6 Reasons Why You May Be B-12 Deficient

According to the top nutritionists in Lahore, your body requires vitamin B12 to produce red blood cells, DNA, nerves, and carry out some other important function. The daily requirement for vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms and your body can’t make it on its own. That’s why you must get it either from food or supplements. Vitamin B12 deficiency is fairly common and a severe deficiency may lead to depression, paranoia, incontinence, memory loss, and loss of taste and smell. Here are some causes of vitamin B12 deficiency:

1-Diet:

Some people are deficient in vitamin B12 simply because they don’t get enough from their diet. This especially applies to vegetarians who avoid vitamin B rich foods such as fish, meat, and dairy products. Since the vitamin B12 reserves in your body can last up to four years, you won’t notice the symptoms associated with deficiency immediately after changing your diet.

2-Medication:

A certain type of medicines can also worse a vitamin B12 deficiency. For instance, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which is used to treat indigestion, can worsen a vitamin B12 deficiency be tampering with the production of stomach acid, which is required for the proper absorption of vitamin B12 from the food you consume.

3-Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth:

When the small intestine is crowded with normal bacteria, it can lead to a bevy of digestive issues such as constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, nausea, and weight loss. Another side effect of SIBO is vitamin B12 deficiency. This happens because some of those excessive bacteria consume B12 before your body tries to absorb it.

4-Autoimmune Diseases:

For vitamin B12 to be absorbed by your body, your stomach acids and specialized cells that create a compound known as “intrinsic factor,” must work in unison. However, if these specialized cells are destroyed because of autoimmune diseases, your body’s ability to absorb the vitamin from the diet will be hampered. In such a case, it wouldn’t matter if your diet has an adequate amount of vitamin B12 as your body just wouldn’t be able to absorb it. A blood test prescribed by your doctor can help you find out if this indeed is the case and decide a course of action accordingly.

5-Inflammation:

When ileum, which is a portion of the small intestine, is inflamed because of reasons such as Crohn’s disease, excess consumption of NSAID pain-relieving medications, and different kinds of infections, it can inhibit vitamin B12 absorption. This can lead to a deficiency.

6-Functional Deficiency:

Some individuals may experience problems that are linked to a vitamin B12 deficiency even when their blood samples show normal levels of the vitamin. This usually occurs because of something called functional vitamin B12 deficiency. This can happen because of the issues with the proteins that are tasked with transporting vitamin B12 between cells and may lead to neurological complications involving the spinal cord.

If you suspect that you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, it is recommended that you visit a doctor. You can find and book an appointment with top Nutritionists in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad through oladoc.com. You can also call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT Doctor for your health concerns.