Category: Nutrition

These are some common signs of a deficiency in vitamin B12.

Loss of energy and problems concentrating can both be signs of vitamin B12 deficiency, research suggests.

Lack of the crucial vitamin has also been linked to other depression symptoms, such as low mood.

In fact, people with a deficiency in vitamin B12 are at triple the risk of developing melancholic depression, one study has found.

Constipation, muscle weakness and a general feeling of being tired are some other common signs of vitamin B12 deficiency.

It may be that one-quarter of people have a deficiency in vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 is used by the body to make red blood cells and in supporting a healthy nervous system.

Fortunately, the deficiency is relatively easy to correct.

Foods that contain high amounts of vitamin B12 include beef, salmon, eggs, low-fat milk and dairy in general.

People at higher risk of suffering vitamin B12 deficiency include vegetarians, older people and those with digestive disorders.

Vitamin B12 has been trialled in the treatment of some mental health problems.

One study has found that B vitamins can help people with psychosis to improve their concentration.

People recovering from psychosis in the study performed better on concentration tests after taking B vitamins.

Dr Kelly Allott, the study’s first author, said:

“This indicates the B-vitamins could have a neuroprotective effect; although they are not improving a patient’s concentration skills, they may be protecting these skills from declining.

Psychosis is a diverse condition where everybody presents with different symptoms and a different biological profile.

What was particularly interesting was that the participants who had abnormally high homocysteine levels at baseline were most responsive to the B-vitamin supplements, in terms of improvement in attention.

The results of this study support a more personalised approach to vitamin supplementation in first episode psychosis, suggesting those with elevated homocysteine are likely to benefit most.”

The study was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry (Allott et al., 2019).

Low-grade inflammation may be a sign that your body is missing this vitamin.

Inflammation is the immune system’s response to an infection, injury, or disease and is part of the healing process.

However, ongoing low-grade inflammation can contribute to serious disorders such as autoimmune diseases, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Genetic researchers have now found a strong association between vitamin D deficiency and high levels of an inflammatory marker known as C-reactive protein.

This protein is made by the liver and released into the blood: elevated levels are an indication of inflammation in the body and serious health conditions.

The study suggests that chronic inflammation could be reduced by improving vitamin D levels in people with a deficiency.

This means vitamin D status can be a key indicator to identify individuals who are more likely to have chronic inflammation associated with severe illnesses.

Getting enough vitamin D

The research team analysed genetic data from nearly 300,000 patients provided by the UK Biobank.

The genetic evidence revealed a direct link between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and C-reactive protein levels.

They noticed that with increasing vitamin D levels, the C-reactive protein sharply goes down and levelled off when the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was about 50 nmol/L.

Dr Ang Zhou, the study’s first author, said:

“Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting your tissues if you’ve been injured or have an infection.

High levels of C-reactive protein are generated by the liver in response to inflammation, so when your body is experiencing chronic inflammation, it also shows higher levels of C-reactive protein.

This study examined vitamin D and C-reactive proteins and found a one-way relationship between low levels of vitamin D and high levels of C-reactive protein, expressed as inflammation.

Boosting vitamin D in people with deficiencies may reduce chronic inflammation, helping them avoid a number of related diseases.”

Furthermore, the study suggests that getting enough vitamin D could reduce problems linked to obesity and chronic inflammatory illnesses such as autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Professor Elina Hyppönen, the study’s senior author, said:

“We have repeatedly seen evidence for health benefits for increasing vitamin D concentrations in individuals with very low levels, while for others, there appears to be little to no benefit.

These findings highlight the importance of avoiding clinical vitamin D deficiency, and provide further evidence for the wide-ranging effects of hormonal vitamin D.”

The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (Zhou & Hypponen, 2022).

B12 deficiency is relatively easy to correct with a change in diet or supplementation.

A poor memory can be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency, studies find.

People with a vitamin B12 deficiency sometimes have worse memories for both events and ideas.

Indeed, low levels of vitamin B12 and folate have both been linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Folates include vitamin B9, folacin and folic acid.

Memory problems are one of the key symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

This link has been observed by researchers for more than three decades.

A deficiency in B12 or folate can cause higher levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the body.

Homocysteine has a neurotoxic effect and could lead to neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s.

One study followed 370 people over 75-years-old for three years.

In that time, 78 had developed Alzheimer’s disease, with more than half having a vitamin B12 or folate deficiency.

Dr Hui-Xin Wang, the study’s first author, said:

“In our study, we found that low levels of either of these two vitamins were related to an increased Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Monitoring B12 and folate levels is important in order to avoid unfavorable conditions, even for those elderly people who are quite healthy in terms of cognition.”

The good news is that B12 deficiency is relatively easy to correct with a change in diet or supplementation.

Good sources of vitamin B12 include liver, beef, fish, poultry, eggs and low-fat milk.

Fortified breakfast cereals also contain vitamin B12.

People who may have difficulty getting enough vitamin B12 include vegetarians and vegans, older people and those with some digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease.

If taking supplements, be careful not to have more than 2 mg per day — any more could be harmful.

The study was published in the journal Neurology (Wang et al., 2019).

Around 60% of people may have a vitamin D deficiency.

Muscle fatigue is a common sign of vitamin D deficiency, research finds.

Vitamin D is vital for enabling the muscles to work efficiently.

Low levels of this vitamin are linked to poor energy and tiredness.

Taking vitamin D supplements helped people in the study to feel much less tired.

Vitamin D is also found in oily fish, egg yolks, fortified cereals and some margarine spreads.

The study examined 12 people with a severe vitamin D deficiency, before and after treatment.

Participants’ muscles were scanned to check their response to exercise.

The results showed that those taking vitamin D supplements for 10-12 weeks felt much less tired.

Dr Akash Sinha, the study’s first author, explained the results:

“The scans provided a unique window into what is really going on in the muscle as it works.

Examining this small group of patients with vitamin D deficiency who experienced symptoms of muscle fatigue, we found that those with very low vitamin D levels improved their muscle efficiency significantly when their vitamin D levels were improved.”

The fatigue they were feeling is likely due to problems in the body’s mitochondria.

Mitochondria are the ‘power stations’ within each cell in our body.

Without vitamin D the mitochondria cannot work efficiently.

After supplementation, participants’ mitochondria recovered more quickly from exertion.

Dr Sinha said:

“We have proved for the first time a link between vitamin D and mitochondria function.

Of the patients I see, around 60% are vitamin D deficient and most people living north of Manchester will struggle to process enough vitamin D from sunlight alone, particularly during winter and spring.

So a simple vitamin D tablet could help boost your energy levels – from within the cells.”

The study was published in the Journal of Endocrinology (Sinha et al., 2013).

Vitamin B12 is relatively high in foods including fish, poultry, eggs and low-fat milk.

“We found a strong relationship between high folate status and good cognitive function among people 60 and older who also had adequate levels of vitamin B12.”

• fruits,
• vegetables,
• chickpeas,
• lentils,
• liver,
• and whole-grains.

“People with normal vitamin B12 status performed better if their serum folate was high.But for people with low vitamin B12 status, high serum folate was associated with poor performance on the cognitive test.”

“For seniors, low vitamin B12 status and high serum folate was the worst combination.Specifically, anemia and cognitive impairment were observed nearly five times as often for people with this combination than among people with normal vitamin B12 and normal folate.”

“Our findings support the often-expressed idea that many seniors would benefit from more folate, but the research shows that we must look at the effects this would have on seniors with age-related vitamin B12 deficiency, who may be more numerous than once realized.”