Thanks for dropping round to the latest in our series on vitamins and their impact upon our health.  Currently we plan on adding a series on minerals which are vital to our health.  Some of these future articles may surprise you.  So please visit PatientTalk on a regular basis!

In this blog we will be looking in a bit more detail at Vitamin B12.   In particular problems associated with a deficiency.

What does Vitamin B12 do?  Well its primary purpose is to promote normal functioning in the brain and nervous system. It also helps with the formation of blood.  So pretty important!

It is normally found in animal products such as meat or cheese.  Especially liver (good news for pate lovers like me).  But this does mean that people on a vegan diet will need to use supplements.

But what happens when we do not get enough Vitamin B12?

If untreated Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause permanent damage to the nervous system.

Pernicious anemia (also known as Biermer’s anemia, Addison’s anaemia, or Addison–Biermer anemia) occurs when the body has difficulty absorbing vitamin B12.  Typical symptoms include:-

• Fatigue.
• Fevers.
• Depression.
• Neuropathic pain (for more information please see our recent blog https://patienttalk.org/?p=281).
• Problems with the intestines which may present as diarrhoea and indigestion.
• Brain fog may occur if the nervous system gets damaged.  ( Again we have a recent blog on brain fog which you might find useful https://patienttalk.org/?p=563).

As with any anemia there is a decrease in red blood cells.

If you are in anyway concerned about Vitamin B12 deficiency please visit a healthcare professional as soon as possible.

PS  Many yeast extracts such as Marmite contain Vitamin B12.  So you might want to consider spreading some on your breakfast toast!