Vitamin deficiencies are not as common as they were before tanks to an improvement in diets and life conditions, but at the same time, nobody is free from this problem. Sometimes a vitamin deficiency can be a result of poor diet decisions and lifestyles, and other times it can be the by-product of an illness or genetic condition. One of the most common types of related problems is vitamin B12 deficiency.
B12 is part of the Vitamin B family, and is also known as cobalamine. It is involved in the health of nerve cells and red blood cells, and it is processed in the stomach thanks to Hydrochloric acid. Acute vitamin B12 problems are rare because we always have a supply of the vitamin in store for several years, but many times a mild deficiency can go unnoticed.
Among the people who are at more risk of having a vitamin B12 deficiency, we have people following a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. Since they don’t eat animal food, they are restricting all the B12 coming from the diet (the vitamin is found in fish, meat, dairy products and shellfish mainly). Over time they have pretty high chances of developing a lack of proper levels of B12. To avoid this doctors recommend eating fortified cereals regularly.
This deficiency was discovered when researchers found the link between it and pernicious anemia. This type of anemia impedes the absorption of the vitamin in the stomach and the intestinal tract. You should stay on the lookout for common anemia symptoms along with neurological symptoms. If you want to know your current B12 levels, it would be a good idea to go to a lab and have a blood test, prevention is always the best option.
Remember though, that symptoms are not exclusive to this deficiency, so medical evaluation is a must.