Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body’s blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. Like most processes in the body, you do not appreciate the impact it has until it goes awry. If you become deficient in B12, it can cause a torrent of problems.
“Although many of the symptoms improve with treatment, some problems caused by the condition can be irreversible if left untreated,” warns the NHS.
“The longer the condition goes untreated, the higher the chance of permanent damage.”
What causes low B12?
Pernicious anaemia is the most common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency in the UK.
Pernicious anaemia is an autoimmune condition that affects your stomach, which means your immune system attacks the cells in your stomach that produce the intrinsic factor, a protein needed to absorb vitamin B12.
Some people can develop a vitamin B12 deficiency as a result of not getting enough vitamin B12 from their diet.
A diet that includes meat, fish and dairy products usually provides enough vitamin B12, but people who do not regularly eat these foods can become deficient.
According to the NHS, people who eat a vegan diet and do not take vitamin B12 supplements or eat foods fortified with vitamin B12, are at a greater risk.
How low B12 levels are replenished
The treatment for vitamin B12 deficiency depends on what’s causing the condition.
Most people can be easily treated with injections or tablets to replace the missing vitamins.
Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia (low red blood cell count) is usually treated with injections of vitamin B12.
There are two types of vitamin B12 injections:
- Hydroxocobalamin
- Cyanocobalamin.
The most common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency in the UK is pernicious anaemia, which is not related to your diet.