Vitamin B12 , or cobalamin, is a very important vitamin for health. In fact, both its excess and its deficiency can cause us serious problems. But what is vitamin B12?

But what is vitamin B12?

It is a substance discovered in 1948, when doctors were trying to investigate the causes of pernicious anemia. It is therefore part of the eight B vitamins, and like the other B vitamins it is water-soluble. This means that the body does not accumulate it in large quantities, but it is necessary to take it daily. Today we also know that a small part of vitamin B12 is produced in the intestine thanks to some bacteria .

This vitamin is in fact essential for the production of red blood cells, and its deficiency can lead to the development of megaloblastic anemia (hence the pernicious), but not only.
Nervous system disorders called neuropathies can also occur .

Among the symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency we find fatigue, lethargy, drowsiness, difficulty walking, headache, abnormal heartbeat, depression, memory problems, shortness of breath.

Sometimes the effects of vitamin B12 deficiency are irreversible. The elderly may be deficient, people with intestinal diseases or disorders that block assimilation (Chron’s disease, for example or intestinal malabsorption syndrome), people who follow a vegan diet, people with hypochlorhydria, a deficiency of stomach acid typical of hypothyroid patients, for example.

But having high vitamin B12 is also not a good sign. High levels of vitamin B12 are related to an increased risk of fatal diseases, including severe cardiovascular, liver and kidney disease. Probably because the excess is a consequence of impaired function of these organs.
Let’s see where vitamin B12 is found and what is recommended for those who follow a diet lacking in foods that are naturally rich in it. ( CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 )