One of the B complex vitamins, Vitamin B12 is usually associated with metabolism. However, it has other functions independent of the other B complex vitamins. One of its functions is that it regulates the production of new and healthy red blood cells. But, what may not be known to many is that the vitamin is essential for keeping the nervous system healthy. In fact, when Vitamin B12 deficiency is left untreated, it can cause permanent nerve damage.
So how does Vitamin B12 help keep the nervous system healthy? The vitamin helps keep the nervous system healthy by building myelin sheaths around the nerves. Made up of protein and fatty substances, myelin has three main important functions. It protects the nerve fiber, provides insulation of the nerve fiber, and increases the rate of conduction of nerve impulses. Just think of myelin as the coating on the external part of electrical wires. If myelin is damaged, the transmission of nerve impulses slows down, and this can lead to various diseases. This means that insufficient levels of the vitamin in the body affect the building of myelin sheaths, which then results to nervous system disorders.
When nerve damage takes place as a result of Vitamin B12 deficiency, a person may experience numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, loss of balance, and confusion. Untreated deficiency of the vitamin may also lead to neurodegenerative progressive disorders, which CDC describes as rapidly progressive and always fatal.
The thing about Vitamin B12 deficiency is that its symptoms may appear only after several years, or they can be so mild that they are left unnoticed. The common signs of the deficiency of the vitamin include pale skin, swollen tongue, and rapid pulse.
Moreover, there are groups of people who are more likely to develop Vitamin B12 deficiency. These are the elderly, vegans, and those who have digestive disorders such as atrophic gastritis. To prevent nerve damage caused by Vitamin B12 deficiency, a person's diet should include animal foods such as beef liver, shellfish, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products. Vitamin B12 liquid drops supplementation is also important especially for the vegans and the elderly: vegans do not eat animal foods, which are the primary sources of the vitamin, and the levels of the vitamin diminish as a person grows older.
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