B 12 Deficiency Symptoms
B12 deficiency creating symptoms of anemia, a shortage of vitamin B12 can also interfere with the nerves, and so disturb the senses of touch and pain. In adults, blood cells are produced by red bone marrow, which is found inside the centre of the hips, ribs, breastbone and backbone, plus the ends of long bones such as the thigh. Red blood cells live for around 120 days before they are deteriorated and replaced, as part of a normal renewal process.
Vitamin B12 is a crucial ingredient in DNA, the chemical that carries genetic information for new cells. It’s located in meat and animal products but not in vegetables. You need vitamin B12 to make red blood cells and for maintaining healthy nerves.
What are the symptoms of B12 deficiency?
The symptoms of B12 deficiency (anemia) include:
breathlessness
feeling very tired
dizziness
feeling very cold all the time
a rapid, weak pulse
palpitations
headaches
People with vitamin B12-deficiency anemia may also look pale or jaundiced (yellow-tinged skin and eyes). As well as the symptoms of anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency may cause neurological reactions due to inflammation of the nerves (neuritis). This is called vitamin B12 neuropathy. It affects movement and sensation, in particularly in the legs, and causes numbness or pins and needles. It can also result in confusion, depression, poor concentration and forgetfulness.
What are the causes of Vitamin B12 deficiency?
There are numerous different causes of anemia. A deficiency of vitamin B12 in your diet is just one possible cause. Other nutrients that you need to make red blood cells include iron and folate (folic acid). A shortage of these in the diet can also cause anemia.
Most people who develop vitamin B12-deficiency anemia can’t develop enough of a substance known as intrinsic factor in their stomach. This intrinsic factor is needed for vitamin B12 to be absorbed from food and drink. This is a condition known as pernicious anemia. Pernicious anemia is an autoimmune ailment. Normally, antibodies manufactured by the body’s immune system fight strange substances such as viruses and bacteria. With autoimmune conditions, the immune system mistakes the person’s own tissue as foreign and fights it instead.
With pernicious anemia, antibodies fight the cells in the stomach that form intrinsic factor. The exact cause of pernicious anemia isn’t known. Its most common in people aged over 60. It affects women more than men, and is more popular in people with blue eyes, early graying hair and blood group A.
Please visit these links for more information on B 12 Deficiency Symptoms: B 12 Deficiency Symptoms – I and B 12 Deficiency Symptoms – II
Distributed by ContentCrooner.com
