Vitamin B-12, also called methylcobalamin, cyanocobalamin and hydroxycobalamin, is a water soluble nutrient you need to make DNA and red blood cells and to support the proper functioning of your nervous system. Vitamin B-12 is the largest vitamin in size, yet needed in tiny amounts. Adults require 2.4 micrograms per day and pregnant and lactating women require 2.6 micrograms daily. Consult your doctor about the benefits of vitamin B-12.
Vegetarians
Vitamin B-12 can benefit vegetarians who do not obtain sufficient amounts of vitamin B-12 from their diets. Vitamin B-12 is found in animal products, particularly shell fish and organ meats, but is not naturally present in plant-based foods. Food manufacturers may fortify processed foods with vitamin B-12. If you do not consume sufficient amounts of vitamin B-12 you can become deficient, which can cause megaloblastic anemia, a type of pernicious anemia characterized by larger than, but few number of normal blood cells that can carry oxygen to your cells. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can also cause irreversible nerve damage.
Malabsorption
Many people, particularly the elderly, are unable to properly or sufficiently absorb vitamin B-12 through their intestinal tract. The large size of vitamin B-12 requires that it attach to a protein called intrinsic factor that the stomach releases to help your intestines absorb vitamin B-12 into your body. This is similar to a tug boat that pulls a large ship from the ocean into the dock. Injections of vitamin B-12 may be effective in people who are deficient in vitamin B-12 due to malabsorption.
Pernicious Anemia
Pernicious anemia occurs when you do not produce sufficient amounts of intrinsic factor. As a result, you may become vitamin B-12 deficient, even if you consume sufficient amounts of vitamin B-12 from foods and oral supplements. The most effective treatments, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements, are monthly vitamin B-12 injections, nasal administration of the vitamin or very large doses administered orally.
Drug Induced Vitamin B-12 Deficiency
Vitamin B-12 can benefit diabetic patients who take metformin, an oral administered medicine to help control blood sugar levels. Research by scientists at the University of Alabama Medical School in Birmingham and published in "Southern Medical Journal" in March 2010 discovered that chronic use of metformin can cause a deficiency of vitamin B-12 in 30 percent of diabetic patients. The scientists also found that the deficiency does not always coincide with anemia, but may concur with development of peripheral neuropathy, a condition characterized by damage to the nervous system with accompanying pain and numbness. If left untreated, the nerve damage can become irreversible, even with vitamin B-12 treatment at later stages.
References
- Office of Dietary Supplements National Institutes of Health; Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B12 2010
- Linus Pauling Institute Oregon State University; Vitamin B12; Victoria Drake; August 2007
- MayoClinic.com; Vitamin B12; 2010
- MedlinePlus; Pernicious Anemia; November 23 2008
- "Southern Medical Journal"; Metformin-Induced Vitamin B12 Deficiency Presenting as a Peripheral Neuropathy; David Bell; Mar 2010
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