Fatigue - Vitamin B12 deficiency may be behind the mysterious low performance

Although you sleep enough, you feel tired and exhausted all the time. The brain seems foggy. Concentration and thinking are difficult. - This puzzling low level of performance, also known as fatigue, places a considerable burden on those affected and poses a major challenge for physicians. The causes are manifold and often not easy to clarify (1). However, in the case of corresponding symptoms, a possible vitamin B12 deficiency should always be considered. An undersupply of the power vitamin can also lead to fatigue symptoms, which can be remedied in these cases.

It feels as if the battery is constantly empty. This is how those affected describe their chronic exhaustion, which robs them of momentum in everyday life and can significantly impair their enjoyment of life. The search for the causes and ways out of the energy low is often arduous. Fatigue often occurs in connection with chronic diseases, but it can also be triggered by psychological stress, accidents or infections (1,2). Fatigue is also one of the post-covoid symptoms and has thus received a great deal of public attention.

TOPIC OVERVIEWThink about possible vitamin B12 deficiency!Who is at risk?Vitamin trap digestive tract Correct the defect: This must be observed!

Think about possible vitamin B12 deficiency!

Sometimes, however, easily treatable causes are behind chronic fatigue or are involved in it - such as a vitamin deficiency. A vitamin B12 deficiency, for example, can manifest itself in fatigue symptoms. This deficiency, which is widespread among certain risk groups, develops gradually and affects blood formation and the nervous system in particular. Those affected feel lacking in energy and tired, have difficulty concentrating or suffer from depressive moods. If the deficiency is not corrected in time, serious nerve damage and blood formation disorders can occur (3).

Who is at risk?

One possible cause of deficiency is insufficient intake of vitamin B12 through food. Vegans or vegetarians are particularly often affected, since vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in foods of animal origin - especially in meat. However, the exhaustion syndrome itself and triggers such as infections or stress can also contribute to an undersupply, as nutrition is often neglected in these situations.

Vitamin trap digestive tract

However, vitamin B12 deficiency cannot always be explained by dietary habits. Often, disorders in the digestive tract are behind it, which make it difficult for the vitamin to pass from the food into the blood. These can be chronic gastrointestinal diseases, but also unnoticed disorders, such as insufficient formation of gastric acid or of a transport protein for vitamin B12 (3). Some medications, such as acid blockers often used for stomach problems or the diabetes drug metformin, can also cause vitamin B12 deficiency (4,5).

Correct the defect: This must be observed!

If people repeatedly feel lacking in energy and tired, it is therefore advisable to also think about a possible vitamin B12 deficiency. The family doctor can detect this in the blood. To compensate for a vitamin B12 deficiency, a sufficiently high dosage is required. Tablets containing 1,000 micrograms of vitamin B12 have been shown to be effective, even in the case of an absorption disorder (6,7). Once the deficiency has been compensated, symptoms such as fatigue and exhaustion usually subside. Those affected regain their performance capacity.

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