Of all the causes of numb, tingling feet, low vitamin B12 is the one most likely to go unnoticed for years. It is also one of the more fixable, which is what makes missing it such a shame.
Every nerve fibre in your body is wrapped in a protective layer called myelin. Think of it as the insulation around an electrical wire. When the insulation is intact, the signal runs cleanly from one end to the other.
B12 is one of the materials your body uses to build and repair that layer. Run short of it for long enough and the insulation starts to thin. The signal leaks. What you feel at the other end is numbness, tingling, and sometimes weakness or poor balance.
B12 deficiency comes on slowly - we are talking years, not weeks. Your liver stores a fair amount of it, so the symptoms creep in gradually enough that you adjust without realising. By the time the feet are obviously numb, the shortfall has usually been there a long time.
It also gets blamed on other things. Tired, foggy, unsteady, pins and needles - all of it sounds like getting older, and often gets filed that way.
Some people are more likely to run low than others. Anyone over fifty absorbs it less well, because the stomach makes less of what is needed to pull it out of food. People taking metformin for diabetes, and people on long-term acid reducers, absorb less of it too.
Vegetarians and vegans are at higher risk, since B12 comes mainly from animal foods. And anyone who has had stomach or bowel surgery may absorb less than they used to.
A blood test settles it, and it is a routine one. If your feet are numb and nobody has checked your B12, that is a fair question to bring to your next appointment.
One thing worth knowing: correcting a shortfall does not undo years of damage overnight. Rebuilding that protective layer takes months, and the numbness is usually the last thing to come back, well after the tingling has settled.
Looking for nutritional support for your nerves?
Nerve Recovery Max brings together seven nerve-supporting nutrients in one capsule, including alpha-lipoic acid, the B vitamins and L-arginine.
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