wrongdoctors

Many people suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency but are unaware of the problem. There are a whole slew of symptoms that can pop up due to not getting enough vitamin B12, including:

• Pernicious anemia (or severe anemia)
• Loss of appetite
• Brittle nails
• Weakness and fatigue
• Nausea
• Weight loss
• Headaches
• Exhaustion
• Night time leg cramps
• Problems sleeping
• Tingling in hands and feet
• Irregular heartbeat
• Problems concentrating
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Other nervous, digestive or neurological disorders

While you might experience these severe symptoms if you are deficient in vitamin B12, it's entirely possible to be deficient and not realize it. If you notice that your body is not operating up to par or you're just feeling "under the weather," these may point to a B12 deficiency as well.

The only way to know for sure if you have a B12 deficiency is have your doctor run a series of blood tests. There are many over-the-counter vitamin deficiency tests available on the market, but only a blood test run by your doctor will tell you for sure if you have a vitamin deficiency.

Vitamin B12 is important.

Avoiding vitamin B12 deficiency can be as easy as changing your diet or taking a supplement, but sometimes you may have a more serious problem that diet and supplementation will not help treat. As always, if you have questions or concerns about your health, you should contact your doctor or other health care provider immediately. They are the only people who can accurately gauge your situation and come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan.

That said, people can often treat their vitamin deficiencies with simple changes to their diet. In the case of vitamin B12, you have several choices: taking a supplement in pill form, or eating foods that are rich in vitamin B12.

Vitamin supplements are a fast and easy way to get more nutrients into your diet. You can go to almost any grocery store these days and pick up a bottle. If you aren't sure which to get, talk to your health care provider about which brand and dosage they recommend. Remember: you're not doing yourself any favors by taking too much vitamin B12, and in fact you can suffer adverse side effects if you overdose. A doctor or registered dietician can help you decide which supplement is best for you, and how much you should take.

The best way to get more B12 into your body is by eating a healthy diet. When you get your vitamins from food, you get the benefit of thesynergistic effects of whatever you're eating. This means that all of the compounds in the food - including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fats – all work together to make sure your body absorbs these compounds more efficiently. Taking a supplement is easy, but nothing is more effective than good, old fashioned healthy food.

Here are some foods you can eat that are high in B12:

• Shellfish
• Fish
• Red meat
• Fortified cereals
• Liver
• Yogurt

If you want to know more about vitamin B12 deficiencies, there is lots of information available to help you learn more. Here are a few links that will help you in your research.

• The National Institutes of Health talks about foods that are high in vitamin B12 and how you can supplement your diet in the most healthy way.
• WebMD talks about severe anemia as it relates to B12 deficiency.
• More information about B12 from the Mayo Clinic.