Vitamin B12 deficinecy

Case 6 : Answers to Questions

Q1 answer : Within a regular diet , the only reliable unfortified sources of vitamin B12 are meat , dairy products and eggs . Over the years , some considerable research was done into possible plant food sources of B12 Fermented soya products , seaweeds and algae are among those which were proposed as possible sources of B12 , and articles may be found on them However , as of today , analysis of these fermented soya products including tempeh , miso , shoyu and tamari , yielded no significant amounts of the vitamin . Spirulina , a type of algae

, and nori , a type of seaweed which are taken in by some cultures have also both seemed to contain significant amounts of B12 after analysis . Current standpoint however is that these would be B12 analogues . This would mean they are compounds similar in structure to B12 but cannot be used to meet dietary requirements . Bacteria present in the large intestine are also able to synthesize B12 . Previous beliefs were that this B12 from these colonic bacteria could be absorbed and then used by the body . It is known however that the bacteria produce it too far down the intestines to be absorbed for usage

Q2 answer : The reason that the child was anemic is due to the fact that the hematologic manifestation of a deficiency in vitamin B12 is megaloblastic anemia . Megaloblastic anemia is caused by various DNA synthesis defects . In to understand this , one must know the purpose of folic acid . Folic acid is essential for...