Deficiency Symptoms

Pernicious anemia, muscle and nerve paralysis. In order to absorb B12 efficiently, the body relies on intrinsic factor, a PROTEIN manufactured in the stomach. As one grows older, the production of intrinsic factor slows and may cease altogether. In such cases, the only way to get enough B12 is via injection. And what about B12 supplements as a quick fix for that dragged-out feeling? There's no proof that they work.

How You Get Vitamin B12 Deficient

The older you get the more likely you are to have a vitamin B12 deficiency. The two ways that you become deficient in vitamin B12 are from not getting enough in your diet and from losing the ability to absorb it.

India, which is primarily a vegetarian based culture has a huge problem with Vtimin B12 deficiency. Current studies there show about 80% of the adults are deficient in vitamin B12. However, vegans are not the only ones who can become vitamin B12 deficient.

The older you get the more your digestive system breaks down, especially if you have been following the standard American diet. Specifically the lining of your stomach gradually loses its ability to produce hydrochloric acid which releases vitamin B 12 from your food. The use of antacids or anti ulcer drugs will also lower your stomach acid secretion and decrease your ability to absorb vitamin B 12. Infection with Helicobactor pylori, a common contributor to stomach ulcers, can also result in vitamin B12 deficiency.

However the main cause of vitamin B 12 deficiency is a term researchers call food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome. Cobalamin is the scientific term for vitamin B12. This typically results when your stomach lining loses its ability to produce intrinsic factor which is a protein that binds to vitamin B12 and allows your body to absorb it at the end of your small intestine.

Figure 1. Cobalamin (cbl) absorption and metabolic pathway. (A) Structure of cobalamin (vitamin B12) with a corrin ring bound to a central cobalt atom. (B) The metabolic journey of cbl from nutrient intake to its intestinal absorption. Endocytic receptors and proteins responsible for vitamin B12 intestinal absorption include cubilin (CUBN), amnionless (AMN), receptor-associated protein (RAP) and megalin (LRP-2). The membrane megalin/transcobalamin II (TCII) receptor complex allows the cellular uptake of cbl. Lysosomal-mediated degradation of TCII and subsequent release of free cbl is essential for vitamin B12 metabolic functions. MS: methonine synthase; THF: tetrahydrofolate; MTHFR: methyltetrahydrofolate reductase; MCM: methylmalonyl coA mutase.

If You Avoid Meat, You Probably Need to Take B-12

Many people avoid red meats for a large variety of reasons. If you are one of them, you are at a high risk for developing vitamin B-12 deficiency. Why? Because plant sources have virtually no vitamin B-12. And oral forms of B-12 in nearly all supplements are practically useless, as little is absorbed into your bloodstream.

Vegetarians should take this essential micronutrient to ensure an adequate supply of it, because it is found almost exclusively in animal tissues. And, the few plant foods that are sources of B-12 are actually B-12 analogs -- not the form that provides all the benefits of the real deal.

Simply put, an analog is a substance that blocks the uptake of true B-12. The result being, your body's need for the nutrient actually increases.

Furthermore, your body's need for this nutrient may also increase if you take Metformin©. Metformin may interfere with calcium metabolism. And this interference may reduce B-12 absorption, because this absorption requires calcium.

Studies suggest that 10% to 30% of patients taking Metformin show evidence of reduced vitamin B-12 absorption. That's why it is important to speak with your doctor to discuss the best way to maintain B-12 levels when taking this medication.

Good Sources

Meats, fish, poultry, dairy products, eggs.

Precautions

Foods cooked at intense heat or in an alkaline solution (with baking soda, for example) will lose a certain amount of B12. Pasteurized milk has lost about 10 percent of this precious vitamin. Because no plants contain B12, vegetarians should include some animal protein (dairy products or eggs, for example) in their diets, use B12-FORTIFIED soy milk or take a supplement. Two other factors reducing the absorption of B12: hypothyroidism, IRON and/or PYRIDOXINE deficiencies.

Standard Process™ Supplements

Folic Acid B12