Everybody gets tired from time to time, whether it’s from exercise, outdoor activities, a hectic workday, stress, or even from an inactive lifestyle.
When you feel tired all the time, or more often than seems normal, there’s a good chance you’re struggling with a chronic form of fatigue, which can stem from a range of issues, including lifestyle choices or medical illnesses.
Your body needs regular rest, but many mental and physical issues can also cause fatigue. Your body also needs energy to function and be productive when you’re awake. To better know how to address fatigue, you need to understand why it happens and how increasing vitamin B12 levels can help.
Maintaining energy levels to stay active is helped by ensuring we have enough nutrients and vitamins to fuel cells and improve overall health.
Dr. Shawn Veiseh and our medical staff help residents of Beverly Hills, California, boost their energy levels with B12 injections.
Fatigue stems from physical or mental factors, including things like:
Also referred to as cobalamin deficiency and named after the scientific term for this water-soluble nutrient, a B12 deficiency can result from low dietary intake or from your body not absorbing the vitamin properly.
It’s essential for such things as making red blood cells and DNA, and it helps keep your nerves healthy. Your body can’t produce this vitamin, so consuming it is important.
When you lack cobalamin in your diet, it can lead to a range of neurological, physical, and psychological issues, with fatigue being only one symptom.
A deficiency can also cause issues such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, weight loss, pale skin, numbness and tingling in your hands and feet, confusion, irritability, depression, and behavior changes.
We derive B12 from foods like eggs, meats, fish, dairy, nutritional yeast, and fortified foods, which means vegetarians are likely to need a supplemental form of this nutrient.
However, even if you eat enough to get the recommended dose (2.4 micrograms in people 14 and older), older adults and people with gastrointestinal issues may have problems absorbing it properly.
While simply adjusting vitamin levels by increasing intake of the foods or supplements you need can help alleviate symptoms, including fatigue, a clinical diagnosis of B12 deficiency is necessary to get the shots.
B12 injections are often necessary for individuals presenting with many of the symptoms mentioned and risk factors such as high alcohol intake, pernicious anemia, hereditary conditions, AIDS, and many digestive diseases.
If you’re struggling with fatigue, various signs of a B12 deficiency, or the common risk factors we’ve covered, schedule an appointment with Dr. Veiseh today by calling our office or booking online to see if a B12 injection is right for you.
