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  "path": "/health/b12-deficiency-symptoms-ageing-signs-warning-health",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-26T14:59:16.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Surgeon warns of heatwave habit that can trigger a fatal blood clot - and warning signs people miss",
    "Bloodthirsty mosquitoes to thrive in Britain as deadly virus alarm raised amid heatwave conditions",
    "London Emergency Service records highest number of emergency calls as heatwave grips UK",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nAdults only need around two micrograms of vitamin B12 daily - less than a sliver of a grain of salt - to survive. But getting too little can have severe health consequences.\n\nDespite a century of research into vitamin B12, deficiencies remain rife - with most cases going unrecognised due to their slow progression.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n#### What are the symptoms?\n\nBecause no symptom is specific to B12, most people put them down to getting older. Also part of the problem is that no one ever thinks to question them because they develop so gradually.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nFatigue, weakness and breathlessness are the earliest signs, as are tingling or numbness in the hands and feet. Patients also report poor balance, memory difficulties and brain fog.\n\nThe irony of B12 deficiency is that the people it affects the most - older adults - are also those most likely to have their symptoms dismissed.\n\nPersistent fatigue is the most common example - and it has a well-understood biological cause. Doctors have long associated fatigue with anaemia; without sufficient B12, the bone marrow is unable to produce healthy red blood cells.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nInstead, it releases oversized cells that carry oxygen less efficiently, causing fatigue that feels indistinguishable from simple exhaustion.\n\nIn a 2026 study, low B12 levels were found to interfere with DNA inside mitochondria and reduce energy production in muscle cells, offering a possible explanation for why people report fatigue and brain fog well before anaemia shows up in their blood work.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Surgeon warns of heatwave habit that can trigger a fatal blood clot - and warning signs people miss\n  * Bloodthirsty mosquitoes to thrive in Britain as deadly virus alarm raised amid heatwave conditions\n  * London Emergency Service records highest number of emergency calls as heatwave grips UK\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n#### Who is most at risk?\n\nB12 is found in its natural form almost exclusively in animal-derived foods like meat, fish, eggs and dairy, putting vegans and vegetarians at a significantly elevated risk.\n\nBut the deficiency is also extremely common in older adults - for reasons that have nothing to do with diet.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOver time, the body becomes less efficient at extracting B12 from food. Some adults may even have sub-optimal levels of stomach acid, required to release the vitamin during digestion.\n\nIn some cases, autoimmune gastritis is to blame. This is where the stomach cells responsible for producing the acid and protein, also known as intrinsic factor, come under attack and prevent the absorption of B12.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n#### How to diagnose and treat a deficiency?\n\nB12 injections are an effective treatment for diagnosed deficiency, particularly in cases where impaired absorption is the cause.\n\nAnyone suffering from brain fog or persistent tiredness can ask their GP for a blood test.\n\nThe condition is straightforward to detect and treat - the main difficulty is often recognising that what feels like ageing is something else entirely.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Three key 'ageing' symptoms that could actually signal vitamin B12 deficiency"
}