B12 anemia

Vitamin B12 anemia, one of the many types of anemia, is known as Pernicious Anemia. If you are suffering from anemia, it means your body has insufficient healthy red blood cells.

What causes vitamin B12 anemia? B12 anemia in adults occurs when the digestive tract is unable to absorb vitamin B12. It forms a normal part of our diet. B12 is vital for red blood cells production, and to maintain the body nervous system as well. It is widely found in meat, dairy products, and fish.

B12 anemia causes:

What causes B12 anemia? Crohn's disease can cause B12 anemia. A chronic disease which causes inflammation, it affects any portion of our gastrointestinal tract.

Another cause: stomach lining fails to produce the intrinsic factor. What is intrinsic factor? Stomach lining produced a chemical known as intrinsic factor.

This chemical is then combined in the small intestine with B12 vitamin. Intrinsic factor production is blocked when there is an auto-immune disorder.
Those who are on a strict vegetarian diet are at risk because their diet does not include dairy products, eggs, fish and meat. Removal of small intestine, damage caused to the pancreas (pancreas not functioning properly), liver or stomach (surgical removal) can cause B12 anemia.

Poor absorption of vitamin B12 by your due to parasites or bacteria presence in the small intestine is one of the B12 anemia causes. These interfere with the absorption of food.

B12 anemia symptoms

What are the B12 anemia symptoms? The symptoms are changes to personality and depression, jaundice, confusion, tingling and numbness in the feet and hands, and equilibrium difficulties.

External links
WebMD: b12 anemia