Studies have shown that as many as 40% of the entire population experiences B 12 vitamin deficiency.
So who is at a high risk of a vitamin B-12 deficiency?
- Vegetarians are at higher risks due to the fact that strict vegetarian diets do not consume foods that are rich in vitamin B-12 such as fish, meat, eggs, milk and milk products and other foods rich in B 12.
- Exposure to nitrous Oxide which oxides and inactivates B-12 in animals and people. Nitrous oxide from catalytic converters in cars is all around us, found in synthetic fertilizers, laughing gas and anesthethia.
- People who are bulimic or suffer from anorexia nervosa
- Gastric bypass surgery, atropic gastritis
- Diabetics, Scleroderma, Strictures and Diverticula all are conditions that slow movement of food through the system which may allow an overgrowth of bacteria that steals vitamin B-12 for it’s own growth.
- Medications that interfere with the absorption of B 12
- Pre-existing lower intestine problems that interfere with proper vitamin absorption
- the intrinsic factor, also known as pernicious anemia or gastric intrinsic factor (GIF) who cannot absorb B-12 through the wall of the small intestines or gastrointestinal tract and must by pass the digestive system.
- Age is also a factor in poor absorption of B-12 which may be associated with dementia
- Hereditary factors
- Alcohol and drug abuse