Meat is a good source of Vitamin B-12
Call it hypocobalaminemia. Think of it as the snake in the grass.
But all you need to remember is B-12.
A lack of this vitamin, absorbed from meat, eggs, milk and cheese, is crucial for red blood cell production. Without enough of these oxygen-carriers, a person could feel weak and tired, experience numbness in hands and feet, have balance problems, feel joint pain and become short of breath. Vitamin B deficiency in its extreme form can cause depression, paranoia, memory loss, incontinence and loss of taste and smell.
Who is at risk? More and more people all the time. And the truly unfortunate part is that measures to control weight and eat healthfully can cause you to get less B-12 and therefore become sick. Vegetarian diets and weight-loss surgery are big culprits.
Plants don’t make Vitamin B-12, which puts vegans at high risk if they don’t eat grains fortified with it or take a vitamin supplement. Weight-loss surgeries that impede absorption — such as gastric bypass — can also cause low B-12. People with celiac or Crohn’s disease have a problem, often, as do people who take a lot of heartburn medication, because they reduce stomach acid and stomach acid is needed to absorb B-12.
In addition to those risk factors, anyone over 50 and people who take the diabetes drug metformin should be aware of this.
While a doctor may be able to assess a person’s individual level of risk, a blood test is the only way to determine if it’s an issue.
B-12 deficiency is corrected with either weekly shots or daily high-dose supplements.
A standard multivitamin usually contains 6 mcg, which is more than enough for the average person (2.4 mcg).
Sources: Harvard health letter; Web MD
