What Causes B vitamin Deficiency? - Dr. Jason Jones Elizabeth City NC, Chiropractor We’ve talked about the types of B vitamins, benefits, and common symptoms of B vitamin deficiency in our last posts. In this post, we’ll quickly discuss the most common causes of these deficiencies. You probably believe it’s only about poor diet, but that’s not all. We will show you more in this article. But before we talk about the causes of B vitamin deficiencies, it is important to note that while each of the eight B vitamins plays important roles in the body, each of them also yield different deficiency levels, which can lead to number of different symptoms over time. Thiamine and folate deficiencies, for example, are quite rate across the U.S. But research has shown that about 6% of children and adults younger than age 60 suffer vitamin B12 deficiency, while around 20% of adults older than age 60 have a deficiency. Without further do, let’s get the causes of B vitamin deficiency. What causes B vitamin Deficiency? Here are the top four causes of B vitamin deficiency: A Non-balanced diet B-vitamins cannot be produced or stored in the body. This means you can only get them from your diet. But eating a non-balanced diet, your body will not get the right level of nutrients and you tend to suffer B vitamin deficiency. If you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, for example, you may not be getting enough of vitamin B12 because it is more commonly found in animal-based foods and dairy products. So it is important to always eat a balanced diet loaded with vitamin-rich foods. Excessive alcohol consumption When you drink too much of alcohol, one of the downsides is that it rips you of vitamin B. Here’s how it happens – Taking alcohol causes your kidneys to flush B vitamins out of your system more quickly. This means your body does not get all the time it needs to utilize B vitamins as they quickly go to waste due to excess alcohol consumption. Gut Malabsorption Conditions B vitamins are normally absorbed by the gut into your bloodstream under normal conditions. The bloodstream transports these vitamin to all parts of your body where they are needed. So it is important for the B vitamins to get into your bloodstream. But if you have gut malabsorption problems, such as Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease or ulcerative colitis, your gut may not be able to absorb B vitamins into the bloodstream. This causes a deficiency and potential harm to your wellbeing. Medications Some types of prescription medications can cause you to suffer B vitamin deficiency. Medications such as anticonvulsants, hydralazine, isoniazid, and corticosteroids can increase your likelihood of suffering vitamin B6 deficiency. Medications such as phenytoin, trimethoprim – sulfamethoxazole, sulfasalazine, and methotrexate can increase your chances of suffering vitamin B deficiency. Medications like antacids, metformin, proton pump inhibitors (PPIS), antidepressants, and long-term antibiotics can increase your likelihood of suffering vitamin B12 deficiency. There you have it, the four common causes of B vitamin deficiency. If you’re showing symptoms of B vitamin deficiency, it may be because you’re not foods loaded with these vitamins. If you’re showing signs of lightheadedness, tiredness, shortness of breath, and other symptoms of deficiency, it is advisable that you check your B vitamin level. Ensure that you talk with your healthcare provider to diagnose the problem and come up with the best treatment measure. You can consult Dr. Jason Jones at our Chiropractic office in Elizabeth City NC, to learn more about the causes of B vitamin deficiency and how to ensure you’re eating a healthy, balanced diet loaded with vitamins.