Just a year ago, Public Library Of Science (PLOS) One published yet another study showing that as we get older, we lose significant amounts of one of the world’s most important nutrients . . . Vitamin B12. 

    Every organism in the world seems to need this vitamin – “from whales to sea cucumbers,” according to one B12 researcher. Vitamin B12 is like gold in the realm of living creatures. Simply by making B12, a microbe can influence the organization of a whole microbial system.

    And when it comes to humans, B12 is essential for: 

• 

  A network of friends can help ensure consistent exercise and eating habits

  Healthy nerve development and the formation of the fatty myelin sheath that covers and protects our nerve

• The production of neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. 

• Healthy red blood cell development. 

• Proper synthesis of DNA throughout the body. 

    B12 is fundamental to how we live. Unfortunately, B12 deficiency is a global health problem. In the U.S., as many as 39% of us are at risk for low B12. 

    And this has dire consequences when it comes to how we feel . . . and how we think . . . 

The Consequences Of Low Vitamin B12 Levels 

    An estimated 27% to 49% of senior citizens with dementia are low in vitamin B12. And it doesn’t take much to impact your brain function . . . Researchers at Tufts University demonstrated that seniors with only a slight B12 deficiency were at high risk for cognitive decline.

    The Third Canadian Consensus Conference On The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Dementia concluded that all elderly people with dementia be screened for B12 levels. 

    In a 2005 study, 19 elderly people with dementia were treated with vitamin B12. Twelve of the patients recovered their brain power simply by taking this vitamin. The researchers pointed out that the patients who responded to B12 treatment had distinctive cognitive problems. They hadn’t lost their language abilities. But they seemed to have problems with making decisions, orienting themselves in space and concentrating. 

    A two year study at Oxford University involving 270 70-year-olds with mild cognitive decline and low B12 levels showed similar results. Oxford researcher Dr. Helga Refsum reported that high doses of vitamin B12 reversed the decline in patients who took it. 

    These and other studies show that vitamin B12 directly impacts how well our brains function. 

    But the physical proof of this connection is even more startling . . . 

     When researchers did MRI’s of people’s brains and matched them with B12 levels, they found when you don’t get enough of this vitamin your brain actually shrinks. In contrast, Dr. Refsum’s Oxford study showed that by getting more B12 and other B vitamins you could actually slow this rate of brain atrophy. 

    And a B12 deficiency doesn’t just shrink your memory . . . 

Vitamin B12 May Keep You Sane And Happy

    Several studies have linked low B12 levels to depression. One study with disabled women found that women with low B12 levels were TWICE as likely as their counterparts with normal B12 levels to be depressed. People with schizophrenia also have distinctively low levels of vitamin B12.     The evidence linking a number of psychiatric disorders with low B12 levels is so compelling, psychiatrist Dr. Emily Deans reports B12 screening and injections are one of the first things she does for many of her patients. ..  

    In one striking case study, doctors treated a 66-year-old woman who was hospitalized for psychosis and severe depression with B12 injections. To their amazement, her symptoms were almost completely reversed as her B12 levels crept up. 

     Dr. Deans cautions that B12 isn’t necessarily a one-step cure for psychiatric problems. In most situations, it is a significant part of a more complex solution. In 2013, Pakistani researchers showed this by combining B12 and antidepressants. 

    In this randomized clinical trial, they divided 74 people with major depression and low B12 levels into two groups. Half of their patients took just anti-depressants. And the other half took vitamin B12 and anti-depressants. 

    A full 100% of the group receiving the combination therapy experienced, on average, 20% improvement in their scores on a test measuring depression. This is compared to only 69% of the placebo group who only took anti-depressants. 

    Without question, B12 deficiency may cause serious cognitive, psychiatric and energy problems. But older adults aren’t the only victims. The impact of low B12 levels on children are heartbreaking . . . 

    Problems from low B12 can start in the womb. Six case studies of vegetarian and vegan mothers showed consistently poor brain development and signs of retardation in their infant children. The researchers link this to the B12 deficiency in the mother’s diets. 

    Children who are not getting enough B12 while in utero also risk problems with insulin resistance, low birth weight and poor motor skills. Finally, this deficiency has been connected to miscarriages and pre-eclampsia. 

    Sadly, the problems experienced by children with low B12 levels continue long after birth . . . 

• In India, researchers found that children born to mothers without an adequate B12 supply due to a vegetarian diet had a harder time keeping their attention on a task and remembering short term. 

• Children in Guatemala who were low in B12 performed worse in school, had attention problems and problems with delinquent behavior. 

• Two European studies have demonstrated that children who are on vegan or macrobiotic diets - and at risk for B12 deficiency - perform worse on intelligence tests and show poor neurological development. 

• And in 2016, researchers found children with autism had one-third of the B12 in their brains that their peers had. 

    While some evidence shows that B12 supplementation can reverse some of the damage, much of the developmental and neurological damage may be permanent. 

Are You At Risk For Low Vitamin B12? 

    B12 isn’t an easy nutrient to get enough of. 

    First, it’s a hard molecule to find. Not many microbes make it. B12 is so hard to build that some researchers call it the “Mount Everest” of molecules. To make B12, these organisms put together about 30 different components in a complex jigsaw puzzle-like process. 

    But even once you get some B12, it’s hard for your body to use it. 

    First, you need enough stomach acid in order to separate vitamin B12 from the proteins it’s associated with. Then, in order for your intestine to absorb vitamin B12, it needs to mix with a special protein called “intrinsic factor.” 

    As we age, our bodies stop producing enough stomach acid and intrinsic factor. So even if we get adequate amounts of vitamin B12 in our diet, our bodies don’t absorb it very efficiently. For these same reasons, people taking antacids or proton pump inhibitors and people with...