What is the best vitamin for peripheral neuropathy?

Neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy is a medical complication that is typically a result of an underlying medical condition.

There can be multiple causes to neuropathy. The main one being diabetes which can damage nerves mostly in the extremities.

But a deficiency of specific types of vitamins can also lead to peripheral neuropathy.

Vitamins such as B1, B6, B12 deficiencies may lead to neuropathy, however, B12 deficiency is the most common one.

All of the vitamins mentioned above can easily get absorbed through the gut except for Vitamin B12.

You see, vitamin B-12 helps produce a substance called myelin which is a protective coating that shields the nerves and helps them transmit sensations.

Without this coating, nerves can become damaged.

The absorption of vitamin B12 requires a complex mechanism, which doesn’t always work optimally.

Food sources of Vitamin B12 include poultry, meats and eggs. That is why vegans are often deficient in B12.

Now, the most common indications of a lack of vitamin B12 are numbness and tingling along with an unsteady way of walking.

Several factors can cause vitamin B12 deficiency including the excessive use of antacid drugs or medications which interfere with proper stomach acid production, deficiency of intrinsic factor and reduced stomach acidity.

Intrinsic factor is a protein secreted by the stomach which enables the body to absorb vitamin B12.

Diets that lack eggs or meats, including vegetarian diets, provide less amounts of vitamin B12 than the body needs.

B12 supplements usually do not need acidic conditions in the stomach to be processed properly,  however, they do require an uptake mechanism as well as an intrinsic factor.

If either of these two factors are lacking in a person, they will have to take Vitamin B12 injections.

B12 deficiencies are detected through blood tests, with the normal range being from 250 to 950.

If your level falls below 350 then you need to take around 1000 mcg of vitamin B12 each day.

 

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