New Delhi: Your blood report displays “normal” vitamin B12 levels, but fatigue remains persistent, and the unsettling tingling in your fingers persists.
If you’re dismissing it as stress or overwork, experts say hit pause — it could be “functional B12 deficiency”, a sneaky saboteur where your body hoards the vitamin but starves its cells of it.
Vital for nerve health, red blood cell formation, and DNA repair, B12 isn’t homegrown; it hides in meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and fortified eats. Adults need just 2.4 micrograms daily, but pregnant or nursing women crave more. The twist? Standard serum tests only clock blood stocks, ignoring if your cells can actually cash in. As Dr Anshuman Kaushal, a Delhi-based surgeon, dubbed “The Angry Doc”, puts it: “It’s like money in a locked bank — no ATM card, no withdrawal.”
Culprits lurk in everyday traps: metformin for diabetes or antacids for acidity blocking uptake; vegan diets skimping on natural sources; or bariatric surgery scars hobbling absorption. B12 teams up with folate like a dynamic duo — Batman and Robin — for neurone shields and energy blasts. Disrupt one, and chaos ensues: relentless tiredness, numb extremities, foggy memory, irritability, and even shadows of depression.
Neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar of Apollo Hospitals warns against gummy fixes or oral pills — they bypass the real glitch. Demand deeper digs: methylmalonic acid (MMA), homocysteine, or active B12 assays to unmask cellular sabotage. Injections might be the hero shot, delivering straight to the bloodstream.
Don’t brush off these red flags; they’re your body’s SOS. Consult a doc pronto — because normal numbers mean zilch if your vitality’s on the line. In India’s fast lane, where veg plates rule and pills pop like confetti, this silent thief demands vigilance.