The vitamin deficiency that looks like Alzheimer’s

Last year, my normally sunny, upbeat daughter was beset by anxiety and depression. Each phone call from college made me more and more worried.

I called her pediatrician to ask for advice.

“Is she taking B-12?”

“I don’t think so.”

“She should be. She’s been on the pill for six months. It’s probably wiping out her B-12 and it’s making her a little crazy.”

I didn’t take the time to ask why she hadn’t put my daughter on the vitamin to begin with. I overnighted a few bottles of B-12 to college. Within days, my daughter’s mood improved and continued to get better.

But it made me wonder: how many other people are walking around thinking they’re going crazy or seriously ill, when they’re really just vitamin deficient?

And if a deficiency can affect mental health this way, what other harm does it cause?

Who is at risk?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, almost 40 percent of people in this country have marginal Vitamin B-12 status (we’re not getting enough). Nine percent of us have a B12 deficiency.

You are at high risk for being Vitamin B-12 deficient if you:

• are over 50, since you are less able to produce intrinsic factor (a glycoprotein secreted by the stomach that enables the body to absorb Vitamin B-12)
• are a vegan or vegetarian, since B12 is consumed almost exclusively through animal products.
• drink alcohol regularly, since B-12 is stored in the liver.
• drink more than four cups of coffee a day
• have H. pylori, a common gut bacterium that causes ulcers. H. pylori destroys intrinsic factor.
• take metformin for diabetes or birth control pills for an extended period (both interfere with B12 absorption).
• have had weight loss surgery (gastric bypass).
• take antacids

Related: Seniors beware! They’re coming for your supplements

Why is B-12 important?

Vitamin B-12 is necessary for a range of bodily functions, including:

• producing adrenal hormones
• iron absorption
• formation of red blood cells
• nerve growth and function
• metabolizing fats and carbs
• blood circulation

How to tell if you’re not getting enough B12

The signs of a B12 deficiency can be pretty dramatic.  Here are six signs to watch for:

• A red, swollen, “beefy” tongue with fewer papillae (the bumps that contain your taste buds). See what else your tongue can reveal here.
• Blurry or double vision, or shadows in your field of vision (a sign of optic nerve damage)
• Feeling unstable or dizzy (low B-12 can mean insufficient oxygen in the blood)
• Memory loss that has no other apparent cause
• Yellow skin (jaundice), indicating a breakdown of red blood cells
• Pins and needles in hands, legs or feet (caused by nerve damage)

In addition, insufficient B-12 can result in mental health problems.

When there’s a shortage of B-12, the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine are suppressed. One is linked to the brain’s pleasure centers, while the other regulates mood.

The result of this chemical imbalance is often unexplained anxiousness and depression. If not corrected, low B-12 levels may lead to paranoia, delusions and hallucinations.

A B-12 deficiency is pretty easy to recognize if you know what you’re looking for. However, a blood test is the only way to confirm a deficiency, especially because it can mimic other conditions, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and depression.

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The problem with meat

The human body doesn’t manufacture B-12, and plants don’t produce it, either. That leaves animal products including meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products as the only food sources of the vitamin.

Getting enough B-12 is a real challenge for vegetarians, but even meat-eaters may not be getting as much as they think they are. This is largely due to the practices used in raising the cows and pigs that end up on our dinner plates.

Animals raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are fed an unnatural diet of corns and grains, rather than eating grass. The meat of these animals is poor in B-12 because they do not get the benefit of bacteria living in soil, which produce B-12 in animals.

In addition, many of these animals are routinely given antibiotics, which also have been shown to cause B-12 deficiency.

How to boost your B-12

Vitamin B-12 is readily available in supplement form. Most supplements come in the form of cyanocobalamin. As you can tell from the name, it contains a cyanide molecule. Cyanide is poisonous, and so your body needs to work to remove even this small, tolerable amount.

A better choice is methylcobalamin, the naturally occurring form of B-12. It too is available as a supplement, but many people opt for B-12 injections, especially if they do not absorb the vitamin well from food sources.

Adults age nineteen and up should get 2.4 micrograms (mcg) per day.  Vitamin B-12 is water-soluble, so whatever isn’t used is excreted, and there’s no worry about overdosing.

Some foods that are rich in B-12 are:

• Swiss cheese – 1 ½ oz. has 1.7 mcg
• Cottage cheese – 1 cup has 1.5 mcg
• Cooked liver – 2 ½ oz. has 66 mcg
• 2 ½ oz. cooked ground beef has 0.9 mcg
• 2 ½ oz. mussels has 18 mcg