B12 is a very important vitamin for the functioning of your nervous system and brain. Find out here what can block its absorption causing B12 deficiency.

B12 is a very important vitamin for the functioning of your nervous system and brain. B12 or cobalamin is an essential vitamin that is needed in our body but cannot synthesize it on its own.

It has many roles in the functioning of our body, including being essential for the normal function of nerve cells and is needed for the synthesis of red blood cells and DNA.

What may be causing your B12 deficiency

Often the vitamin B12 deficiency is not only due to the reduced intake but also due to the lack of absorption by the body. The process of B12 absorption consists of a series of stages.

Therefore, any problem along the digestive tract can affect its absorption.

As we get older, is also assumed to decrease due to the reduced action of endogenous factor, a protein necessary for the final stage of absorption in the ileum.

The same problem can be addressed even with the use of “traditional” dietary supplements.

The symptoms of B12 deficiency

People at greater risk for B12 deficiency are those who have a range of symptoms:

A “strange” feeling in the fingers or toes, lack of balance when walking, anaemia, “swollen” tongue, reduced thinking speed or memory loss, weakness and fatigue.

Such symptoms are often experienced by vegetarians who do not supplement their diet with vitamin B12, people who have undergone gastric surgery for weight loss and people with celiac disease or Crohn's disease.

How to meet your vitamin B12 needs

For meeting vitamin B12 needs is required to eat animal foods, since that is the only place where it is found. The best dietary sources are meat, poultry, eggs, shellfish, milk and other animal products. Finally, certain plant foods are fortified with B12.

Yannis Chrysou, dietician and nutritionist (www.giannischrysou.gr)