Tactile sensation -- your sense of touch -- proves important to maintaining your health. Not only does your sense of touch allow for sensation to support your day-to-day activities, but proprioception allows you to sense tissue damage and avoid repeated injury: the activation of heat-related pain receptors, for example, can teach you not to touch a hot stove. Numbness, however, might develop due to B-vitamin deficiencies.
Vitamin B-5
One vitamin linked to numbness is vitamin B-5, or pantothenic acid. Vitamin B-5 in your body contributes to nerve cell function, since it aids in the breakdown of glucose into usable cellular fuel for your nerves. A severe pantothenic acid deficiency can also affect your nerve structure, damaging the myelin sheath, a protective insulation that surrounds each nerve. Myelin damage can inhibit normal nerve function, damaging the nerves throughout your body and causing numbness.
Vitamin B-1
Another B vitamin potentially involved in numbness and nerve damage is vitamin B-1, or thiamine. Severe deficiencies in vitamin B-1 can affect both your brain and the nerves throughout your body. A thiamine deficiency can cause numbness in two ways: damage to your peripheral nerves can prevent your nerves from sensing touch, while damage to nerves in your brain can prevent the interpretation of sensory signals from your nerves. Severe vitamin B-1 deficiency can eventually prove fatal due to damage to both your nervous and cardiovascular systems.
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12, or cobalamin, deficiency is also linked to numbness. Like pantothenic acid, vitamin B-12 contributes to your nerves' myelin sheath. Severe vitamin B-12 deficiencies cause a breakdown of your peripheral nerve function, causing a loss of sensation and numbness. The deficiency can also damage nerves within your brain, causing other neurologic symptoms, like seizures. Since vitamin B-12 naturally occurs in animal-based foods, individuals who follow a vegan diet require vitamin supplements to help prevent nerve damage and numbness.
Considerations
While nutrient deficiencies can harm your nerves, numbness can also indicate the presence of a serious disorder. Poorly controlled diabetes, tissue damage due to injury and several neurodegenerative disorders can also affect your sense of touch, causing numbness. If you develop unexplained numbness, nerve tingling or unexplained pain, seek immediate medical attention.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamins - Introduction; Dr. Harvey Simon; February 2009
- Linus Pauling Institute; Thiamin; Dr. Jane Higdon; September 2002
- Linus Pauling Institute; Vitamin B-12; Dr. Jane Higdon; March 2003
- Linus Pauling Institute; Micronutrients and Cognitive Function; Dr. Victoria Drake; February 2011
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