What is Dementia?

Dementia is a condition that is usually secondary to an underlying condition. It is the result of many diseases. Dementia makes a person act in a disorientated manner, looks similar to amnesia with the person unable to remember the simplest of things, like their address or how to put pants on. It is a very scary condition to witness. Dementia can be the result of some very complex diseases that effect the body and the treatments for the diseases, sometimes it is reversible and winds up as a short episode, sometimes it is not and it becomes a permanent condition. The connection to Vitamin B12 deficiency and dementia is still not very well understood, but studies indicate there is a strong relationship between Vitamin B12 deficiency and dementia.

Preventable Illness

Vitamin B12 deficiency when associated with dementia is one of the most preventable forms of dementia, catching the condition in time is a key before permanent damage takes hold.

Vitamin B12 is key to keeping the nervous system healthy and keeping the brain functioning at optimum performance. Vitamin B12 deficiency can result in a host of issues, many of which are neurologically based. There is a link between Vitamin B12 deficiency and depression, memory loss, personality changes, increase in irritability, dementia and psychosis. These are pretty serious conditions and goes far beyond what the medical community thought were the results of a Vitamin B12 deficiency. For years the medical community thought that the only problems that would manifest itself from a Vitamin B12 deficiency were anemia and fatigue.

The theory is that the components of Vitamin B12 feed the nervous system, without the proper amount present the dendrites that are used to send messages to the brain from the body begin to die and lose functions; production of these dendrites is reduced because the nourishment in the Vitamin B12 is missing when there is a deficiency. The results can be catastrophic. The brain starts to change how it does business; it conserves its energy for the survival things like breathing and keeping the heart beating. So other day to day brain functions start to lose some control, like memory functions, recognition and speech, but it happens in increments so that it is barely noticed. Over time more and more function is lost, resulting in dementia.

Neurological illness that is brought on by Vitamin B12 deficiency is completely preventable, but not completely curable once it has occurred.

How to Prevent Dementia Brought On By Vitamin B12 Deficiency

The simplest path to prevention is a diet rich in Vitamin B12 foods, if dietary restrictions make it difficult to consume the Vitamin B12 foods than supplements may be the only way to be sure that there is enough Vitamin B12 in the diet.

Periodic screenings after the age of sixty is also a good idea and will go a long way in prevention.

To answer this question a little back ground is in order. A healthy adult with a well balanced diet never has to worry about Vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 is found in all animal based food products, meats, dairy, eggs, fish, cheese and any other product that comes from animals. So in absence of illness that would prevent the absorption of Vitamin B12, deficiency is unlikely.

Vegetarians
Of all the represented groups that do not have a disease, vegetarians run the greatest risk of suffering from Vitamin B12 deficiency. The onset is typically about two years after the person becomes a vegetarian. Some vegetarians never realize the health implications of abstaining from animal products. There are important nutrients that the body cannot function without found in animal products. Supplementing the diet with Vitamin B12 supplements will prevent the Vitamin B12 deficiency. In some cases the vegetarian is faced with a twofold problem, a low ability to absorb Vitamin B12 that was preexisting and the lack of animal products in the diet, which supplies no Vitamin B12 at all. The vegetarian that suffers two fold will very likely face a Vitamin B12 Deficiency.

The onset of the illness will occur in about two years from the time the decision is made to abstain from animal products, a smart medical professional will do a brief history and once it is determined that the sick person is a vegetarian a simple blood test will be taken to determine the Vitamin B12 levels. In some instances the vegetarian will be misdiagnosed because of a too brief background investigation. Treatments will probably include Vitamin B12 shots to regulate the levels. The shots will be given every other day for around two weeks than on a monthly basis.

Disease and Medication
There are a couple of diseases that are linked to the inability to absorb Vitamin B12. Pernicious Anemia is one of those diseases. Pernicious Anemia destroys the cells in the stomach that absorb Vitamin B12, in the case of Pernicious Anemia the Vitamin B12 deficiency is immediate, the treatment is Vitamin B12 shots in high doses which sometimes help and sometimes does not help, the theory is that if the Vitamin B12 is present at very high levels at least some of it will be absorbed. Some folks have very high levels of homocysteine an amino acid (although not actually a disease) that also prevents the absorption of Vitamin B12.

There are some medications that are used for the treatment of heartburn and ulcers that also may cause trouble with the absorption of Vitamin B12 resulting in Vitamin B12 deficiency, typically the onset of the Vitamin B12 deficiency will occur within about twelve months of starting the medication. The medication slowly erodes the body’s ability to absorb Vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 deficiency usually goes undetected for a great deal of time, many people are misdiagnosed with other diseases, because it is rather rare unless the previous situations listed exist. It is very difficult to pinpoint exactly how long it takes to become deficient in Vitamin B12. There is usually no baseline information to compare the results to, so it is purely guess work.