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If you have a family history for pernicious anemia or other autoimmune disorders, then your chances of developing vitamin B12 deficiency are higher than normal, even if you eat a diet rich in foods containing this vital nutrient. Below are common risk factors for vitamin B12 malabsorption.
Vitamin B12 malabsorption
Several factors can interfere with your ability to digest vitamin B12, regardless of your diet. Vitamin B12 malabsorption can result from autoimmune disorders, old age, gastritis, or certain medications.
Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune disorder which prevents you from manufacturing or accessing intrinsic factor correctly, resulting in severe vitamin B12 deficiency. Sometimes, pernicious anemia is caused by gastrointestinal damage (atrophic gastritis) from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.
Old age is another risk factor for vitamin B12 malabsorption, as elderly individuals often do not make enough digestive enzymes to break down vitamin B12.
Surgeries involving removal of the ileum, such as gastric bypass surgery, also impair your ability to digest vitamin B12 naturally, necessitating vitamin B12 supplementation.
If you take protein pump inhibitors (PPIs) for GERD, or metformin for diabetes, then you may be at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency, as certain medications interfere with vitamin B12 absorption.
Scientists have found a high correlation between various autoimmune disorders and increased risk for vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin B12 malabsorption is one of many damaging effects of alcoholism, as recognized by many scientists.
Treating vitamin B12 malabsorption
If vitamin B12 deficiency is caused by an underlying condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or acid reflux, then it is necessary to treat the primary illness in order to improve your ability to digest vitamin B12.
However, in the case of autoimmune disorders such as pernicious anemia, where intrinsic factor antibodies are diagnosed as the cause of vitamin B12 malabsorption, there is no “cure.”
In any case, only immediate and complete vitamin B12 supplementation can effective raise your vitamin B12 levels back to where they should be.
To maintain healthy levels of vitamin B12 in the blood, and avoid debilitating symptoms of fatigue and chronic pain, it may be necessary to continue with a regimen of non-dietary vitamin B12 for life.
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Patients of vitamin B12 deficiency from pernicious anemia often wonder exactly what gets in the way of vitamin B12 absorption- why is it that you can eat rich sources of vitamin B12 found in beef, fish, and chicken, and still suffer from chronic fatigue, muscle pain, memory loss, and disorientation from low vitamin B12 levels?
How do we absorb vitamin B12?
Vitamin B12 absorption begins in the mouth. When you eat animal-based foods such as lean beef, fish, and poultry, an R-protein in your saliva called haptocorrin, also known as transcobalamin-1, binds to the vitamin B12, creating vitamin B12-haptocorrin complex.
Step 2 of vitamin B12 absorption takes place in the esophagus, where the new vitamin B12-haptocorrin duo travels to the stomach.
In step 3, the vitamin B12 you ate is protected from caustic elements of the stomach, such as hydrochloric acid, which is produced by the parietal cells of the stomach. The stomach also produces intrinsic factor (IF), a protein which will be crucial in binding and digesting vitamin B12.
Next, in step 4 of vitamin B12 absorption, intrinsic factor and vitamin B12-haptocorrin travel from the stomach to the duodenum, the uppermost section of the small intestine, where vitamin B12 then separates from the R-protein and binds with intrinsic factor, forming a new compound- IF-Vitamin B12complex.
In step 5, upon reaching the bottommost part of the small intestines, the ileum breaks down intrinsic factor, and releases vitamin B12, which then binds to transcobalamin-2.
Finally, in step 6, vitamin B12 is directed to the blood supply, the liver, bone marrow, or to several other cells of the body which require vitamin B12 for healthy maintenance.
What causes vitamin B12 malabsorption?
This will be covered in the tomorrow’s post…
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How do you know if you’re absorbing vitamin B12? Just because you eat plenty of foods that are rich in vitamin B12 (cobalamin), that doesn’t mean you’re getting all the B12 you need for great health. Sometimes, things happen that interfere with your ability to digest vitamin B12, creating an obstacle to absorbing vitamin B12 naturally. This happens more often than you realize…
Why you need to take vitamin B12
You may be asking yourself, “Doesn’t my body produce vitamin B12 on its own? It makes lots of other vitamins.”
The short answer is, “No.” While you are able to store plenty of vitamin B12 in your liver for years to come, your body relies on a constant influx of vitamin B12 from dietary sources like lean beef, chicken, fish, and dairy foods, which it then uses to sustain energy levels, maintain a healthy nervous system, and regulate hormones.
The long answer is more complicated. This constant replenishment of vitamin B12 into your blood supply relies on intrinsic factor for absorbing vitamin B12 and carrying it through the digestive system. As long as you are always able to break down vitamin B12, then you are all right. However, if you are among a large percentage of people who cannot produce the intrinsic factor enzyme, then you must supplement constantly with vitamin B12 supplements, in order to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency.
What is vitamin B12 deficiency?
Whenever you’re not absorbing vitamin B12, you’re drawing it from your liver. Eventually, this store of essential vitamin B12 runs out, and you begin to notice the effects of vitamin B12.
The initial symptoms of vitamin B12 include:
Severe fatigue
“Brain fog” disorientation
Memory loss
Depression
Anxiety
Painful tingling and numbness in the extremities, such as hands and feet
Sore, red tongue
Over time, if untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to severe neurological damage and a gradual depletion of red blood cells. Also, since vitamin B12 helps to regulate homocysteine, a hormone linked with heart attack and stroke, your risk for cardiovascular disease may increase. In rare occasions, infants solely breastfed by vegan mothers not absorbing vitamin B12 show signs of failure to thrive and feebleness.
What causes vitamin B12 malabsorption?
Many different factors can keep you from absorbing vitamin B12 naturally from foods.
They include:
Family history for pernicious anemia
History for autoimmune disorder, such as fibromyalgia or celiac disease
Damage to the digestive system caused by acid reflux, vomiting, or diarrhea
Gastrointestinal disorders, such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
Gastrointestinal surgery, such as bariatric surgery or ileostomy
Medications, such as PPIs for GERD, or metformin for diabetes
If you’re not absorbing vitamin B12, then it’s important to understand which kinds of vitamin B12 supplements to take, and which ones to avoid.
Most likely, your doctor will prescribe vitamin B12 shots. These are helpful, as they dispense vitamin B12 directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the need for absorbing vitamin B12 in the stomach.
Certain side effects of vitamin B12 shots are, obviously, pain, as cobalamin requires insertion into the thick fleshy tissue behind the thigh. Sometimes, bruising may occur.
Vitamin B12 shots are also often impractical. In most states, vitamin B12 injections require a prescription, and doctors are sometimes hesitant to prescribe enough monthly doses to relieve all the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency.
Instead, many patients opt to supplement with extra vitamin B12 on their own. Certain inexpensive over-the-counter (OTC) vitamin B12 supplements are helpful for “topping off” vitamin B12 between shots. For optimum health and relief from symptoms, find non-dietary vitamin B12 supplements that distribute cobalamin directly into the bloodstream, not through the digestive system.
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Ever wonder why vitamin B12 deficiency is so rampant among humans, yet you never hear of animals or marine life having difficulty absorbing vitamin B12? Is vitamin deficiency something unique to humans, or is it bigger than we’ve imagined? Here are some interesting tidbits about vitamin B12 deficiency along the food chain.
Scientists discover vitamin B12 sea sponge
Recently, scientistsin the Antarctica discovered something all of us suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency wish we had- a way to extract vitamin B12 from the environment and absorb it into our digestive system.
It’s called cobalamin acquisition protein 1 (CBA1), and it’s a special protein that sea algae use to grab vitamin B12 (cobalamin) from the ocean water and ingest it, kind of the way a sponge soaks up fluids.
Apparently, certain single-celled bacteria and microorganisms are able to replicate this essential protein whenever they happen to need more vitamin B12, and thus avoid acquiring vitamin B12 deficiency.
Getting vitamin B12 from water- isn’t that like trying to squeeze orange juice from a rock?
Well, vitamin B12 occurs naturally in protein foods like beef, chicken, and fish, in sufficient amounts for us land-dwellers to avoid becoming deficient.
But if you happen to be a one-celled microorganism, then you can get just the right amount of vitamin B12 from seawater, provided you are able to make this miracle protein, CBA1.
Where’s my “B12 claw?”
Why don’t we have this lifesaving mechanism, something to grab vitamin B12, latch onto it, and escort it through our digestive system, so that we never have to worry about vitamin B12 deficiency?
We do, actually.
It’s called intrinsic factor, and it’s a special digestive enzyme that we produce for the express purpose of completely digesting vitamin B12 into our body. Intrinsic factor bonds itself to vitamin B12 from your food supply, protects it from harm as it races through your small intestines, and helps to deliver it into your blood stream.
Unfortunately, if you have a certain autoimmune disorder, pernicious anemia, then you are either unable to make intrinsic factor, or you cannot utilize it efficiently. Without intrinsic factor, you are like the algae on the ocean floor, only without the B12 sponge- surrounded by all the nutrients you need, but unable to reach them.
What now?
If you eat plenty of meat, dairy products, and eggs, but you constantly feel tired, lethargic, and “out to lunch,” then you might be a candidate for autoimmune vitamin B12 deficiency.
To find out, ask your doctor for a blood test that checks vitamin B12 levels. Although they are not 100% accurate in diagnosing true pernicious anemia, the standard B12 tests will tell your doctor if your total stores of vitamin B12 are dangerously low.
Don’t panic, but if you have pernicious anemia from vitamin B12 deficiency, then you might also suffer hair loss. And it’s not just a “guy thing”- even women may experience hair loss or whitening when pernicious anemia (or iron deficiency anemia) is present. Here’s what you need to know about pernicious anemia, vitamin B12, and your hair.
Pernicious anemia
Pernicious anemia (PA)-vitamin B12 deficiency is a disorder that alters your red blood cells and lowers your oxygen supply to the brain. Decreased oxygen in the brain causes telltale symptoms like fatigue, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating.
Other symptoms of pernicious anemia may include “pins and needles” or numbness in hands and feet, difficulty walking straight, decreased motor control, depression, anxiety, muscular pain, infertility, and vision problems.
Iron deficiency is sometimes caused by not eating enough iron-rich foods, but it can also result from severe blood loss, pregnancy, menstruation, or…autoimmune disorders, like celiac disease or…pernicious anemia.
Whoa! Now I have iron deficiency, too?
Unfortunately, iron deficiency is a comorbid condition of pernicious anemia. So if you’ve been diagnosed with pernicious anemia, because of either intrinsic factor autoimmune disorder or gastritis, then you run a high risk of also suffering from iron deficiency anemia.
Iron deficiency causes many of the same symptoms as vitamin B12 deficiency- tiredness, moodiness, and general discomfort.
And yes, hair loss.
Iron deficiency symptoms include:
Rapid hair loss
Hair whitening
Dry hair
Brittle nails
Spoon-shaped nails
Nail discoloration
Frequent bruising
Pale skin
Chronic fatigue
Weak muscles
Irritability
Dizziness
Vertigo
Brain fog
Headache
Cold hands and feet
Restless leg syndrome
Sore tongue
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Irregular heartbeat
Bizarre cravings for ice or dirt
Sudden weight loss
Iron or B12?
In the JAMA study, participants who received regular supplementation of vitamin B12 experienced significant and favorable results. It’s important to find out if your iron supplies are also low, so that you may begin the healing process and avoid any further hair loss.
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If you’ve been diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency, you’re probably wondering, “How did this happen?” Unless you’re a vegan or a gastric bypass patient, it’s possible that vitamin B12 deficiency resulted from an autoimmune disorder that causes pernicious anemia.
Vitamin B12 deficiency- what are the symptoms?
Vitamin B12 is essential for maintaining your nervous system, psychological health, and your metabolism. Pernicious anemia causes a wide range of debilitating symptoms that interfere with daily life, and is one cause of B12 deficiency.
Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency-pernicious anemia may include:
Everyday fatigue, despite sleeping well
Brain fog- confusion
Impaired concentration
Impaired memory
Depression
Anxiety
Mood swings
Irritability
Painful numbness and tingling in hands and feet
Tingling or burning sensation in mouth and tongue
Slower reflexes
Difficulty walking normally
Stomach upset
Infertility or frequent miscarriages and stillbirths
Vitamin B12 deficiency- what are the causes?
There are many reasons why an individual may develop vitamin B12 deficiency. First off, if you eat a diet rich in sources of vitamin B12, including beef, poultry, fish, and milk, then you should not under any normal circumstances become deficient in vitamin B12 levels.
Following a vegan diet is a major risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 occurs naturally in animal-based foods, the richest sources being liver, shellfish, and many lean meats. Unless you supplement your vegan diet with vitamin B12, then you will eventually become depleted, as few plant-based products are infused with substantial amounts of vitamin B12.
Certain lifestyle choices may interfere with vitamin B12 absorption, including stomach or intestinal surgery (such as gastric bypass), alcohol abuse, and using certain B12-inhibiting medications (such as metformin or protein pump inhibitors [PPIs]).
Gastrointestinal diseases, in addition to other diseases that include GI malfunction, may cause vitamin B12 deficiency. These include Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, fibromyalgia, migraine disorder, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
The elderly do not produce enough stomach acid to digest vitamin B12 fully, so they are a separate risk group for vitamin B12 deficiency.
If none of the above-mentioned risk factors pertain to you, then it’s entirely possible that you suffer from an autoimmune disorder that prevents you from absorbing vitamin B12 from dietary sources. Autoimmune pernicious anemia may take decades to develop and typically goes unnoticed until you reach your thirties or forties.
Vitamin B12 deficiency from autoimmune disorder
In order to get vitamin B12 into your blood supply, you need certain digestive enzymes to help you access vitamin B12 from the foods you eat. Intrinsic factor is that necessary enzyme that your body uses to absorb vitamin B12.
For some people, certain antibodies interfere withintrinsic factor, causing your immune system to malfunction. If you have one of the antibodies that interfere with vitamin B12 absorption, then you will never be able to digest vitamin B12, no matter how many hamburgers or fish dinners you eat in your lifetime.
Three types of antibodies cause vitamin B12 deficiency- pernicious anemia. They include:
Parietal cell antibody, which prevents the production of intrinsic factor in the stomach.
Intrinsic factor antibody, type 1, which prevents the bonding of vitamin B12 to intrinsic factor. About 50%-60% of pernicious anemia patients have this type of antibody.
Intrinsic factor antibody, type 2, which allows bonding of vitamin B12 to intrinsic factor, but prevents bonding with receptor from the ileum (the bottommost part of your small intestine).
If you’ve been tested for vitamin B12 deficiency, it’s important that you also take a blood test for the pernicious anemia antibody. Many doctors overlook this important screening, so you might need to ask for it.
Vitamin B12 deficiency autoimmune disorder requires vitamin B12 from non-oral sources, such as vitamin B12 injections, which are available only through prescription.
Please tell us…
Have you tested for vitamin B12 deficiency, but not for the intrinsic factor or parietal cell antibodies?
If you get vitamin B12 shots…do you still experience pernicious anemia symptoms like fatigue, memory loss, brain fog, and nerve pain?
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If you feel fatigued, and suspect B12 deficiency, then see your doctor immediately. Before diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia, your doctor will run a vitamin B12 blood test for vitamin B12 levels in your blood, in addition to measuring your red blood cells and homocysteine levels. Here are ten tests still used today to diagnose vitamin B12 and pernicious anemia.
Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms:
Vitamin B12 deficiency can be difficult to catch, because it masks itself as many other conditions. Sometimes, B12 deficiency occurs as a secondary side effect of a primary illness like fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, or celiac disease. Other times, vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms are overlooked because of underlying conditions such as depression or diabetes.
The most common symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia are:
Constant fatigue that is not relieved by sleep and does not result from overexertion
Depression, long-term
Anxiety
Aggressive behavior that is unusual
Paranoia
Difficulty focusing or paying attention
Memory loss
Frequent forgetfulness
“Brain fog”
Forgetting words on “tip of tongue”
Forgetting numerical codes like phone numbers or PINs
Hallucinations
Painful tingling and numbness in extremities (hands, feet, arms, and legs)
“Pins and needles”
Painful tingling or burning sensation in tongue and mouth
10 Tests that diagnose vitamin B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia
1)Serum vitamin B12 level: First, your physician will request a vitamin B12 blood test to determine if your vitamin B12 blood (cobalamin) levels are indeed low. Usually, if test results are positive, then vitamin B12 supplementationbegins immediately.
The vitamin B12 blood screening is the most important test for diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency, and if you respond well to vitamin B12 supplements, then further testing is not usually required.
However, if your doctor suspects pernicious anemia, then he might order one or more of the following additional tests:
2)Complete blood count (CBC): A blood test to screen the amount of red and white blood cells. With pernicious anemia, your red blood cells become engorged and misshapen, resulting in low distribution of red blood cells throughout your body.
3)Serum folate level: Many people who have vitamin B12 deficiency also are deficient in the B vitaminfolate.
4)Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH): Your doctor might order a blood test measuring LDH levels.
5) Reticulocyte count: This test looks for reticulocytes (slightly immature red blood cells).
6) Homocysteine test: High homocysteine levels in your blood may indicate vitamin B12 deficiency, folate deficiency, or vitamin B6 deficiency.
7) Gastrin level: a test measuring the amount of the hormone gastrin in your blood may help doctors diagnose the cause of vitamin B12 deficiency.
8) Methylmalonic acid (MMA) test- With vitamin B12 deficiency, methylmalonic acid levels go up. The MMA test provides more proof of the existence of vitamin B12 deficiency.
9) Intrinsic factor antibody test: Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune disorder in which sufferers are not able to product intrinsic factor, a necessary hormone for absorbing vitamin B12. Before diagnosing pernicious anemia, your doctor has to confirm the existence of an antibody in your system that inhibits intrinsic factor production, thereby causing vitamin B12 deficiency.
10) Bone marrow staining: Sometimes, your physician might require a bone marrow biopsy in order to determine other potential causes of pernicious anemia or general red blood cell disorders.
What about the Schilling test for vitamin B12 deficiency?
In the past, doctors have used the Schilling test to diagnose vitamin B12 deficiency. The Schilling test involves swallowing harmless, radioactive doses of vitamin B12 and tracking its progress in your body. However, because it involves fasting and the use of low-dose radiation, and because it may cause side effects like nausea, the Schilling test is rarely used.
Schilling test—a test in which a harmless amount of radiation is used to assess whether a vitamin B12 deficiency exists (rarely used)
Vitamin B12 supplementation
Once diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency, your doctor will likely prescribe vitamin B12 shots, beginning with 1000 mcg of vitamin B12 per week.
These B12 shots are only available upon prescription.
After the first month, B12 shots may be decreased to once per month, upon doctor’s orders.
If B12 deficiency symptoms (fatigue, muscular pain, and brain fog) continue despite vitamin B12 injections, you may supplement with additional over-the-counter (OTC) vitamin B12.
Once your vitamin B12 levels are normal, your doctor will likely stop vitamin B12 shots in favor of OTC vitamin B12.
Sublingual vitamin B12 are an OTC option that may require supplementation two or three times per day. Side effects may include unpleasant taste and burning, tingling sensation on the tongue.
Note: Sublingual vitamin B12 must be dissolved under the tongue as indicated; if they are chewed or swallowed, then vitamin B12 will not be absorbed.
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Aside from taking the blood test for vitamin B12, have you received any of the other tests mentioned?
Please share your experience with vitamin B12 supplementation.
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Read more about vitamin B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia:
Have you been tested for vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy? If not, you should. If you have vitamin B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia, you can still have a normal pregnancy and give birth to a happy, healthy baby. Here are some crucial facts about vitamin B12 deficiency and pregnancy.
Vitamin B12- What is it?
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential B-vitamin that occurs naturally in animal-based foods: beef, chicken, halibut, crabmeat, clams, and Swiss cheese are among the richest food sources of vitamin B12.
Your body (and your baby) needs vitamin B12 for many vital functions:
Red blood cell production
Protection of the nerve cells
Cognitive functioning
Bone health
DNA synthesis
Homocysteine control
Energy production
What are the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency?
The following symptoms may indicate the beginning of vitamin B12 deficiency:
Fatigue in the morning after sleeping the whole night- this is because your brain is not getting enough oxygen
Memory loss from reduced cognitive skills
Brain fog
Painful tingling in the arms, hands, feet, legs, and tongue- this is a sign of neurological damage
Depression and anxiety- vitamin B12 deficiency compromises emotional wellness.
Numerous studies have been conducted linking vitamin B12 deficiency with the following complications:
According to a National Institutes of Health study, women who have vitamin B12 deficiency before getting pregnant of after conception increase their baby’s chance of suffering from neural tube defects such as spina bifida by five times.
Increased homocysteine levels resulting from insufficient vitamin B12 are linked with miscarriages, preeclampsia, and high risk for heart disease.
Babies born to women with vitamin B12 deficiency are 15% more likely to suffer from insulin resistance, according to a University of California, Davis study.
Most healthy people who eat foods rich in vitamin B12 don’t have to worry about becoming deficient. Still, vitamin B12 malabsorption is the leading nutritional deficiency, and that percentage is climbing, so it’s worth understanding the risk factor involved.
People who are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency include:
People with pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disorder involving the inability to make intrinsic factor, a necessary hormone for absorbing vitamin B12
Anybody who has had gastric bypass surgery
Anybody who has had the ileum removed through gastrointestinal surgery
Diabetics who take metformin
People taking protein pump inhibitors (PPIs) for GERD
People with illnesses or conditions that affect the digestive system, such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia, ulcerative colitis, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism, food allergies, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Alcoholics
Elderly individuals
Don’t I get enough B12 from prenatal vitamins?
Yes and no. If your stomach is able to manufacture intrinsic factor and thus digest vitamin B12, then you probably get the bare minimum dosage from prenatal vitamin supplements.
However, if you have pernicious anemia, or if you suffer from a gastrointestinal disorder, then it doesn’t matter how many vitamin B12 pills you swallow; all dietary sources of vitamin B12 are indigestible. Without intrinsic factor, your body cannot access vitamin B12 unless it is inserted directly into the bloodstream.
Before you start planning a family, get tested for vitamin B12 deficiency. Unfortunately, most physicians don’t automatically check for vitamin B12 deficiency, so you’ll need to request a B12 blood screening.
If you are diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency or pernicious anemia, then your doctor will most likely prescribe routine rounds of vitamin B12 shots, which must be inserted intramuscularly. In order to keep from getting deficient again, you may need to continue receiving B12 shots for life.
Please tell us…
If you have pernicious anemia, did you find out only after years of suffering, or were you warned about it from family members?
Have you been putting off having a baby because of low energy from vitamin B12 deficiency?
As always, we welcome your comments!
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Vitamin B12 deficiency, Addison-Biermer’s anemia- Pernicious anemia (PA) has been called many things. Though we have a cure in vitamin B12 supplements, symptoms of pernicious anemia remain similar to historical descriptions of this once fatal disease.
“Starvation in the midst of plenty”
In 1849, if a doctor diagnosed you with pernicious anemia, he would have told you to say your prayers. That’s because back then, the survival rate was 1-3 years. Many scientists tried various experiments to find out what caused this fatal disease, which was as dreaded as leukemia is today, causing symptoms like tiredness, painful tingling in the arms and legs, muscular weakness, and finally, death.
Finally, Dr. William B. Castle made an important scientific breakthrough. He conducted an experiment that involved feeding regurgitated raw hamburger meat to patients of pernicious anemia, and discovered the presence of intrinsic factor, an essential chemical found in gastric juices that is lacking in pernicious anemia patients. Like many medical discoveries, the next one that occurred somewhat by accident. In trying to find a cure for anemia resulting from blood loss, Dr. George Whipple produced the first cure for pernicious anemia- raw liver. Later, in 1926, scientists developed a more concentrated antidote based on the same therapy- raw liver juice, to be swallowed or injected.
It wasn’t until two decades later that scientists finally discovered the potent ingredient in raw liver juice. In 1948, two chemists from the US and Britain isolated cobalamin as the health-giving nutrient, and named it vitamin B12. For patients of pernicious anemia, dosages of 1000 to 4000 mcg, prescribed daily, were given orally as vitamin B12 pills or through intramuscular injection, as a vitaminB12 shot. Another method of supplementing vitamin B12 are sublingual B12 tablets.
Scientists today understand that pernicious anemia is a form of megaloblastic anemia, resulting from weakened DNA synthesis in red blood cells. People with pernicious anemia suffer from an autoimmune condition that inhibits your body’s ability to produce intrinsic factor, thus resulting in vitamin B12 deficiency. Rarely does pernicious anemia ever result in death, since doctors today know how to diagnose the symptoms early on, and confirm diagnosis with a vitamin B12 blood test. Still, many of the symptoms of pernicious anemia are disabling, and often confused with other conditions like clinical depression, thyroid disorder, and diabetes.
Typical symptoms of pernicious anemia are:
Diarrhea
Chronic fatigue
Pale complexion
Decreased appetite
Dizziness
Loss of concentration
Shortness of breath while exercising
Painful tingling or numbness in the hands and feet
Vitamin B12 deficiency is one of the fastest growing forms of malnutrition, inflicting infants and at least 40% of all adults with symptoms like fatigue, memory loss, painful tingling sensations, and psychosis. Find out why researchers are troubled about the effect of B12 deficiency in infants…
Infants with B12 deficiency
Scientists have conducted many studies focusing on neurodevelopment issues in infants diagnosed with low cobalamin- severe vitamin B12 deficiency. One such study conducted by UC Davis noted symptoms of neurological disorders in breast-fed infants born to women with pernicious anemia, including:
For adults, vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms may take years to surface. That’s because the liver stores vast amounts of B12, and unless you lack intrinsic factor, your body constantly replenishes its supply of B12 whenever you eat foods like beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and milk.
However, if you follow a vegan diet, or if you are unable to produce intrinsic factor in your stomach, then your vitamin B12 levels will eventually become depleted.
Newborn infants are not born with large stores of vitamin B12, especially if their mothers have pernicious anemia or refrained from eating foods with B12 during pregnancy or while nursing.
Even though they are born neurologically healthy and of a normal birth weight and size, symptoms of B12 deficiency usually manifest themselves between four to ten months of age, but can occur as early as the second month of life.
After receiving vitamin B12 supplements to replenish stores of B12, infants began recovering rapidly from B12 deficiency symptoms of neurological illness, and eventually experienced a reversal of symptoms, confirming scientists’ beliefs that B12 deficiency causes nerve damage, brain atrophy, and chemical imbalances in thebrain.
Find out if you or your infant has B12 deficiency by taking a simple blood test.
Symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency
Many other neurological and emotional ailments are attributed to low B12 levels:
