Trying to stay healthy can seem like a full-time job sometimes, especially with all the conflicting

information that's out there.

But I'm here to make that job a little easier.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

For those eating plant-based diets, encouragement of vitamin B12 supplementation cannot be

overemphasized.

What happens if you don't get enough B12?

Well, the vitamin is necessary for the synthesis of DNA, so a deficiency in B12 can cause

pretty much anything.

Brain problems, psychiatric problems, sensory problems, constitutional problems, muscle problems,

nerve problems.

It can also cause clotting disorders and bleeding disorders.

It can make people catatonic, hallucinate, psychotic, even suicidal.

One patient got electroshock therapy before they realized,

oops, he was just B-12 deficient. Even more tragic are life-threatening manifestations of B-12

deficiency in infants when their moms aren't supplementing. Coma, respiratory failure, severe brain damage.

Viven-B-12 deficiency and pregnancy is the diagnosis not to miss.

I've done B-12 videos over and over again over the years.

Can we just stick to the consensus clinical guidelines

and preventing, diagnosing, and treating

B12 deficiency?

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