Low-Normal Levels of B12 Can Be Dangerous to Your Health!

You probably have heard of Vitamin B12 and know how important it is to your health. B12 plays a key role in creating and maintaining all of the cells in your body. It is especially important to the oxygen carrying red blood cells. B12 is also important in the creation and maintenance of a number of enzymes that are important in ensuring that your body functions properly.

B12 deficiency is a serious and sometimes life threatening problem that can cause pernicious anemia or Biermer's disease. It is accompanied by numerous health issues including a rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, fatigue, low blood pressure, a pallor and mental confusion. Additionally, neurological issues also accompany B12 deficiency. If caught early enough the neurological symptoms are reversible, but left untreated they may become permanent.

While B12 deficiency symptoms are fairly well known, you may not be aware that simply having low levels of b12, even if they are not low enough to be considered b12 deficiency can also be harmful to your health. In fact, most experts agree that symptoms begin to display themselves when your B12 levels reach the "low-normal" range.

Moderately low levels of B12 can be reflected in your bodies homocysteine levels. Homocysteine is a toxic amino acid that has a number of roles in the body. It does not cause problems at low levels but elevated levels of homocysteine have been shown to cause cardiovascular disease as well has a host of other health issues. If you have homocysteinemia (elevated homocysteine levels) you are very likely to develop heart disease at some point in the future. Homocysteine levels have been shown to increase in the absence of adequate B12. It has been shown that supplementing with a B12 shot can work to lower homocysteine levels by breaking down this amino acid into other amino acids that the body can use more efficiently.

If you are young and physically active, having high levels of homocysteine is not all that risky. However, it is a serious issue for older people because they are much more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

While most of us get more than enough B12 in our diets, many people have difficulty with the absorption of B12. This becomes more of a problem as we age, because our levels of intrinsic factor decrease when we get older. Intrinsic factor is produced in the stomach and combines with B12 in the small intestines and works to complete the absorption process.