Vitamin B12 Deficiency: Risk Factors and Warning Signs

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential nutrient that plays many roles in your overall wellness, supporting healthy metabolism, protecting your cells’ DNA, and enhancing nerve and blood cell activity. Not surprisingly, low levels of this vitamin can significantly impact your health and quality of life. 

Found in fish, meat, dairy food, and other animal products, vitamin B12 gets synthesized from beneficial bacteria encountered in these foods. While we can get sufficient vitamin B12 from a balanced diet, poor eating habits and medical issues, like diseases or medications, cause vitamin B12 deficiency in a surprising number of Americans.

At beYOU bioidenticals, our team offers vitamin B12 injections to ensure you receive the correct amount to support optimal health and biological function. In this post, learn about vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms and how to tell if you might be at risk.

B12 deficiency: warning signs and symptoms

Because vitamin B12 is in your body, the signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can be subtle and varied and easily confused with other problems. Some of the more common symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Unintended weight loss
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Sore or swollen tongue
• Pale skin
• Numbness, particularly in your hands or feet
• Vision issues, like blurry vision
• Memory issues
• Irritability or moodiness
• Depression

For many people, it makes sense to play a proactive role in avoiding deficiency, using vitamin B12 injections to ensure their levels remain stable and sufficient for good health. Without treatment, symptoms tend to become worse, and eventually, you can wind up with permanent nerve damage, anemia, or life-threatening complications.

Know your risk factors

Since deficiency symptoms can be subtle, you should learn about the risk factors that make deficiency more likely.

Vegans and vegetarians

Because B12 is found only in animal products, people who follow vegan or strict vegetarian diets are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency. If you fall into one of those groups, it’s vital to take supplements or have vitamin B12 injections.

Underlying medical conditions

People with digestive problems that impair absorption, like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, are at risk of becoming deficient, as are people with autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, thyroid disease, and some genetic conditions. The same is true for people who’ve had gastric bypass surgery or other surgeries that shorten or alter the digestive tract.

Medicines and age

Some medicines, including certain over-the-counter heartburn medicines, can interfere with vitamin B12 absorption, leading to low levels of the vitamin. The risk of vitamin B12 deficiency increases with older age and is also more common among people with alcohol use disorder.

Optimize your B12 levels

Ideally, we would get all the necessary essential nutrients through the foods and drinks we consume. But in reality, busy lifestyles, poor eating choices, underlying medical issues, and other factors intervene. Data show millions of Americans have lower-than-recommended levels of vitamin B12.

Our vitamin B12 injections ensure every patient receives the optimum dose of vitamin B12 based on age, lifestyle, and other factors. Plus, since injections deliver vitamin B12 directly to your bloodstream, you don’t need to worry about problems with absorption or dilution, meaning you get much more of the vitamin than with oral supplements.

If you have symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency or risk factors that make deficiency more likely, we can help. To learn more about vitamin B12 injections, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at beYOU bioidenticals in Leawood, Kansas, today.