THE ESSENTIAL
- Vitamins are substances without energy value but which are essential for the body because they participate in various physiological processes such as vision, blood clotting, muscular, nervous, immune systems, etc.
- According to ANSES, neurological manifestations decrease when a deficient person takes vitamin B12, but most often the sequelae persist.
It takes 4 micrograms (mcg) per day of vitamin B12 for men and women 18 years and older, according to theNational Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses). Thus, when a person’s needs are not met, there is a risk of deficiency. That’s what happened to 33-year-old Carly Minsky.
Typical symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency
According health insurance, deficient people can suffer from anemia, that is to say an abnormal drop in the level of hemoglobin in the blood. There are various symptoms including paleness, shortness of breath, chronic fatigue, palpitations, headache, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, remembering, reading, lack of motivation, lack of drive and difficulty carrying out activities usual, etc.
But, according to ANSES, a vitamin B12 deficiency can also impact the brain and spinal cord, with neurological damage and motor disorders. Finally, some patients also suffer from irritability, memory and mood disorders.
“I started to feel very tired […]explains Carly Minsky at Daily Mail. It wasn’t just fatigue, it was extreme fatigue“. She experienced these symptoms a year after starting a vegetarian diet, no meat or fish, but with cheese, eggs and milk.”I went on like this for six years, not knowing what was wrong, and in 2020 I could barely walk I was so exhausted”, she continues.
Vitamin B12 in food or supplements to avoid deficiencies
Worried about these symptoms, the young woman consults her doctor who prescribes blood tests. She then discovers that she suffers from a severe vitamin B12 deficiency. “My GP told me I was at the bottom of the scale and needed immediate B12 injections, she indicates. It was a huge shock. I had no idea I was making myself so sick“.
In the diet, vitamin B12 is mainly found in organ meats, fish, eggs, meat, milk and other dairy products. According to ANSES, “vitamin B12 deficiency is therefore particularly common among vegans”.
To ensure that she was no longer deficient, Carly Minsky received vitamin injections every other day for six weeks. Since then, she has remained a vegetarian but must take vitamin B12 food supplements.