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What Are the Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency?

Vitamin B12 is one of a group of water-soluble B vitamins that are vital to your health. It supports healthy red blood cell formation, neurological functions and DNA synthesis, so a deficiency of B12 can have some serious impact on the body.

  1. Symptoms of Deficiency

    • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the signs of vitamin B12 deficiency can be easy to miss because they happen so slowly, but one thing B12 deficiency can cause is anemia. The symptoms of anemia include: fatigue, faintness, heart palpitations, paleness and shortness of breath. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause tingling of hands and feet, changes in balance, loss of vision, memory problems, delusional behavior, sadness, depression and changes in personality. Infants and young children with B12 deficiency might have problems growing, developmental delays, weakness in muscle tone, and general failure to thrive.

    Treatment

    • Vitamin B12 deficiency is easy to treat, either with oral supplements, or, in the case of severe deficiency, injections of B12.

    Who Is At Risk For B12 Deficiency?

    • The people at highest risk for Vitamin B12 deficiency are strict vegans, breast-fed infants of vegans, vegetarians and their breast-fed infants, the elderly (the chances of B12 deficiency increase with age), people with untreated anemia, and those who have had gastric (stomach) surgery.

    Where Is B12 Found?

    • According to the Mayo Clinic, vitamin B12 occurs naturally in fish, shellfish, meat and dairy products, along with several other important B vitamins. It does not occur in plant-based foods naturally, so those who follow a strict vegetarian or vegan diet need to take supplements to avoid deficiency.

    How Much B12 Do You Need?

    • Since the B vitamins are water-soluble, they are excreted rapidly from the body, and it is difficult to overdose on them. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of B12, according to the National Institutes of Health, for adults and adolescents 14 years and older is 2.4 micrograms per day, 2.6 micrograms per day for adult and adolescent pregnant females, and 2.8 micrograms per day for adult and adolescent lactating females.

      Since malabsorption of B12 can affect the elderly, those over 50 years of age are urged to eat foods fortified with B12 or to take a vitamin B12 supplement with 25-100 micrograms to maintain B12 levels.

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