3 things you may not know about B12 deficiency

I want to share the case of a young woman I began working with this year. She was very anxious because she was began to experience numbness on one side of her body one morning. During the call, we determined that her trigger was the onset of work related stress over the course of the last year. Based on the conversation, I suspected she may be experiencing the symptoms of B12 deficiency. 

Signs and symptoms of B12 Deficiency:

• Fatigue
• Numbness and tingling hands and feet
• Depression 
• Poor memory
• Anemia
• Anxiety

Vitamin B12, a water-soluble vitamin, is essential in producing red blood cells, DNA synthesis, and normal nerve function. If you suspect you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, it's important to consider the following three things : 

• Your consumption
• Your absorption
• How you store B12 

1.Consumption

 A while back, I interviewed Chris Masterjohn, and he mentioned how he suddenly felt anxious two years into practicing a plant-based diet. The anxiety he felt that time might be attributed to the lack of B12 since he held off from eating any animal by-product. 

Remember, B12 is found in animal products such as eggs, meat, dairy. If you're a vegan, it's crucial to find ways to supplement to avoid deficiencies.

2. Absorption 

Having B12 deficiency may mean reduced stomach acids. Reduced acids in the gut should be looked into as it may indicate a more serious health condition. What does impaired B12 absorption mean? It can be a sign of autoimmune disease,s IBS (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), effects of Bariatric surgery, fish tapeworm infection, or using certain drugs to treat other graver conditions.

3. Storage

Another factor to consider is Liver Disease, which disrupts how you store B12 in your body.   

Always remember supplementation is like a band-aid solution. You will need to dig in and investigate why these deficiencies are manifesting. Addressing the core issue is always the best way to improve your condition. 

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Want to listen to this episode? Scroll down to listen or read the transcript of Episode #149 of the Less Stressed Life podcast.

Okay. I just got off the phone with a girl who was thinking about becoming a client. And one of her main complaints was anxiety, but she also woke up one morning with numbness on half of her body. So this all came after kind of significant onset of stress in her job, both in 20, 20 and beyond. And so essentially what happens is I think she had probably has a B12 deficiency. Now let's talk about what the signs and symptoms are of a B12 deficiency and why this was like a dead ringer. And then also why a B12 deficiency is not just a B12 deficiency. So symptoms of B12 deficiency include fatigue, like serious, ugly. You have a cloud over you fatigue. And then some other really common ones are numbness and tingling in the hands and the feet, but here are some other potentials. So just having poor memory and depression as a co-factor and also anemia. So how do we absorb and use B12? Essentially, we need to be able to break down animal proteins or animal products with good stomach acid and absorb with intrinsic factor and take into the body. So there's a lot of reasons that this doesn't happen. Once upon a time, I had interviewed Chris master John, and he talked about how he was plant-based or vegan for awhile, and then two years into it, he became very anxious. And so in vegan diets, there's no animal proteins. So there's actually no source of B12. Naturally they need to take B12 exogenously or through a supplement, but also there's issues with, if you don't break down proteins, which if you're having a B12 issue, you probably have an issues with proteins and minerals as well. And so if you're not breaking those down, you're not getting amino acids, which are the backbone to neuro-transmitters. So it's really gonna affect what's going on in your neuro and your mood and et cetera. So neuropathies and numbness and tingling are a really significant sign of B12 issues. And I've also seen this with other 30 somethings. I remember this other girl said, I think her dad had had a heart attack, young Munis, forties or fifties. And she said, I just was afraid I was having, you know, something like that. So sources of B12 include again, animal products, right? All types of meats, eggs, milk, milk products. So B12 is essential for red blood cell production and iron function. But I want to talk about why it's so darn common. And I would say it's extremely common. So again, it's absorbed in the small intestine once from those animal products. And so your diet will make a difference. It's very common as people age, but if I see a B12 deficiency, I'm usually thinking, Oh, you have gut issues. Because if you're having reduced stomach acid, which is a whole topic in itself, and you're not breaking down proteins or animal products and absorbing them, then you're going to have low B12. So I love to see a low B12. I'd love to see it on paper, but it's not the real root cause. It's actually the sign of something bigger. So what about B12 supplementation? Well, in this girl's case, she has high anxiety. So she needs a particular type of B12. I have seen in practice that using sublingual B12 or a liquid under the tongue, where you absorbed through the gums is a lot more efficient and faster than trying to take a capsule or a lozenge. It just seems to be more effective. My clients say, so I tend to go that way. And I pick the form depending on anxiety or not anxiety. So if you're a little more prone to anxiety that don't a hydroxy, B12 is a little bit better, but it's a little bit more expected sensitive than the methyl cobalamin in conventional. You can have B12 tested. It does have a big reference range. I think it's like 300 to a thousand or 300 to 1200. And so since it's so big, I would just recommend if it's trending low, it doesn't hurt to like experiment with it. B12 is a water-soluble vitamin. So not really risk for overdose technically. So hope that helps just want to share a little clinical Pearl. You know, I've really spent some time reflecting on my own phases of burnout this year and past years. And I know I'm not the only one that has gone through or goes through these peaks and valleys. And while sometimes you need Lowe's to appreciate the highs in life. Some valleys are pretty difficult for both your mind and your body in a very literal physical way. This year, I'm feeling really pulled to help others work through burnout, nourish their adrenals, mind, body, and spirit, and have some incredible things in store to help you feel refreshed and renewed. I invite you to take my quiz. Are you approaching burnout to assess your stress resilience and find out more about how to help you overcome it? Go to Krista bigler.com forward slash burnout to take that quiz. And it'll also be in the show notes.