Most people have some idea that being anemic has something to do with a blood condition, a sickness or a weakness connected to the blood. In fact, the word is even used sometimes as an adjective totally unconnected to the blood but to describe a weak effort such as in "an anemic batting average in baseball" or "an anemic performance" or something similar. However, in real life, an anemic condition is the result of a serious health problem, called anemia, that must be medically treated.

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Anemia can exists for several different reasons but commonly because of an impairment in the body's production of red blood cells, possibly because of a vitamin B12 deficiency. Or anemia may be caused by a deficiency of hemoglobin molecules that contain iron and that are normally a component in red blood cells. The hemoglobin molecules in the red blood cells play an important role by transporting oxygen from the lungs to other tissues throughout the body and this form of anemia, called iron deficiency anemia, is the most common form of the many anemic conditions.

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There are a number of other possible causes of anemia. Some are of a genetic nature, such as sickle cell anemia, found in a small percentage of mainly African Americans, some as a consequence of immune system malfunction, and some being the result of poor nutrition. There are many different types of anemias and as for any disease condition, there are complex factors involving causes and processes that are beyond the scope of the simple and elementary description offered in this article.

Pernicious anemia
In recent times, anemia has been an easily curable condition, once the cause has been determined with the aid of a blood test. However, it is interesting to note that this has not always been the case, a form of anemia, called pernicious anemia in which the red blood cells don't develop properly, was virtually a death sentence until the last century. It was not until the year 1926 that a treatment was found in which the consumption of a pound of cooked liver daily could control the condition. The treatment may sound a little unusual but it was enough for the three physicians involved to earn the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology in 1934.

Following the discovery of the cure
It was concluded that a vitamin must be the beneficial substance in the liver that provided the cure for pernicious anemia and although not actually identified, was then given the name Vitamin B12. After more than twenty years, its chemical molecular structure was finally mapped out but it was not until 1971 that vitamin B12 was at last synthesized, both Nobel Prize winning accomplishments.

Anemia can now be cured but there are still regions of the world where famine and a shortage of food exist and people continue to die of anemia and malnutrition.

Vitamin B12 deficiency
Needed only in very small amounts of 2.4 micrograms daily, as set by the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances, vitamin B12, together with other B vitamins, serves several roles in the maintenance of human health. The body needs vitamin B12 to create red blood cells and support the nervous system where it maintains the cells of the myelin sheath that protects the nerves. It is also important in reducing dangerous blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, a marker for heart disease.

Vitamin B12 production
A key factor is that vitamin B12 is not produced naturally in the human body but must be obtained by eating meat products or fish, or dairy products, or eggs. Plants do not produce the vitamin either. This means that people who choose not to eat meat, such as vegetarians - and especially vegans - may not get enough of the vitamin even though the RDA is small.

It is also believed that the elderly tend to become less efficient in absorbing and retaining B12 as they continue to age and if so, that possibility might account for an increased cognitive decline in some people. That may sometimes be the case but in a detailed study involving solely Alzheimer's patients, supplementary vitamin B12 was shown to have no beneficial effect whatsoever on that specific impaired cognitive condition.

It has been estimated that 30 to 40% of Americans are deficient, to some measure, in vitamin B12 with a possible cause being that they are following a poor diet. Obviously, a change in diet is the real solution to remedy that deficiency but there are also inexpensive vitamin supplements available in health food stores and in most drug stores that might be appropriate for additional support.

Final thought
It would seem prudent to consider taking at least a daily multi-vitamin supplement containing B complex vitamins as a caution against a B12 deficiency, especially as one ages or does not eat meat, fish, eggs or dairy products.

About Anemia and Vitamin B12 Deficiency Symptoms

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