What are the symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency?
Unusual tiredness, breathlessness (Due to reduced amounts of oxygen carried in the body) • Feeling faint, looking pale • Poor resistance to infection • A sore mouth and tongue If left untreated, Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to nerves problems. Such symptoms include shaky movements and unsteady gait), muscle weakness, confusion and numbness. What can be done to avoid vitamin B12 deficiency? The human body stores several years’ worth of vitamin B12, so nutritional deficiency of this vitamin is rare. Although vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin, it is not excreted quickly in the urine. And even though the body only needs a small amount of vitamin B12 daily, it is not absorbed very well by the body. Hence, large amounts of the vitamin need to be supplied in the diet in order for the daily minimum to be absorbed. Vegetarians are most at risk because vitamin B12 is only found in food of animal origin such as meat, liver, poultry, fish and dairy products – but not in fruit or vegetables
