The human body requires various vitamins and nutrients to work correctly. Most of these essential nutrients are found in food, while others come from supplements or vitamins.
Vitamin B12 is a crucial nutrient your body requires to build new red blood cells and create DNA within those cells. If you don't get enough of this vitamin, various problems can arise with your health.
At NuvidaRx Weight Loss in Tallahassee, Florida, our team understands the importance of whole-body nutrition and supplementation for crucial nutrients like B12.
Our team members are experts in primary care and weight loss techniques, which are only successful if your body is healthy and gets the necessary nutrients. We offer vitamin B12 injections to ensure you get enough of this essential nutrient to thrive during treatment.
Vitamin B12 is one of the essential nutrients the human body needs to create DNA and red blood cells. It also helps the nerve cells function correctly; however, the body doesn't make vitamin B12 alone.
The only way to get vitamin B12 into the body is to eat and drink foods or beverages containing it. Foods such as animal meat, dairy products, and eggs are all great sources of vitamin B12.
Fortified foods like bread and cereals also contain reasonable amounts of vitamin B12.
Adults require about 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 daily to maintain healthy cell function. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children need more of the nutrient for optimal health.
When your body doesn't get enough vitamin B12, the result is a deficiency. Various factors affect how much B12 your body gets, including:
Most people become deficient due to a lack of vitamin B12. Older adults are likelier to suffer from a B12 deficiency than younger, healthier people.
A vitamin B12 deficiency may not show signs at first, especially if the deficiency is mild. However, the longer the deficit lasts, the more prevalent the symptoms become.
There are generalized symptoms related to a vitamin B12 deficiency and neurologic symptoms, both of which include the following signs:
You can relate these symptoms to other issues, which is why a vitamin B12 deficiency is sometimes overlooked. However, if you follow a special diet or have digestive problems, these signs should signal you to consider your vitamin B12 intake.
Vitamin B12 makes red blood cells and DNA, meaning a deficit profoundly affects overall health. Several problems correlate with a vitamin B12 deficiency, including:
Anemia is a medical condition where your body doesn't make enough red blood cells, essential in carrying oxygen to the rest of your body. Because vitamin B12 is necessary for red blood cell production, a deficiency causes a low red blood cell count, resulting in anemia.
A vitamin B12 deficiency negatively affects your brain and cognitive function, causing it to decline over time. It can lead to memory loss and signs of dementia, especially in older adults.
Vitamin B12 is necessary to use homocysteine, so when you're deficient, it can lead to various issues, including cardiovascular problems and damage.
Long-term vitamin B12 deficiencies often lead to nerve damage in the spine and other nerves throughout the body. In some cases, this damage isn't reversible.
Researchers have linked gastric cancer to pernicious anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency. Your risk of stomach and intestinal cancers increases with either problem.
If you want to learn more about vitamin B12 injections, don't hesitate to call our office at 682-217-5757 or request an appointment online using our convenient tool.
