{"id":325460,"date":"2025-10-23T03:19:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T03:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/325460\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T03:19:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T03:19:09","slug":"9-vitamin-b12-deficiency-symptoms-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/325460\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Vitamin B12 Deficiency Symptoms to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s more difficult for our bodies to absorb nutrients from food as we age. Vitamin B12<\/a>, in particular, may be lacking from your diet if you follow a plant-based eating plan or are a vegetarian, as it\u2019s commonly found in animal byproducts. But more than these two groups may exhibit signs of a vitamin B12 deficiency\u2014at least 4%<\/a> of people between 40 and 59 are lacking in the nutrient, and even more are borderline. <\/p>\n

Meet the experts: Lisa Cimperman, R.D., a licensed dietitian; Angela Grassi, R.D.<\/a>, a dietitian at the PCOS Nutrition Center<\/p>\n

You might also be at risk of B12 deficiency if you take metformin (often prescribed for type 2 diabetes<\/a> or polycystic ovary syndrome) or certain heartburn medications, if you\u2019ve had weight loss surgery, or if you have a digestive disorder like celiac disease or Crohn\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Being too low in vitamin B12 may cause everything from extreme fatigue to wonky vision. Here, dietitians and science<\/a> reveal telltale signs of a vitamin B12 deficiency. If the symptoms below sound familiar, ask your doctor to run a blood test and check your levels. <\/p>\n

Exhaustion<\/p>\n

Feeling fatigued, even when you\u2019ve gotten enough sleep? That\u2019s one of the biggest\u2014and earliest\u2014signs you\u2019re low in B12. <\/p>\n

\u201cFatigue is one of the first signs of B12 deficiency,\u201d says Lisa Cimperman, R.D., a licensed dietitian. That\u2019s because your body relies on the nutrient to make red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body. When there\u2019s not enough oxygen in your blood, you\u2019ll feel tired no matter how long you sleep. <\/p>\n

Fatigue can mean a number of things<\/a>, though. So you can\u2019t assume you\u2019re B12-deficient if feeling sleepy is your only complaint\u2014doctors usually are tipped off if you\u2019ve got fatigue plus other symptoms.<\/p>\n

Muscle weakness<\/p>\n

Likewise, if your muscles aren\u2019t getting enough oxygen from red blood cells, they might feel like mush. So if that grocery bag feels like a million pounds, being low in B12 may be to blame.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job is very demanding, so I kept thinking that maybe my body is just tired\u2014maybe I\u2019m not eating right,\u201d says Chantal Mossess, 31. \u201cBut 6 months ago I learned that my weakness and sluggishness was caused by not having enough B12.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tingling and numbness<\/p>\n

Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause a number of strange sensations, like numbness, tingling<\/a>, and more. \u201cIt felt like electricity was running from my head to my feet,\u201d says Melanie Karmazin, 44, who was eventually diagnosed with a B12 deficiency. Others report a \u201cpins and needles<\/a>\u201d sensation, and research<\/a> backs this up.<\/p>\n

These pains are all a result of nerve damage. And since vitamin B12 helps your nervous system function properly, they may signal you\u2019re low in the nutrient.<\/p>\n

Brain fog<\/p>\n

Maybe you put your keys in the fridge\u2014or had to think hard to remember your niece\u2019s name. You might be worried about early-onset dementia<\/a>, but sometimes low B12 may be to blame. The nutrient is crucial for maintaining healthy brain function, and being deficient can cause you to feel confused or forgetful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen this deficiency mistaken for Alzheimer\u2019s in elderly patients,\u201d says Cimperman. \u201cBut once they have a blood test and it reveals a B12 deficiency, they start taking a supplement and their symptoms start to fade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loss of balance<\/p>\n

Feeling wobbly or dizzy is another common symptom of B12 deficiency, because being low in the nutrient may lead to nerve damage, causing you to lose your balance, feel less coordinated, or experience vertigo<\/a>, research<\/a> suggests.<\/p>\n

Pale skin<\/p>\n

If your complexion starts looking pale or yellow, low B12 may be the culprit. The vitamin helps with red blood cell production. So when you\u2019re deficient in it, the red blood cells you do have are very fragile. When they break, they release bilirubin\u2014a yellow pigment that makes your skin look jaundiced.<\/p>\n

Smooth, red tongue<\/p>\n

About half of the people with a severe B12 deficiency lose the papillae\u2014or little bumps\u2014on their tongues, especially around the edges. And since most of those papillae contain taste buds, you might lose the ability to taste your favorite foods, too. <\/p>\n

\u201cWomen with a B12 deficiency may actually lose weight because food doesn\u2019t taste as good to them anymore,\u201d says Angela Grassi, R.D.<\/a>, a dietitian at the PCOS Nutrition Center. Some patients also complain of burning and soreness, particularly on the back of the tongue.<\/p>\n

Anxiety and depression<\/p>\n

Do you feel more down or anxious than ever? \u201cA lack of B12 wreaks havoc on your mood, possibly leading to depression or anxiety,\u201d says Grassi. <\/p>\n

Doctors aren\u2019t sure why being low in B12 increases your risk for depression. But it may have something to do with the fact that B12 helps synthesize brain chemicals, like serotonin and dopamine, that help regulate your mood.<\/p>\n

Change in vision<\/p>\n

In extreme cases, a lack of B12 may damage the optic nerve or plug up the blood vessels in the retina, causing blurry vision, double vision, sensitivity to light, and even vision loss, research<\/a> finds. Regardless of a potential nutrient deficiency, contact your doctor right away if you experience any sudden changes in vision.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s more difficult for our bodies to absorb nutrients from food as we age. Vitamin B12, in particular,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":325461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[210,1182,162211,67,132,68,67325,111327],"class_list":{"0":"post-325460","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition","10":"tag-signs-of-vitamin-b12-deficiency","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-vitamin-b12-deficiency","15":"tag-vitamin-b12-deficiency-symptoms"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115421326759837526","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}