Dr. Oz B12 Deficiency; Dr. Oz investigates how a vitamin B12 deficiency can age you. Find out how to get more Vitamin B12 into your diet to help you feel younger and healthier. You could be missing the superhero of vitamins. Dr. Oz has the latest information on America’s big deficiency. Turn back the clock with nature’s secret weapon! Could this be your fountain of youth?
Insufficient B12 levels can lead to deep fatigue, mood changes, and dementia-like qualities, preventing you from feeling your best and performing at your highest energy level. In the long term, an unchecked vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to permanent nerve damage, which is why it’s important to catch it early. Joining Dr. Oz today is Dr. Katz
Vitamin B12 is naturally found in some foods (animal foods like seafood, poultry, beef, pork and dairy products are the most reliable sources), added to others (like fortified breakfast cereal) and available as a dietary supplement or prescription medication.
Symptoms Of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Dr. Oz's 5 Questions you need to ask yourself to know if you may be B12 Deficient
- 1. Do You Suffer From An Over All Lack Of Energy
- 2. Have You Noticed Any Unusual Mood Changes
- 3. Do You Have Difficulty Concentrating Or Remembering Things
- 4. Have You Noticed Tingling Or Numbness In Hands Or Feet
- 5. Has Your Tongue Become Inflamed (look beefy red)
If you answered yes to any of these questions, Dr. Oz said you might have a vitamin B12 Deficiency.
Dr. oz and Dr. Katz went over some of the reasons why you could become vitamin B12 deficient. You could be vitamin B12 deficient because of medications you are taking. Aspirin can irritate the stomach lining and cause B12 deficiency along with medications to reduce stomach acid such as proton pump inhibitors as well as Metformin for diabetes.
Dr. Katz says their not exactly sure why metformin causes B12 deficiency, it somehow has an effect on the intestines and absorption. He went on today that using aspirin, proton pumps or metformin - a combination of these could lead to B12 deficiency.
B12 and folate work together and the real issue with folic acid is that if you have enough folic acid it will mask the effects of B12 deficiency that your doctor would ordinarily see on a blood test. Your blood test will look fine, the problem is it will not fix the effects of B12 on the nervous system. So one of the things that can happen is if your getting lots of folate either from your diet or supplement is B12 deficiency can progress all the way up to effects on the brain causing a dementia syndrome that as noted can mimic alzheimers.
The problem with that is that there is a point that vitamin B12 deficiency is no longer fully reversible. If you don't find it within the first months or a couple of years some of those effects on cognition can persist. A real concern that folate at times may mask B12 deficiency says Dr. Katz.
Naturally occurring folate in foods won't do that because your body won't absorb it, it's the fortified food sources as well as supplements. Dr. Oz said that if you have dementia in your family B12 is something that ought to be checked in that person. Dr. Oz says age is a major risk factor in B12 deficiency and has to do with several factors and it has to do with stomach acid, as we age we don't secrete as much stomach acid. Stomach acid is a key part in how we break off B12 from animal proteins. 30% of people over the age 50 don't secrete enough acid to get all the B12 they need from their diet. Read More On your best sources to boost your vitamin B12 Levels.
