Many people with Celiac disease also have a vitamin B12 deficiency. The primary reason is that the symptoms of Celiac disease include malnutrition and malabsorption of vitamins and minerals.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder. The lining of the small intestine destroys itself in the presence of gluten proteins, found in wheat. As a result, the symptoms of Celiac disease include diarrhea and abdominal pain. Some people with this disorder experience constipation, nausea or lactose intolerance.

Many people with Celiac disease with also suffer from fatigue, seizures, depression, joint pain, nosebleeds and muscle cramps.

People with Celiac disease tend to have difficulty absorbing vitamins and nutrients from the foods they eat. Consequently, they are more prone to anemia, and a deficiency in one or more of the following: iron, folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin K.

The cause of this disorder is primarily genetic. It is found more often in people who are Caucasian and of European ancestry, and more frequently in women than in men.  It can happen at any age.

Treatment for Celiac disease includes abstaining from foods containing wheat or other adverse proteins. In addition, individuals with this disorder must supplement their diets with vitamin B12, iron, folate and vitamin K.

My friend, Barbara J., told me the story of how her birth control method caused her vitamin B12 deficiency.

When Barbara’s youngest son was born, she felt the need to take birth control. Therefore, she obtained a prescription from her doctor for NuvaRing. NuvaRing contains the hormone estrogen. Unfortunately, at the time Barbara did not know that estrogen can cause the user’s blood plasma B12 levels to drop.

Barbara had been using the NuvaRing, an estrogen-containing contraceptive, for ten months. At this point she started feeling weak. Her immune system went haywire as she became continuously sick. First she got recurring cold sores. Then she got swine flu. When that was over, she developed Strep throat, a bacterial infection. Upon completing the antibiotic regimen for Strep throat, a different bacterial infection set in – Cellulitis -from a skin lesion. Believe it or not, but shortly after she also had a second case of Cellulitis in the area of a mosquito bite. Just when she thought her luck couldn’t get any worse, she was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI).

After the UTI, she realized that these things are not coincidental. She went to her regular primary care physician, who did a blood workup on her. The doctor told her that her vitamin B12 levels were extremely low. Her doctor started her on a weekly series of B12 injections immediately. Within a few days of her first injection, she felt much better.

Furthermore, she usually gets terrible hay fever in the fall with extensive episodes of  sneezing and headaches. Amazingly, her seasonal allergy symptoms were milder than they usually were in the fall following her series of B12 injections.

Although Barbara no longer receives injections of vitamin B12, she was advised by her doctor to continue supplementing her diet with vitamin B12.

The medical literature has demonstrated a strong correlation between vitamin B12 and depression. Vitamin B12 is naturally found if fish, meat, eggs and chicken. However, some people choose to avoid these foods, and there are those who don’t absorb it from the foods they do eat.

Vitamin B12 affects our nervous system. It is necessary for the breakdown of a toxin in the body, known as homocysteine. Vitamin B12 is also a requisite for the formation of DNA and phospholipids. Phospholipids are fatty acids that make up the membrane surrounding every nerve cell. It becomes quite apparent that a vitamin B12 deficiency can have numerous consequences on the body.

Low vitamin B12 levels in the body can alter the functioning of the brain cells. The nerve cells of the brain affects how we think and feel. A B12 deficiency can lead to depression, dementia, violent behavior, paranoia, schizophrenia-like symptoms and fatigue. Although the presence of low stores of B12 doesn’t cause all cases of mental illness, there is evidence that this condition causes mental illness in some people.

A study done at the National Institute of Aging evaluated a group of physically disabled women over age 65. This study found that women with low blood B12 plasma levels were twice as likely to suffer from depression as their counterparts with normal levels. The research was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, May 2000 issue.

In a second study, Dutch researchers examined 4,000 people for symptoms of depression. Blood tests of all of these patients were taken and charted. They found that those who presented with high homocysteine levels (indicative of a B12 deficiency) had a stronger incidence of depression than those with normal levels. This study was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, 2002.

In summary, someone who is suffering from depression or other mental illness should be evaluated for a B12 deficiency.

A study done in Germany demonstrates that pregnant vegetarian women may not have an adequate supply of vitamin B12. This study was performed at the German Institute of Human Nutritrion in Postdam-Rehbrücke located in Nuthetal, Germany.

Vitamin B12 is only found naturally in foods derived from animal sources. However, many women are opting to restrict themselves to diets of predominantly plant origin in the belief that this will increase their lifespan and reduce the likelihood of death from cancer and heart disease.

Many pregnant vegetarians are choosing to include eggs and milk in their diets to supply them with vitamin B12, which is necessary for proper nerve formation in the fetus. Hence, their diet is referred to as the “lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet.” This particular study in Germany was done in reaction to other studies that showed that infants born to mothers on strictly vegetarian (vegan) diets were deficient in vitamin B12.

A woman who is B12 deficient is at a greater risk during pregnancy for pre-eclampsia and other pregnancy-related complications. Furthermore, the fetus is at greater risk for neural tube defects. A breast-fed infant of such a woman has a greater likelihood for developmental abnormalities and growth failure.

The purpose of the study in Germany was just to compare the blood plasma vitamin B12 levels of women who ate a traditional western diet (meat eaters) with women on a vegan diet and ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet.

Over one hundred pregnant women were recruited for the study and divided into three groups: The ovo-lacto-vegetarian group, the low-meat eater group, and the control group. The ovo-lacto-vegetarians were women who never ate meat at all in the three years prior to the study. The women in the control group were not on any diet (regular meat eaters). Blood samples were taken from all the women throughout their pregnancies.

As far as Body Mass Index (BMI) is concerned, the vegetarians and low-meat eaters had lower pre-pregnancy BMIs than the control group (meat eaters).

With regard to B12 concentrations, the vegetarian and low-meat eaters had much lower levels of vitamin B12.  There was not much difference between the vegetarian and the low-meat eaters groups.

In summary, the study demonstrates that women on vegetarian diets are at greater risk for a B12 deficiency, thus placing their infants at a greater risk for neural tube defects.

If you are pregnant and do not eat much meat, it is highly recommended that you supplement your diet with vitamin B12.