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Anemia and pernicious anemia
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Loss of balance
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Numbness or tingling in the arms and legs
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Weakness” 20
“Are you at risk? There are many causes for vitamin B12 deficiency. Surprisingly, two of them are practices often undertaken to improve health: a vegetarian diet and weight-loss surgery.
Plants don’t make vitamin B12. The only foods that deliver it are meat, eggs, poultry, dairy products, and other foods from animals. Strict vegetarians and vegans are at high risk for developing a B12 deficiency if they don’t eat grains that have been fortified with the vitamin or take a vitamin supplement.
Recognizing a B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency can be slow to develop, causing symptoms to appear
gradually and intensify over time. It can also come on relatively quickly. Given
the array of symptoms it can cause, the condition can be overlooked or
confused with something else. Symptoms may include:
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strange sensations, numbness, or tingling in the hands, legs, or feet
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difficulty walking (staggering, balance problems)
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anemia
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a swollen, inflamed tongue
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yellowed skin (jaundice)
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difficulty thinking and reasoning (cognitive difficulties), or memory loss
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paranoia or hallucinations
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weakness
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fatigue”
“When people develop anemia as a result of a B12 deficiency, the condition can lead to jaundice, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Various kinds of anemia can cause jaundice, including pernicious anemia, the type that can result from a B12 deficiency. Increasing foods rich in B12, such as fish or fortified cereals, as well as using dietary supplements and seeking medical attention for B12 injections may cure the anemia and jaundice.”