![]() A deficiency in vitamin B 12 may be characterized by limb neuropathy or a blood disorder called pernicious anemia, a type of megaloblastic anemia, causing a feeling of tiredness and weakness, lightheadedness, headache, breathlessness, loss of appetite, abnormal sensations, changes in mobility, severe joint pain, muscle weakness, memory problems, decreased level of consciousness, brain fog, and many others. The diets of vegetarians and vegans may not provide sufficient B 12 unless a dietary supplement is consumed. For the same reason, people on long-term antacid therapy, using proton-pump inhibitors, H 2 blockers or other antacids are at increased risk. A second major cause is age-related decline in stomach acid production ( achlorhydria), because acid exposure frees protein-bound vitamin. The most common cause of vitamin B 12 deficiency in developed countries is impaired absorption due to a loss of gastric intrinsic factor (IF) which must be bound to a food-source of B 12 in order for absorption to occur. ![]() They are taken by mouth, but for the treatment of deficiency may also be given as an intramuscular injection. Supplements and medications are available to treat and prevent vitamin B 12 deficiency. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with the vitamin. Foods containing vitamin B 12 include meat, clams, liver, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. Most people in developed countries get enough B 12 from the consumption of meat or foods with animal sources. Only some archaea and bacteria can synthesize vitamin B 12. Vitamin B 12 is the most chemically complex of all vitamins, and for humans, the only vitamin that must be sourced from animal-derived foods or from supplements. Plants do not need cobalamin and carry out the reactions with enzymes that are not dependent on it. ![]() It is important in the normal functioning of the nervous system via its role in the synthesis of myelin, and in the circulatory system in the maturation of red blood cells in the bone marrow. ![]() It is required by animals, which use it as a cofactor in DNA synthesis, and in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. Vitamin B 12, also known as cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin involved in metabolism. ![]()
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