Vitamin B12 is necessary to help your body make the red blood cells that transport oxygen through your veins. With a lack of B12, you may not have enough of these vital cells to take care of your needs. This is called vitamin B12 deficiency anemia. You may mistake vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms for the signs of everyday stress or aging.
In most cases, people get enough vitamin B12 through a healthy diet including meat, eggs, milk, and cheese, and the vitamin is effectively processed by your digestive system. Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia occurs when your stomach and intestines fail to absorb the vitamin properly from food.
Reasons for developing vitamin B12 deficiency anemia are varied. You may have pernicious anemia, whereby your body destroys the cells in your stomach that help absorb vitamin B12. Some surgical procedures can cause this anemia, including stomach surgery to assist in losing weight. You may have problems that affect the way your body digests food, such as celiac disease or Crohn's disease. Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia can also be caused by bacteria growth or a parasite in the intestine. Taking medicine for heartburn and ulcers over a long time period can also be a factor.
If you don't eat enough foods with B12 you can get deficiency anemia. However, this is not common and is most frequently found in people who eat a restricted or vegan diet.
