B12 deficiency may trigger chronic inflammation, finds study

A new study has identified a compelling link between vitamin B12 deficiency and chronic inflammation which is associated with a range of health problems including cardiovascular disease diabetes and neurodegenerative disordersPublished in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture the research examined the effects of circulating B12 concentration on the levels of two key inflammatory markers in both humans and miceA team of researchers in Spain have investigated the effects of vitamin B12 on the levels of two molecules in the body which promote inflammation specifically interleukin IL6 and Creactive protein CRPRosa M LamuelaRaventos professor of nutrition food sciences and gastronomy at INSAUniversity of Barcelona and Ines Dominguez Lopez a predoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona led the study published in Journal of the Science of Food and AgricultureThey utilised samples from a randomised subsection of participants in a large clinical trial based in Spain designed to assess the effect of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseaseAn assessment of the serum levels of vitamin B12 and the concentrations of the inflammatory markers revealed a correlation between the twoldquoOur study found that in general the more vitamin B12 an individual has the lower their inflammatory markers are we call this an inverse relationshiprdquo explained Marta Kovatcheva a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine IRB BarcelonaldquoWe already know that vitamin B12 deficiency can be harmful in many ways but what we have reported here is a novel relationship This might help us better understand why some unexplained symptoms of human B12 deficiency like neurologic defects occurrdquo the authors wroteSurprisingly the researchers noted that unlike humans mice do not become B12 deficient with ageldquoWe didnt know this before and it poses the possibility that studying mice could potentially help us understand how we could prevent B12 deficiency in older humansrdquo said KovatchevaThe team now hopes to explore the link between vitamin B12 and inflammation within the context of specific highinflammation conditions such as infection obesity and irritable bowel syndromeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever