Good morning, all!

TL;DR: Over the past three years I've gotten my B12 levels up to normal, and even into the "too high" range. Meanwhile, my folate has been dropping and is now pretty deficient. Has anyone had a similar experience?

The long version...

I have all the markers for Hashimotos (TPO antibodies, etc.) but my TSH/T3/T4 levels have thus far stayed within "normal" range. About three years ago, I finally saw an endocrinologist, who did a real metabolic panel and found that I was severely deficient in vitamins B12 and D. I started a daily supplement regimen. A year later, I finally got both those levels up into "normal" ranges and so my doctor stopped checking them, although she did recommend I continue with the regimen. She's currently only running TSH every six months or so.

I've also been working with another doctor specifically for medication re: depression and anxiety (some of my lifelong struggles). She's been absolutely great to work with, and she's a doctor in a practice that specializes in "whole body" wellness and so they do a lot of work re: hormones, deficiencies, etc., in addition to mental health disorders. She spends anywhere from 20 minutes to an an hour plus with me every time we meet to make sure she has as complete a picture as possible before doing any medication changes.

Long story short, I told her I had concerns my endocrinologist wasn't taking my symptoms seriously because I am A) overweight, and B) all my thyroid bloodwork comes back normal. Since my psych has some background in endocrinology, she offered to run a full panel for everything, since it had been at least a year and a half ago since anything other than TSH had been checked.

My D levels are still in "sufficient" ranges, but I'm also religious about supplementing. Here is what is weird. My B12 regimen, which also hasn't changed over the past two years, now has me in "high" ranges (i.e., probably need to cut back on what I'm taking). I looked over my historical tests, and it's like I started increasing when I started supplementing, and it just never completely stopped increasing. On the other hand, this is the first time my folate and ferritin levels have come back low. My endo has apparently never run ferritin (at least not in my historical test results that I can see), so I have no idea how that's been going. But my folate was perfectly fine three years ago and has been steadily decreasing, roughly at the same rate as my B12 has been coming up. All

I see a lot of information on various B12 forums that states that folate must be taken alongside B12 to ensure optimum recovery.

I have also read (mostly in the medical literature) that supplementing folate when deficient in B12 can lead to further neurological deterioration. E.g.here and here.

I am confused as the forums generally seem to be for folate supplementation alongside B12 treatment, but the medical literature seems to be against it. Is anyone able to explain this discrepancy?

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 73%. (I'm a bot)

> Scientists from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing have published new research which examines the relationship between folate and vitamin B12 status and its associations with greater prevalence of depressive symptoms in a group of community-dwelling older adults.

> Understanding the link between folate or low B12 status and depression in later life is important as depression is a risk factor for functional decline, admission to residential care and early death.

> The study uses data from TILDA, and examines participants aged 50 years and over who were assessed at Wave 1 of the study and who provided measurement of plasma folate and plasma B12 and screening for depression.

> Key Findings of the study The study finds that low B12 status is associated with a significantly greater risk of depressive symptoms over four-year period, but no such associations were observed for folate.

> This study is highly relevant given the high prevalence of incident depression in older adults living in Ireland, and especially following evidence to show that one in eight older adults report high levels of low B12 deficiency rates.

> Given the rise in loneliness and depression in older adults after the onset of COVID-19 restrictions, this study highlights the importance of increasing B12 intake or supplementation to help mitigate against potential risk factors of depression in older adults.

Summary Source | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: B12^#1 status^#2 older^#3 Study^#4 adult^#5

Post found in /r/science.

NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

As the title says. I am trying to understand how this happens. If there is a biochemical explanation to this? Pls help

Hello I have had nearly 4 years of progressive symptoms starting with migraines and fatigue. After nearly 18months I was diagnosed as Folate deficient which treatment helped the migraines but the fatigue continued and symptoms have continued to progress.

My B12 hovers just above 200 and the doctor has only just said that they need to look in to that as my migraines have returned and the additional symptoms.

What I’m wondering is if my body isn’t absorbing B12 or Folate (I have a lot in diet) is there anything else that is commonly linked to these so perhaps others I could also be deficient in?

I can’t keep going like this much longer so if I need to buy a pharmacy of vitamins I will do!

Hi - im in the UK so its a difficult to see a doctor nowdays

Around 5 months ago i did a weight workout, then a run, then some work in the garden hammering concrete, my hands went really stiff, slowly over the next few week my arms and legs went really achey and felt jelly and weak. This was almost constant for a couple of month and i felt really tired some days - i stopped the weights and running, but still the constant weakness and ache in arms and legs (mostly forearms and shins). I also developed tremors in my hands especially when the forearm muscles were engaged (on the phone, on the keyboard etc). And also my fingernails developed a red line across the nails near the top of the nail.

Around 2 and a half months ago the doctor thought it was my raynauds causing me issues, however my raynauds (only minor case of it) has never caused me any issues really. So i was given calcium beta blockers, 2 weeks past, nothing changed. My bloods came back normal.

I went back, a different nurse did further bloods, to discover my serum folate levels were low. Ive been given 56 days of folic acid, but not been able to speak to the doctor since to find out why it could be low? But i have an appointment on the 30th.

I have around 2 weeks of folic acid 5mg left, i feel a lot better, no general weakness in arms or legs, the tremors in the past week have settled a lot, but im finding my forearms are exhausting quickly, like holding my newborn in positions for a short while, or playing on xbox etc is making them feel sore and achey and hands get a bit tremory when the forearms ache.

With 15 days of folic acid left, and this problem still existing - will my body fix it even when ive ran out of the tablets? Or should i be asking the doctors to check anything else?

I do have ulcerative colitis which i take pentasa for.

Age: 30 Location: UK Sex: Male Height: 5ft 8 Weight: 12stone 6 Im white british.

I (36F) received a text message from my doctor saying a blood test had come back as low folate and a prescription was waiting for me, the prescription is 5mg folic acid for 3 months. Is this a high dose? I've been feeling fragmented will the folic acid help with that?? It did not say how low the levels are.

I have no other medication or illness other then tinnitus and depression (on and off since I was a kid) and am not pregnant.

Levels: Vitamin D 21nmol/l Folate 3.5ng/ml

Is it common to have really bad insomnia/fucked up sleep from either of these deficiencies? Like does anybody else here feel the same way with similar levels? Also I get a lot of muscle/joint pain especially in my lower back and legs is this related too?

I got prescribed 25,000iu weekly for 8 weeks is this sufficient enough for me to get back to normal range?

How long am I looking at until I start to feel better again because I feel pretty shitty right now...

I’ve been suffering with a wide range of symptoms but by far the most troublesome has been constant fatigue, mind fog and sleepiness. I struggle to stay awake during the day and focus on anything. I have been having some tests to determine the cause. (Im a 19 year old, obese, female who also has PCOS for context)

I have had my bloods back however am yet to discuss them with a doctor. My B12 levels are normal (323ng/l) as well as my ferritin levels (65.5ug/l) however I am deficient in folate (1.4ug/l). Would you consider this a severe deficiency? And could it be causing my symptoms? In some ways I hope it is as at least it’s relatively easily treatable.

Hi,

I never had thick hair and since my twenties, but clearly since my 30s my hair is thinning. It began like probably everone else or many of you have experienced it in the back of the head and with a receding hair line (the corners). on my head i have now two little lengthy spots in the back of the head that are connected by a bridge of normal thickness and at the hairline the round corners became pointer. overall the hair thinned on the top pf the head. it looks a bit like this: https://47akegly150bni1zhg1ox1q6-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Male-Pattern-Hair-Loss-The-Belgravia-Centre-Hair-Loss-Clinics-London1.jpg

but a little bit baldier and sligthly bigger and i have two lengthy spots.

Now, a very different topic. Due to my interest in family history, I made one of these dna tests with one of the heritage services. Months later I uploaded the raw dna data to a dna health analysis website and found out that I have genes that cannot efficiently process folate (66% of normal processing), which also leads to inefficient b6 and b12 processing and probably lower levels.

Many of the symptoms of low levels of folate can be checked, like like depressive state and so on. but also hair loss and "premature" hair greying are symptoms. The so called MTHFR gene is responsible for that. I couldn't say that i suffer from severe health issues, but nevertheless I bought folic acid, b6 and b12 pills that come in one and I take one of them pushing the folate levels to 100% and b6 and b12 to 200-400% of the daily suggested intake.

Also the dna test said that I am likely not going fully bald like my uncle or grandfather, but I am a candidate for male pattern baldness. However, for over 10 years now, the baldness state seems to be stable.

Since my hair is thinning like in the photo above, I have, like many of you too, a very short hair cut ~1-3mm. When I touch the back of my head I can feel the bald spots. It's clearly skin not hair.

Now, weeks after starting taking the pill, I think the sport is closing, the right bald spot is maybe only have the size, but not evenly filled with new short hair, the left bald spot is smaller and where i always felt the skin, there's hair, and it's shorter than my freshly cut 3mm hair. So it must be newer than the hair around the spots.

Also t

Hi there! I was told I had a folate deficiency a few months ago after being panelled for full blood count, hormones etc as I'm struggling to lose weight for no apparent reason(and out a hell of a lot on also). I also suffer from depression/anxiety, brain fog, twitching randomly, tingling feet, tired ALL of the time! I can't find anything on people starting treatment for it and whether it made them feel better etc so I'd love to hear some stories!! And also what your symptoms were before you were dx... The inside of my lips have just started splitting for no apparent reason, not dehydrated etc and I looked it up and said it can be caused by a folate deficiency but my doctors previous advice was to get it through food but now I'm thinking that's not enough and I need to actually supplement... Any advice would be fabulous!

Thanks 🤗

https://doi.org/10.1002/jmd2.12206

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34258135

Abstract

Mutations in theFOLR1 gene, encoding for the folate alpha receptor (FRa), represent a rare recessive genetic cause of cerebral folate deficiency (CFD), a potentially reversible neurometabolic condition. Patients typically present with developmental delay, seizures, abnormal movements, and delayed myelination. We hereby expand the phenotypic and genotypic spectrum of the disease with the report of the first two Greek siblings that were found compound heterozygous for one knownFOLR1 gene mutation (p.Cys65Trp) and a mutation (p.Trp143Arg) that has not yet been reported in the literature (class 3 variant according to ASHG classification). A distinguishing feature of the older sibling is the manifestation of drug-resistant epileptic spasms beyond infancy. These had a relatively good response to a ketogenic diet, as an additional treatment to topiramate and valproate. A further clinical improvement was observed when folinic acid was combined with the above treatment. While a response to folinic acid is well established in the disorder, the efficacy of its combination with the ketogenic diet needs further evaluation, but we suggest considering it early in the course of drug resistant epilepsy in the setting of CFD. The younger sibling was diagnosed and treated with folinic acid at an early-symptomatic stage. Both patients had moderately low age-related CSF 5-methyltetrahydrofolate levels at diagnosis with the older sibling (that was already treated at base line collection) averaging 19 nmol/L (normal range: 44-122 nmol/L) and the younger one 49 nmol/L (normal range 63-122 nmol/L). These levels were restored to normal limits after folinic supplementation.

------------------------------------------ Info ------------------------------------------

Open Access: True

Authors: Maria T. Papadopoulou - Efterpi Dalpa - Michalis Portokalas - Irene Katsanika - Katerina Tirothoulaki - Martha Spilioti - Spyros Gerou - Barbara Plecko - Athanasios E. Evangeliou -

Additional links:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/jmd2.12206

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8260484

Hello! I’m currently going through the process of being tested for Endo (Wednesday i have a pelvic exam and transvaginal ultrasound which is to check for all sorts, beyond that I’ll be looking into a lap), I was wondering if anyone here who has been diagnosed with Endo also has a folate deficiency? I have to take folic acid every day which to my knowledge is something that pregnant people take (I am not nor have I ever been pregnant). Curious if there’s a link or others who’ve experienced the same.

Thank you!!! :)

Hi there, If anyone had any insights on the below, it would be super helpful!

Recently my Ferratin levels returned low, and now on supplements. Had a look at blood tests from 2018; my folate was low (2.12%) but just about in range. Vit-D was also very low, but B12 (active) was a normal result. Back then, the GP didn't see this as a problem either, but I started eating better food to improve folate, vit-d and ferritin. I was surprised when I got told I was ion deficient this week as I am also a regular blood donor and never had issues with my recent donations

.I haven't tested B12 or folate with the GP and wonder if my low folate has continued to be low since 2018 if it is the cause for my now low ion. Are they related, and should I be asking the GP for more blood work or are they unrelated?
Is b12 deficiency interchangeably with folate deficiency or are they separate too?

Thank you for reading,

Edit: spelling mistakes/grammar

Hello, I am 23 years old female, I visited a hematologist last week, my symptoms was fatigue, dizziness, very pale skin, metrorrhagia ( at first my OB/GYN advised me to make an appointment with hematologist)

I take some blood tests and found out that I have very low level of B12, Folate and Vitamin D. Also i'm lactose intolerant and diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis. Doctor said that maybe I have celiac disease or IBS, I'm very nervous and anxious about this :( Does anyone here also has celiac or IBS?

27M UK, 1.67m, 63kg, don't smoke, drink occasionally.

Hi, a few months ago after reporting some strange pains in my hands and one foot, blood tests found a vitamin B12 and folate deficiency (vitamin D was also low...not surprising in lockdown I would guess). I was tested for pernicious anaemia and coeliac disease (blood test, no biopsy) and they both came back negative. The investigation of what might have caused the deficiency stopped there, with my GP saying it's probably diet related.

My question is, what could have caused this deficiency in a 27 year old who eats meat, dairy, eggs and things like muesli and marmite (yeast extract full of B vitamins if you're unfamiliar)? I have been experiencing on and off abdominal pains for about 2 years, which I informed the GP, but she said as I'd been tested for coeliac disease it's probably unrelated. I just find it hard to believe I'd have such a deficiency (B12 levels were 92 pg/mL, never got told the folate level) for someone who isn't vegetarian or vegan.

Thanks!

I’ve posted recently about having neurological symptoms in waves, mild brain fog, tingling and burning in my left arm, leg and left side of face, all of which are terrifying! But my blood test results show that I have a folate deficiency so off I go for three months of supplements and hope that works!

For reference

Serum B12 416ng/l (range 180 - 700 ug/l) - considered normal

Serum folate: 2.6ug/l (range: 4.6ug/l - 18.7ug/l - considered abnormal

I’ve never been more excited to pick up a prescription 😅

Hi guys, I had depression for the last 4 months and I went for some blood tests. My folate levels are 2.35 mg/ml and histamine is 79.5 ng/ml. I am confused because normally I can be an undermethylator but as well I can have folate deficiency. Can I be a undermethylator with folate deficiency? I am confused, I can't find explanations for this subject. Thanks. Edit: also, it seems that I do not tolerate well the l- methylafolate

Edit: yes, you can be an undermethylator and have folate deficiency, expert doctors confirmed. The first treatment should be for undermethylation and then for folate deficiency.

My MTHFR A1298C is homozygous

MTHFR 03 P39P +/-

Methyl folate - my brain feels toxic and brain foggy worst

Folinic acid (calcium salts) - feel brain foggy, angry, bad fatigue, apathetic

Folic acid- had an allergic reaction hives all over body

Greens like kale and broccoli also make me feel foggy

Brain gain supplement has biotin,folinic acid 240mcg, luteolin, selenium, berberine feels best out of the 3 but still feel foggy and off and better without

Nibble methyl b12, b9, b6 lozenge with 200mg Sam e and liposomal vitamin c or tmg. This I had some success with for a few weeks but I was waking up feeling like death kidney pain and didn’t feel normal also. After a month I stop feeling good anymore when taking Sam e.

I feel like folate is releasing noradrenaline or something that is making me feel bad and also gives me autistic symptoms. Could folate autoantibodies be involved?

Any ideas would appreciate it. Drs say the folate deficiency is bad but I feel bad when taking folate than without

Hi.

I’ve got low folic acid in my last bloodwork (2.6 ng/ml) and am looking to supplement as well as minor changes to my diet. From a bit of browsing here it seems that when supplementing folate it’s best to have it with B12 (my levels were fine), niacin and choline. At this stage it seems just getting a B complex will be better.

I was considering Jarrow’s B-right, but I’m unsure about my reasoning. Any tips?

Cheers.

My iron level is fine but B12 & folate are low. I'm wondering if it's due to my drinking habits over the years.

I had blood tests done recently : Homocysteine Result: 12.4 Ranges: 0.2-15 Serum Folate : 2.1 ug/l (3.-20.5) - deficiency b12 : 455 ng (190-900) creatine; 215 (0-229)

My symptoms are chronic brain fog speech problems autistic symptoms, post orgasmic illness syndrome and maybe some chronic infection or mast cell activation syndrome

If I take 200mcg folinic acid(1/4 of tablet) I feel apathetic, brain foggy, irritable, tired and generally not good. It’s the same as if I take it with a methyl donor. I also tried Jarrow methylb12 and methyl folate lozenges taking 1/4 of the dose and this is the same for me as the folinic. If I take any more than 1/4 of the pills I get extreme brain fog like my brain feels toxic and even with folinic acid I feel this slightly also at 200mcg.

When I have tried a full methylation stack in the past a few months ago with ; folinic acid 300mcg methyl b12 500mcg Sam e 70mg and liposomal vitamin c 1 gram. I felt amazing for the first few days, my speech improves 10x, autistic symptoms go, brain fog goes maybe it induces a slight mania. But after a few days I start to feel really fatigued and irritable and I stop feeling good. And i think it’s to do with the folinic acid. But when I reduced the folinic or stopped it I still felt bad

Any more Sam e than 1/3-1/2 of a 200mg capsule and I would feel brain foggy and imbalanced, and same with the methyl donor I couldn’t take anymore

Any suggestions on what you would do if you were me? I am waiting on ancestry dna test results

I have read high doses of folate can mask a b12 deficiency. It seems 2:1 of folate to b12 is used a lot.

https://preview.redd.it/k2shinqk84061.png?width=465&format=png&auto=webp&s=a088386b8595dfafe56dccd640db0d0fb96ded90

Why would defective DNA synthesis cause large RBCs? I feel like it has something to do with the image below but I cannot connect the dots. Will RBCs stop developing if DNA synthesis is impaired and thus were left with large RBC precursors?

https://preview.redd.it/6fj6u3bs84061.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=b5e0008670e6ed14f726482054b5827a8a6465b6

Around Late March/April/May of 2020 was a difficult time for me. In late March I was suffering from anger/stress/depression and had to take two days off from work due to excessive brain fatigue because of it. During those two days, I had to constantly sleep ever so often due to that fatigue. It almost felt as if I had damaged something. I provide this preamble as a way to show that I had also been dealing with other issues during this time other than things relating to Uridine/DHA. Note: I hadn't been taking any supplementation up to this point except possibly Emergen-c.

I'm not going to get into all the details in my life, but I may have had some brain damage from a decade ago in contact sports. I consider myself an individual with well-above-average intelligence, but sometimes I make choices that don't make sense, I have frequent short term memory loss, and sometimes comprehension declines sharply. This is why I decided to take Uridine/DHA. The following excerpt is a journal of my symptoms up to early May.

Journal of Symptoms:

Dosage: 250mg Uridine; 960mg DHA

Friday Night 4/3 – Tuesday Night 4/7:

My brain felt very calm and normal Saturday morning (4/4) after taking UMP and DHA the night before. It was obvious that it was doing something right as the effects were quite noticeable. My brain also felt very calm and healthy at work Monday (4/5) and Wednesday (4/8). Tuesday did not feel amazing; this was the day I initially decided to stop taking it due to concerns of not getting enough B12 and folate. I am quite certain I had been taking Emergen-C every day and had eggs, oatmeal, and leafy greens during this time though. The calmness and normal feeling I had experienced during these days was probably the best I have felt in a while. My short-term memory might have improved a little, though I’m not certain.

Friday Night 4/10 – Saturday Night 4/11

I decided to administer the dosage again. I do not remember what Saturday felt like after taking a dose Friday Night. I had terrible brain fatigue Sunday morning and felt like I needed to go to bed after waking up. It probably did not help that I was sleep deprived from Wed-Fri nights. Thus, I was uncertain if the fatigue was due to the UMP. I decided to stop taking it again.

Monday 4/12 – Friday 4/16

This was a terrible week. My brain fatigue was noticeably stronger. It reached its peak Tuesday after I took Berocca for the first time. It began to get better as the week went on. It was during this w

27M, 185 lbs, 6', Latino (Brazil).

Never smoked, rarely drink and never did any illegal drug.

First I have to say that english is not my first language.

For more than an decade, I've been suffering with fatigue, lack of motivation to do anything, trouble concentrating, I feel like I'm not as smart as I was years ago, terrible irritability that starts without any particular reason (sometimes it also comes together with itching in the entire body and feeling hot) and my personality changed completely from an social person to someone that barely leaves my home (not because I'm afraid, I just don't).

I'm currently being treated by a psychiatrist that diagnosed me with anxiety, depression and ADHD, but besides years of many antidepressants and years of therapy with different professionals nothing seems to solve my problems. I'm currently taking ritalin, paxil (helped me the most, but far from solving my problems), changed to a healthy diet and exercise almost daily.

I went to an endocrinologist that asked for a few blood exams and besides slightly high cholesterol, lower white blood cells, high MCHC, and lack of vitamin D, that I've been supplementing for a long time now, everything seemed (she tested my blood sugar level, CBC, TSH, ferritin, STDs) ok and she refused to ask for any other exams and she is just focusing on my cholesterol.

My urine test was normal, except for calcium oxalate presence

Feel free to ask me anything you think it's necessary and the exact values of the normal tests aswell.

Edit: My CBC results

RBC : 4.970.000/mm3 (4.500.000 - 5.500.000/mm3)

Hemoglobin : 14,9 g/dl (13,0 - 17,5 g/dl)

Hematocrit : 42,1% (40,0 - 50,0 %)

MCV : 84,6 fl (80,0 - 100,0 fl)

MCH : 30,0 pg (27,6 - 32,6 pg)

MCHC : 35,5 g/dl (32,0 - 35,4 g/dl)

RDW : 12,4 % (11,0 - 13,8 %)

WBC - TOTAL: 3.530/mm3 (4.000 - 11.000/mm3)

Banded Neutrophil : 0,0% - 0/mm3 (Lower than 840/mm3)

Segmented Neutrophil : 46,7% - 1.640/mm3 (2.000 - 7.000/mm3)

Lymphocytes : 40,9% - 1.450/mm3 (1.000 - 3.500/mm3)

Monocytes : 10,6% - 376/mm3 (200 - 1.000/mm3)

Eosinophils : 1,1% - 40/mm3 (20 - 500/mm3)

Basophils : 0,7% - 24/mm3 (Lower than 200/mm3)

Platelets : 279.000/mm3 (150.000 - 450.000/mm3)

I guess it's obvious I'm grasping at straws here, I've just been wondering since it turns out I've been deficient in many vitamins that loosely correlate to hair loss (D3, B12 and even more in folic acid).

I've been deficient in d3 and folic for at least two years, but didn't pay attention to it until recently.

Got a prescription to start supplementing them though, but it can even take months for the levels to rise back to normal.

I have a patient right now, a 77 yo female, with abnormal dementia. Neuro is somewhat stumped on her presentation but I noticed that her folate is high and her serum B12 is normal. I know that high folate can mask low B12, but I’m curious if anyone else has seen this in patients.. she’s too far demented to tell us if she has neuropathy but she has no appetite and simply won’t eat food. Severe twitching in extremities, memory loss, confusion, weakness and abnormal gait.

Any thoughts/experiences?

EDIT: she doesn’t have any signs of anemia and I’m Im waiting on MMA and homocysteine labs but just wanted to see if anyone else has run across this kind of a case.

I am a 35 year old male living in USA. Recently went to India where I had some routine blood tests. I was surprised to see low folic acid numbers despite taking multivitamins for years. I know it was normal 3 years back. What could be the possible reason? I am pasting some lab details below.

IRON 56.9 μg/dl

TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY (TIBC) 349 μg/dl

% TRANSFERRIN SATURATION 16.3%

RED CELL DISTRIBUTION WIDTH - SD(RDW-SD) 49.1 fL ( Range 39 -46 )

RED CELL DISTRIBUTION WIDTH (RDW-CV) 15% (Range 11.6 - 14)

B12 Deficiency impairs Brain development in Children https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137939/

Short Version:

B12 is critical for Brain/nerve/body development. B12 is optimally obtained from animal foods. B12 deficiency is routinely noted in vegetarian and vegan populations. Mothers whom eat a vegan/vegetarian diet routinely have infants that are B12 deficient (symptoms take about 6-12 months to start showing due to early infant B12 liver storage). Infants that are B12 deficient are at high risk for brain atrophy/Retardation/anemia. Even after introduction of B12 therapy/animal foods these damages can be permanent. Adults on vegan/vegetarian diets and deficient in B12 are often associated with high rates of depression. Strongly consider getting optimal B12 from bio-available animal food sources before becoming pregnant or raising children to optimize growth and development.

Summary:

B12 and Folate play important roles in prevention of neural tube defects, and proper myelination (nerve lipid formation for conducting nerve impulses).

Intake of B12 during pregnancy is concentrated in the fetus and stored in the liver. Even with Mothers who do not ingest adequate B12, infants have enough B12 to sustain themselves for several months. B12 deficiency (B12D) rarely occurs before 4 months of age, though infants fed B12D diets may be vulnerable within 6-12 months.

Neurological symptoms can affect the central nervous symptom and potentially brain atrophy. Additional physical symptoms of B12D in infants include:

-Abnormal Pigmentation (De-coloration of skin)

-Hypotania ("Floppy Baby Syndrome", weakening of muscle)

-Enlarged Liver/Spleen

-Thinning of hair

-Anorexia

-Food Refusal

-Failure to thrive

-Diarrhea

Most data regarding B12D in infants are from case studies of infants fed by exclusively breastfed by mothers on Vegetarian (including Ovo Lacto) and Vegan diets. Developmental Retardation and Infant Tremor Syndrome is routinely noted in Vegetarian Indian mothers (4-11 month old infants).

4 case studies in the US note that vegan/vegetarian mothers that exclusively breastfeed infants (6-10 month olds) have lethargy, irritability, and developmental delay. These same issues are noted in Europe in a case study with infants suffering from megloblastic anemia. Even with therapy, the recovery results are varied. Some children remain moderately or severely retarded.

Additional mechanisms that impair development is maternal pernicious anem

In first aid