This stash can actually meet the body’s needs for a few years although vitamin B12 is essential, only a tiny bit is needed every day. The processed vitamin is then absorbed by the small intestine and stored in the body, especially in the liver. Once you ingest vitamin B12, it is processed by acids and enzymes in the stomach and small intestine. Experts have estimated that a Western diet contains 5-7 micrograms of vitamin B12, and a multivitamin often contains 12-25 micrograms. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin B12 for adults is 2.4 micrograms. However, in modern times, you can easily get it via a supplement or multivitamin. In nature, vitamin B12 is available to humans only in meat and dairy products. To understand how low vitamin B12 levels happen in aging adults, it’s good to start by learning how the body usually obtains and processes this vitamin. Why Low Vitamin B12 Levels Are Common in Older Adults This often causes anemia, but sometimes symptoms of nerve and brain problems occur first. But in fact, the term “pernicious anemia” means a specific vitamin B12 deficiency caused by the loss of a body’s ability to make “intrinsic factor.” The body needs intrinsic factor to absorb vitamin B12 without it, vitamin B12 levels eventually drop. You may have heard that vitamin B12 deficiency can cause pernicious anemia. This can cause memory problems, irritability, and even dementia. This means that nerve cells in the brain are not working well. This can cause a variety of symptoms, including tingling, numbness, burning, poor balance, and walking difficulties. This means that nerves in the body are not working well. (Learn more about anemia here: Anemia in the Older Adult: 10 Common Causes & What to Ask.) The breakdown of faulty red blood cells can also cause jaundice.

Red blood cells carry oxygen in the blood, so anemia can cause fatigue or shortness of breath. This means the red blood cell count is low. The most common problems related to low vitamin B12 levels include : When vitamin B12 levels are low, a person can develop health problems related to red blood cells and nerve cells malfunctioning. In the body, vitamin B12 – also known as cobalamin - is especially vital to making red blood cells, and maintaining proper function of nerve cells. Treatment is safe and effective, as long as you catch the problem before permanent damage occurs.

Geriatricians also like to pay attention to vitamin B12 because a deficiency can cause - or usually worsen - cognitive impairment or walking problems.īut if you know the symptoms and risk factors, you can help ensure that you get a vitamin B12 deficiency detected. But vitamin B12 deficiency stands out because a) it’s very common - experts have estimated that up to 20% of older adults may be low in this vitamin - and b) it’s often missed by doctors. Whereas vitamin B12 deficiency does develop in many older adults who are getting their recommended daily allowance.)Ī deficiency in any vitamin can be catastrophic for health. (Second on my list would be vitamin D, but it’s much harder to develop low vitamin D levels if you take a daily supplement, as I explain in this post. If there’s one vitamin that I’d like all older adults and family caregivers to know more about, it would be vitamin B12. If you wish to comment on product selection, pricing, ordering, delivery or other issues, please contact our customer service.Everyone knows that vitamins and nutrition are important for health, and many older adults take a multivitamin.īut did you know that even among older persons who do this, many still end up developing a serious deficiency in one particular vitamin? We reserve the right to remove non-compliant reviews language.

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1000 mcg b12