Friday, December 21, 2012

Is it possible to treat vit B12 deficiency without taking suppliments, ie. only through dietary changes?

Q. I have been a vegetarian for last 10 years and drink ocassionaly. Lately i am experiencing many b12 deficiency symptoms - tingling in hands/legs, chapped lips, canker sores, fatigue, drowsiness etc. I have started eating 2 eggs and drinking one litre milk daily. Is it possible to treat it this way or should I get vitamin capsules?

A. first get a b12 level done before you self diagnose.. 2nd if you have pernicous anaemia and your b12 is low taking any source but injectable wont work


Is it possible to treat vit B12 deficiency without taking suppliments, ie. only through dietary changes?
Q. I have been a vegetarian for last 10 years and an occasional drinker. Lately i am experiencing many b12 deficiency symptoms - tingling in hands/legs, chapped lips, canker sores, fatigue, drowsiness etc. I have started eating 2 eggs and drinking one litre milk daily. Is it possible to treat it this way or should I get vitamin capsules?

A. Go to the doctors first and ask for a blood test to confirm you are deficient in B12. The most reliable sources of B12 can be found in yeast extract, nutritional yeast flakes (e.g Engevital) fortified soya products such as dairy free margarine and dairy free milks and breakfast cereals.
It is a misconception that vegans cannot get B12 from their diet, i have never needed to take supplements but some vegans choose to take a 10 microgram B12 supplement daily.


What are the symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency?
Q. I haven't been out in the sun a lot for a while now. I was indoors for basically all the Summer and it's almost Winter now. I don't think I was even outside much before Summer. Could this help cause a vitamin D deficiency?
By the way, I'm 16, overweight, and tan.

A. Symptoms and Health Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency
Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D deficiency. However, for many people, the symptoms are subtle. Yet even without symptoms, too little vitamin D can pose health risks. Low blood levels of the vitamin have been associated with the following:

Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease
Cognitive impairment in older adults
Severe asthma in children
Cancer
Research suggests that vitamin D could play a role in the prevention and treatment of a number of different conditions, including type1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and multiple sclerosis.

Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D deficiency can occur for a number of reasons:

You don't consume the recommended levels of the vitamin over time. This is likely if you follow a strict vegetarian diet, because most of the natural sources are animal-based, including fish and fish oils, egg yolks, cheese, and beef liver.

Your exposure to sunlight is limited. Because the body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight, you may be at risk of deficiency if you are homebound, live in northern latitudes, wear long robes or head coverings for religious reasons, or have an occupation that prevents sun exposure.

You have dark skin. The pigment melanin reduces the skin's ability to make vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure. Some studies show that older adults with darker skin are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Your kidneys cannot convert vitamin D to its active form. As people age their kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to its active form, thus increasing their risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Your digestive tract cannot adequately absorb vitamin D. Certain medical problems, including Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and celiac disease, can affect your intestine's ability to absorb vitamin D from the food you eat.

You are obese. Vitamin D is extracted from the blood by fat cells, altering its release into the circulation. People with a body mass index of 30 or greater often have low blood levels of vitamin D.

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What could be the cause for me to get a strange heart beat when I fall asleep?
Q. For the last three weeks when I go to sleep I wake after a few minutes because my heart starts beating to fast or irregular, I'm not really sure. The first week it happen three nights in a row then it stop. It happened a couple of times the following week. It doesn't happen every night, and it only happens when I fall asleep. When I do cardio I'm ok. I looked up the symptoms of heart disease, and I don't fit the description. Could this be a vitamin deficiency?

A. it can be a electrolyte issue. get to the er if it happens again or just go to be safe and get checked out and they should do a chest x ray, take some blood, and the ekg.


be safe. your heart is nothing to take a chance on get help asap!!





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