Vitamin B12 deficiency is one of the most studied aspect today. But several research have been published which indicate the amelioration of oxidative stress and other types of effects does not restore vitamin B12 to the system. Therefore, other factors are associated to Vitamin B12 deficiency.
Deficiency of Vitamin B-12
•Pernicious anemia
–Never degeneration, weakness
–Tingling/numbness in the extremities (parasthesia)
–Paralysis and death
–Looks like folate deficiency
•Usually due to decreased absorption ability
•Achlorhydria (strict or pure vegetarianism) especially in elderly
•Injection of B-12 needed
•Takes ~20 years on a deficient diet to see nerve destruction
Vitamin B-12 •Cyanocobalamin. methlcobalamin,
5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin
•Contains cobalt •Folate metabolism •Rearrange 3-carbon chain fatty acids so can enter the Citric Acid Cycle
Food Sources of Vitamin B-12
•Synthesized by bacteria, fungi and algae
•(Stored primarily in the liver)
•Animal products
•Organ meat
•Seafood
•Eggs
•Hot dogs
Milk
RDA for Vitamin B-12
•2.4 ug/ day for adults and elderly adults
•Average intake exceeds RDA
•B-12 stored in the liver
•Non-toxic
Deficiency of Vitamin B12 can cause some serious problems. Vitamin B12 does a lot of things for your body. It helps make your DNA and your red blood cells, for examples.
Causes of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency can happen if you have certain conditions, such as:
Atrophic gastritis, in which your stomach lining has thinned.
Pernicious anemia, which makes it hard for your body to absorb vitamin B12.
Surgery that removed part of your stomach or small intestine, including weight loss surgery.
Conditions affecting the small intestine, such as Crohn's disease, celiac disease, bacterial growth, or a parasite.
Heavy drinking.
Immune system disorders, such as Graves' disease or lupus.
Long-term use of acid-reducing drugs. Stomach acids help break down animal proteins that have vitamin B12.
You can also get vitamin B12 deficiency if you're a vegan (meaning you don't eat any animal products, including meat, milk, cheese, and eggs) or a vegetarian who doesn't eat enough eggs or dairy products to meet your vitamin B12 needs.
Vitamin B12 does a lot of things for your body. It helps make your DNA and your red blood cells, for example.
Since your body doesn't make vitamin B12, you have to get it from animal-based foods or from supplements. And you should do that on a regular basis, because your body doesn’t store vitamin B12 for a long time.
How Much to Get?
The answer depends on things including your age, your eating habits and medical conditions, and what medications you take.
The average recommended amounts, measured in micrograms (mcg), vary by age:
- Infants up to age 6 months: 0.4 mcg
- Babies age 7-12 months: 0.5 mcg
- Children age 1-3 years: 0.9 mcg
- Kids age 4-8 years: 1.2 mcg
- Children age 9-13 years: 1.8 mcg
- Teens age 14-18: 2.4 mcg (2.6 mcg per day if pregnant and 2.8 mcg per day if breastfeeding)
- Adults: 2.4 mcg (2.6 mcg per day if pregnant and 2.8 mcg per day if breastfeeding)
regards
The main causes of Vitamin B12 deficiency are dependant on location/diet. Dietary deficiency in the developed world is largely through lifestyle choice but in the developing (sometimes regressing) countries it depends on access to appropriate food.
B12 deficiency where B12 is contained in the diet, can arise from antibodies to gastric parietal cells, defects in the ileal receptor and in the elderly atrophic gastritis may be the cause. There are rare inherited conditions too.
One of the issues to be looked in vitamin B12 deficiency is the intrinsic factor (IF). Most of the research shows 50% or less amelioration of the defect. Therefore the completion must be from other alteration which is the intrinsic factor. Much attention has not been giving in the study of intrinsic factor in VitB12 deficiency. Only few articles try to address this issue.
Either insufficient intake in diet or reduced absoption from gastrointestinal system
The principal Worldwide cause of vitamin B12 deficiency is dietary, particular;y in underdeveloped countries.
The world of micronutrients still has many gaps, and the specific case of vitamin b12 is particularly complex given the clinical importance of its levels, which are low, but also high. In this sense, in complement to the debate question, I want to share with you the following manuscript detailing the aspects associated with high levels of vitamin b12.
Article Hipervitaminosis B12 una mirada desde la atención primaria
The low levels of VB12 leads to a variety of problems such as anemia and neurological diseases. It is also known as "Cobalamin" which is an organometallic complex found in eggs, milk and dairy products. They are broken down into the stomach by active form of gastric enzyme pepsinogen i.e., pepsin (active form) to release B12.
Then protein made by parietal cells in the stomach called intrinsic factors can bind to B12 and then binding allow this complex to pass into intestine. When the complex reaches to the terminal ilium, then enterocytes recognize the intrinsic factors and absorbs the whole complex. Inside the enterocytes, Intrinsic factors get removed and a special protein called transcobalamin 2, binds with the free B12 and pass it to the blood stream and further to the tissues.
Some of these transcobalamin12 gets to the site of detoxification i.e., liver, where B12 can be stored for so long. B12 is used to synthesize the DNA.