Beware Gastric Bypass Patients and Vegans - Vitamin B12 Deficiency is Dangerous
Vicky S
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Almost anyone with unusual eating habits is in danger of not getting enough Vitamin B12 through dietary means. People most at risk are vegan vegetarians, elderly people with poor dietary habits, and p 
eople who have had gastric bypass surgery.
Vitamin B12 is also known as cobalamin. It's found primarily in meat, eggs and dairy products. There has been research into plant resources of Vitamin B12, but no conclusive evidence has been found.
Vitamin B12 is necessary to the body for making red blood cells, the maintenance of the nervous system, and in children, growth and development. A deficiency of Vitamin B12 can cause anemia, neuropathy, the degeneration of nerve fibers and irreversible neurological damage. Symptoms of anemia are: tiredness, breathlessness, listlessness, pallor and poor resistance to infection. Other, rarer symptoms can include a sore tongue and menstrual disruption. A deficiency of folic acid can also cause anemia.
Usually, if a deficiency in the body occurs, it is more commonly a failure to absorb B12 in the intestine rather than a poor diet. The B12 factor is absorbed in part of the small intestine, in the presence of calcium. Some people are unable to absorb B12 normally and are treated with B12 injections. Some years ago, routine Vitamin B12 shots were given to elderly adults, but this isn't done very much anymore.
Vitamin B12 is excreted in the bile and is reabsorbed. People on diets low in B12, including vegans and some vegetarians may be obtaining more B12 from reabsorbtion than from food. Therefore, it can take 20 years for disease to develop in people changing to diets low in B12. But if B12 deficiency is due to failure to absorb the vitamin, it can take only 3 years for disease to occur.
Pregnant women are not thought to need extra B12, though little research has been done in this area. Nursing mothers need extra B12 to ensure an adequate supply in their breast milk.
Vitamin B12 is also known as cobalamin. It's found primarily in meat, eggs and dairy products. There has been research into plant resources of Vitamin B12, but no conclusive evidence has been found.
Vitamin B12 is necessary to the body for making red blood cells, the maintenance of the nervous system, and in children, growth and development. A deficiency of Vitamin B12 can cause anemia, neuropathy, the degeneration of nerve fibers and irreversible neurological damage. Symptoms of anemia are: tiredness, breathlessness, listlessness, pallor and poor resistance to infection. Other, rarer symptoms can include a sore tongue and menstrual disruption. A deficiency of folic acid can also cause anemia.
Usually, if a deficiency in the body occurs, it is more commonly a failure to absorb B12 in the intestine rather than a poor diet. The B12 factor is absorbed in part of the small intestine, in the presence of calcium. Some people are unable to absorb B12 normally and are treated with B12 injections. Some years ago, routine Vitamin B12 shots were given to elderly adults, but this isn't done very much anymore.
Vitamin B12 is excreted in the bile and is reabsorbed. People on diets low in B12, including vegans and some vegetarians may be obtaining more B12 from reabsorbtion than from food. Therefore, it can take 20 years for disease to develop in people changing to diets low in B12. But if B12 deficiency is due to failure to absorb the vitamin, it can take only 3 years for disease to occur.
Pregnant women are not thought to need extra B12, though little research has been done in this area. Nursing mothers need extra B12 to ensure an adequate supply in their breast milk.