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