Iron and vitamin B-12 facilitate critical functions in the body, so their absorption is crucial to prevent deficiencies and illnesses. Several factors can negatively affect absorption. Calcium and other nutrients can have a poor effect on iron absorption, and certain medications and medical diagnoses can inhibit B-12 absorption.
Why am I unable to absorb B12?
You may also be more likely to develop vitamin B12 deficiency if you have:
- Atrophic gastritis, in which your stomach lining has thinned
- Pernicious anemia, which makes it hard for your body to absorb vitamin B12
- Conditions that affect your small intestine, such as Crohn's disease, celiac disease, bacterial growth, or a parasite
- Immune system disorders, such as Graves' disease or lupus
How to improve the absorption of B12?
What Helps B-12 Absorption?
- Pepsin. In food, vitamin B-12 is bound to protein. ...
- Intrinsic Factor. Intrinsic factor is a protein produced by cells in your stomach lining. ...
- Sublingual B-12. Some individuals do not produce enough acid, pepsin or intrinsic factor to digest sufficient amounts of B-12 from their diet.
- Injections. ...
- Risks. ...
What helps B-12 absorption?
Absorption of Vitamin B12:
- Supplements: Take dietary supplement daily if your food is not rich in vitamin. ...
- Diet: • Include poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs and meat in your diet. ...
- Alcohol: Reduce intake of alcohol to one serving for females and only two for males as prescribed or recommended per day.
What are the warning signs of a B12 deficiency?
Top Warning Signs of B12 Deficiency
- Tiredness. If you often feel exhausted, regardless of how much sleep you’ve gotten or how much energy you’ve exerted, it could be a sign that your body is lacking ...
- Mood swings. Do you find yourself experiencing a variety of emotions throughout any given day? ...
- It may result in depression. ...
- Digestive issues. ...
- Inflammation of the mouth and tongue. ...
- Insomnia. ...
What causes decreased absorption of vitamin B12?
Digestive diseases: Diseases that affect the digestive system, like Crohn's disease and celiac disease, can prevent your body from fully absorbing vitamin B12. Surgery: People who have gastrointestinal surgery, such as a gastric bypass (weight loss surgery), can have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12.
What helps vitamin B12 absorb?
Vitamin B12 gets absorbed in the stomach, thanks to a protein known as intrinsic factor. This chemical attaches to the vitamin B12 molecule, allowing it to enter the bloodstream and cells more easily.
Why is B12 so hard to absorb?
Reasons for Insufficient Vitamin B-12 Absorption People who can't absorb vitamin B-12 have either low levels of stomach acid, which your body needs to separate bound vitamin B-12 that occurs naturally in foods, or cannot produce a protein called intrinsic factor.
What foods to avoid if you have B12 deficiency?
There are certain foods that also need a cut-down in case of vitamin B12 deficiency. “Some foods and drinks can interfere with vitamin B complex intake like alcohol, caffeine and processed foods, etc should be avoided completely,” Shah added.
Does caffeine stop B12 absorption?
Furthermore, caffeine interferes with the metabolism of certain B vitamins, including thiamine. However, because caffeine increases stomach acid secretion, it actually boosts the absorption of vitamin B12.
How do you know if your body is not absorbing B12?
Pale or yellow skin. Another sign that can indicate B12 deficiency is pale or yellow skin. Like the condition called iron deficiency anemia, anemia related to B12 deficiency may make your skin pale due to a lack of fully-matured, healthy red blood cells in the body ( 2 ).
What is the fastest way to fix B12 deficiency?
How to raise your B12 levels fast. The most common way to treat B12 deficiencies is by adjusting your diet. If this is unsuccessful, vitamin supplements may be recommended. If you're looking to boost the amount of vitamin B12 in your diet, you should eat more animal products, like meat, seafood, dairy and eggs.
How do you increase vitamin B absorption?
Foods That Support Vitamin B Absorption Fortunately, folate, or folic acid, helps your body absorb vitamin B-12 — so load up on spinach and dark green salads if you must take any of these medications.
What enzyme helps absorb B12?
In order to absorb dietary B12 in the small intestine, we need adequate stomach acid, the enzyme pepsin, and a gastric protein called intrinsic factor.
How does B12 absorption change?
There are also several genetic alterations that can alter your b12 absorption. A SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) known as FUT can both increase and decrease b12 absorption depending on which version of this SNP you have. The exact mechanism of how it changes b12 absorption is no clear but it is thought to be linked with both the prevalence of H. Pyloi infection and by default intrinsic factor production. Another genetic factor in b12 absorption is pernicious anemia. This is an autoimmune disorder where the body produces antibodies against intrinsic factor. This means the b12 cannot be transported from the intestines into the body.
What is the role of B12 in the digestive system?
Many digestive problem can lead to reduced absorption or malabsorption of all kinds f vitamins and minerals but specifically b vitamins. B12 has to be released from the food you eat and is done by the enzymes and acids in the digestive tract. Once mobilized b12 needs help to be absorbed. A special transporter called intrinsic factor is needed for b12. Such a delicate process can easily be interrupted and often is.
What medications lower B12 levels?
The main medications to be aware of are acid blocking and reducing medications like prilosec (omeprazole), ranitidine, zantac, Pepcid, nexium, etc.
What causes inflammation in the digestive system?
Inflammation in the digestive cells will interfere with this process. Obvious digestive health problems like celiac’s Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis cause inflammation. Other less known causes of inflammation can also do this like bacterial overgrowth ( SIBO ), candida overgrowth, food sensitives, etc.
How much alcohol can lower B12 levels?
A study in nature showed that consumption of 1.5-3 drinks over the course of 8 weeks did decrease serum b12 levels by about 5 %. Here is the article related to alcohol and b12. .
Does coffee deplete B vitamins?
They found that the people with the highest levels of B12, tended to deplete b vitamins most. Those with lower levels of circulating B vitamins did not excrete as much. So the affect of coffee on B vitamin excretion is more pronounced the higher your levels of B vitamins are starting from. There are other studies that found coffee drinkers tend to have higher homocysteine levels which is a surrogate marker for b12 (and folate) deficiency.
Does caffeine increase B12?
Caffeine will increase the excretion of your B12 and other B vitamins. I have long been telling patients this but wanted to see if I could find research article supporting this. I did find a supporting article which you can read here .
Pepsin
In food, vitamin B-12 is bound to protein. Your body uses pepsin, an enzyme, to break protein into its component amino acids. The release of pepsin is stimulated by a gastric substance called hydrochloric acid. Pepsin is one of three enzymes that help digest protein, the other two being trypsin and chymotrypsin.
Intrinsic Factor
Intrinsic factor is a protein produced by cells in your stomach lining. It is needed for your intestines to absorb B-12. After B-12 is released by hydrochloric acid and pepsin, pancreatic enzymes bind to B-12 for further digestion, then release B-12 for intrinsic factor to bind to it, which then transports it to your bloodstream.
Sublingual B-12
Some individuals do not produce enough acid, pepsin or intrinsic factor to digest sufficient amounts of B-12 from their diet. Sublingual B-12 is available as a dietary supplement and is designed to bypass stomach digestion.
Injections
If you have pernicious anemia, it is a lifelong condition. Your body is unable to digest B-12 from the food you eat, making it necessary to supplement. Your doctor will primarily prescribe B-12 injections, which are injected into your muscle and are quickly absorbed into your bloodstream.
Risks
Because B-12 absorption depends on gastric acids and special enzymes, you increase your risk of developing B-12 deficiency if you consume alcohol frequently, which can destroy these enzymes. Stomach surgeries compromise your ability to absorb B-12 efficiently as well.
Why is it important to know how your body absorbs vitamin B-12?
It is important to be aware of how your body absorbs vitamin B-12, as this knowledge can help you make an informed decision about the amount of alcohol you consume.
What foods can cause anemia?
Your best sources of vitamin B-12 are animal products such as beef, dairy, shellfish, salmon and eggs.
What is the best vitamin for anemia?
Vitamin B-12 is an essential nutrient you need for two enzymatic reactions in the body. If you are deficient in vitamin B-12 , these enzymatic reactions cannot occur, which could lead to a buildup of a compound called homocysteine. An increase in homocysteine is associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Additionally, if a vitamin B-12 deficiency is severe, megaloblastic anemia can occur. Your best sources of vitamin B-12 are animal products such as beef, dairy, shellfish, salmon and eggs. The daily recommended intake of vitamin B-12 for healthy adults is 2.4 micrograms.
What happens when alcohol is negatively affected?
When intrinsic factor is negatively affect by alcohol, your body will not be able to absorb sufficient amounts of this nutrient, leading to vitamin B-12 deficiency. Advertisement.
Does alcohol affect your stomach?
Alcohol’s Effect on the Stomach. Most people enjoy drinking alcohol, but even moderate amounts of alcohol consumption can have negative effects on the amount of vitamin B-12 you absorb. Moderate-to-severe chronic alcohol consumption can have damaging effects on your stomach lining, causing a condition called atrophic gastritis, ...
Overview
Vitamin B-12 (cobalamin) plays an essential role in red blood cell formation, cell metabolism, nerve function and the production of DNA, the molecules inside cells that carry genetic information.
Evidence
Research on the use of vitamin B-12 for specific activities and conditions shows:
Our take
Most people get enough vitamin B-12 from a balanced diet. However, older adults, vegetarians, vegans and people who have conditions that affect their ability to absorb vitamin B-12 from foods might benefit from the use of oral supplements.
Safety and side effects
When taken at appropriate doses, vitamin B-12 supplements are generally considered safe. While the recommended daily amount of vitamin B-12 for adults is 2.4 micrograms, higher doses have been found to be safe. Your body absorbs only as much as it needs, and any excess passes through your urine.
Interactions
Aminosalicylic acid (Paser). Taking this drug used to treat digestive problems might reduce your body's ability to absorb vitamin B-12.
Do multivitamins have enough B12?
Getting enough B12 from a multivitamin may to be fraught with problems for everyone. Most multivitamins do not have enough B12 to prevent or correct a deficiency. And many standard multivitamins contain B12 “analogs” that cannot even be used by the body.
Does B12 cause burning feet?
B12 deficiency is so very common. As a Michigan foot doctor, I see patients with burning/numb feet on a regular basis, and though sometimes it can be indicative of a much bigger problem, I’m surprised by how often the burning sensation is mitigated when a patient begins taking a vitamin B complex.
Does vitamin C convert to B12?
There is even some evidence that vitamin C in a multivitamin may convert the B12 in the vitamin to a harmful analog. Most multivitamins contain high folic acid compared to the amount of B12 (even though these two B vitamins are co-factors.) Without enough B12 you cannot metabolize folic acid.
Is vitamin B12 good for diabetics?
Vitamin B12 is important, I know as my husband who is diabetic takes shots every month. I can see that deficiency affects his moods and over all mental state.
Are you at risk of vitamin B 12 deficiency?
There are many causes for vitamin B 12 deficiency. Surprisingly, two of them are practices often undertaken to improve health: a vegetarian diet and weight-loss surgery.
How do you know if you are not getting enough B12?
Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency. Because the decline is so gradual, people usually don’t realize that they’re not getting enough vitamin B12 until they begin experiencing the warning symptoms- which often arrive only when depletion is severe. Warning signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include: Constant fatigue.
What foods contain B12?
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) occurs naturally in many foods that most people eat every day; lean beef, poultry, organ meats, fish, shellfish, eggs, and dairy products all contain generous amounts of vitamin B12- enough to avoid becoming deficient. However, there are certain medications that may interfere with your ability to extract vitamin B12 from ...
Does oral contraceptive lower vitamin B12?
Oral contraceptives – oral contraceptives with high estrogen content leads to decreased levels of vitamin B12.
Is vitamin B12 easy to get?
Vita Sciences. Vitamin B12 is a lot easier to get than people realize- if you take the following medications, you may be susceptible to severe vitamin B12 deficiency, even if you include plenty of B12-rich foods in your diet. Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) occurs naturally in many foods that most people eat every day; lean beef, poultry, organ meats, ...
