Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. Originally published on November 21, 2016.
Pregnant women can improve their baby’s health by making sure they get enough vitamin B12. In the year A 2016 study found that babies whose mothers were deficient in B12 during pregnancy were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and other serious metabolic problems later in life.1
If you experience “that tired feeling” and a general lack of energy, you may have a vitamin B12 deficiency. It goes unnoticed for years; In fact, 15% of the American population has this problem.
Many seemingly unrelated symptoms include poor memory, shortness of breath, Loss of taste and smelldepression and stiffness in your extremities, may be an indication that getting your B12 levels checked is a good idea.
Interestingly, Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, is famous for being emotionally and psychologically unbalanced, and these symptoms and others are what scientists believe to be the cause of her behavior. Doctors of the time called it pernicious anemia, which is a disease related to B-vitamins.2
Vitamin B12, aka cobalamin, is also found in animal-based foods such as eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, meat, fish, and poultry. It is called “essential” because your body cannot produce it; It must come from an outside source.
Why is B12 needed?
Vitamin B12 is important for many functions in your body. It plays a role in:
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Adrenal hormone production |
Folate metabolism3 |
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Fat and carbohydrate metabolism |
Synthesis of red blood cells |
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Proper blood circulation |
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Digestion |
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Nervous system function |
Nerve development and function |
How Much Vitamin B12 Do You Need?
National Institutes of Health (NIH)4 Daily recommendations for vitamin B12 supplementation are as follows, with the dose increasing significantly as children mature.
- 2.4 micrograms for people 14 and older
- 2.6 micrograms b Pregnant women
- 2.8 micrograms b Breastfeeding women
But many people are not getting enough. This vitamin is responsible in part for making DNA, as well as red blood cells and nerves, according to Harvard Health:5
Therein lies the problem: Some people do not consume enough vitamin B12 to meet their needs, while others cannot absorb enough vitamin B12, no matter how much they take. As a result, vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively common, especially among the elderly.”
You don’t need to worry about overdosing on vitamin B12 because it’s water-soluble, so “your body takes what it needs and flushes out the rest,” reports The Washington Post.6
B12 deficiency – vicious cycle
Scientists knew that pregnant women with low B12 levels often had a higher body mass index (BMI), says Ponusamy Saravanan, PhD, associate clinical professor at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom and lead author of the published study. and low birth weight babies.
Studies have shown that these children have high levels of insulin resistance in childhood, which automatically sets them up for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
The research team was surprised that the symptoms in children whose mothers were low in B12 had any relationship LeptinThe so-called “satiety hormone” that triggers your awareness when you’re really full.
Research shows that knowing when to stop dieting is critical to maintaining a healthy weight. The problem occurs when the level of leptin increases in obese individuals, which masks satiety, which leads to constant overeating because they still “feel” hungry. This phenomenon is called leptin resistance.
This is a vicious circle because even eating enough food does not satisfy the hunger. So slowly, you gain more weight, become more leptin resistant, and, therefore, more insulin resistant. Meanwhile, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases.
Additional findings from the study
Saravanan’s team analyzed 91 blood samples from mothers and newborns to check vitamin B12 levels. At the same time, they looked at their fat tissue samples and 83 tissue samples from placentas.
Indeed, scientists have found that babies of mothers with vitamin B12 deficiency have higher-than-normal leptin levels more often than those without. Saravanan explains:7
“The nutritional environment provided by the mother can permanently select the health of the child. We know that children born to mothers who are undernourished or undernourished are at risk for health problems such as type 2 diabetes, and we see that maternal B12 deficiency affects fat metabolism and this risk.” This is why we decided to investigate the fat cell hormone leptin.
Scientists hypothesized that if B12 is not adequately represented in expectant mothers, the hormone responsible for programming the leptin gene in their children is affected. Although the researchers are not sure which mechanisms determine this effect, they have a few ideas.
“Either low vitamin B12 causes the fetus to accumulate more leptin, or B12 deficiency alters the mother’s genes for leptin,” said study co-author Adaikala Antonisunil, associate professor and research associate.
Because B12 is involved in methylation reactions that affect the turning on and off of genes, it’s probably the latter. If they’re right, the researchers believe B12 levels for expectant mothers should rise above current US recommendations.
Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency
3.6% of American adults suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency.8 It is one of the symptoms of deficiency. FatigueBecause vitamin B12 plays a role in energy production and metabolism. Anxiety and depression Because vitamin B12 is a coenzyme in the synthesis of neurotransmitters that control your mood. Even low B12 levels will lead unless there is intervention Paranoia, hallucinations and delusions. Other symptoms include:
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Numbness, tingling, “pins and needles” sensations in your hands, feet, or legs, which may indicate nerve damage. |
Yellow skin indicates that your red blood cells are breaking down, releasing a yellow pigment in the process. |
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Swollen, “soft” tongue with small papillae containing “bumpy” taste buds. One patient made a full recovery after receiving B12 therapy.9 |
Feelings of restlessness, nervousness and dizziness, these are symptoms of not enough oxygen in your blood, which is associated with low B12. |
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Blurred or double vision, or shadows in your field of vision, caused by optic nerve damage due to B12 deficiency. |
Memory loss, which is a red flag if there is no other possible cause. |
What causes vitamin B12 deficiency?
There are several key reasons for B12 deficiency, which doctors sometimes ignore. Individuals at risk for B12 deficiency include:
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Vegetarians and vegans, because they do not get B12 from animal sources. |
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People who drink regularly AlcoholBecause B12 is stored in your liver. |
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Anyone with an autoimmune disease, such as Crohn’s or celiac disease, which prevents your body from absorbing B12. |
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People who drink more than four cups of coffee every day. They were found to have 15% less B vitamins than non-coffee drinkers, including B12.10 |
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Those who have undergone gastric bypass surgery and therefore have altered digestive systems. |
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People exposed to nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas, which destroys any B12 reserves you have in your body. |
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Older people, because as you get older, your ability to produce internal states decreases. Intrinsic factor is a protein made by stomach cells that is necessary for the absorption of B12. It also destroys H. pylori (Helicobacter pylori) bacteria, preventing them from absorbing B12.11 |
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People taking antacids that interfere with B12 absorption over time. |
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Patients taking metformin have low blood sugar because the drug interferes with B12 absorption. |
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Anyone taking proton-pump inhibitors like Prevacid or Nexium or an H2 blocker like Pepcid or Zantac.12 |
Vitamin B12 is found naturally only from animal sources. While vegans are advised to increase their B12 intake by stocking up on nutritional yeast, Coconut oil And fortified coconut milk is not recommended even for a strict vegan or vegetarian diet. In fact, there are cases where a deficiency can cause brain abnormalities.
A deficiency can be corrected with a weekly vitamin B12 shot or daily high-dose B12 supplements and simple dosing with a regular supplement or adding vitamin B12-rich foods.13 A more detailed list of B12 in certain foods is available at the NIH.14
