Vitamin B12 and Your Liver

I wish someone really knew the truth about how vitamins affected our liver. Do you ever just want an honest, truthful answer? I’ve researched a lot, and can say that, for myself anyway, I’ve made peace with vitamin B12 consumption. You know that the reason I get all stressed out about it is because I want to protect my liver. You do too. Here I'm going to explain the benefits of vitamin B12 for hepatitis C.

Vitamin B12 and liver health

Liver disease can cause B vitamin deficiencies, mostly due to poor diet. For advanced liver disease, you may be trying to avoid excess meat to reduce hepatic encephalopathy. However, you might also be missing out on this valuable vitamin. Even if you are getting it in your diet, B12 does not absorb well in the intestine if you have cirrhosis, or stage 3 or 4 liver disease.

Your hepatologist, a doctor who specializes in the liver, can run a test if they suspect you are low in B12. Sometimes, it can be confusing when you are diagnosed with hepatitis C and have a high viral load. That is because the symptoms of low B12 looks suspiciously close to symptoms of having the hepatitis C virus growing in your liver. Let's look at the symptoms of low levels, as well as how to get some more B12 into your life.

Symptoms of low B12 levels

Some symptoms of low B12 levels include...

• Fatigue
• Low energy
• Confusion
• Memory problems
• Headaches
• Brain fog
• Anemia
• Moodiness
• Weakness

Finding B12 in food

If you’re looking to get more B12 in your life, consider your food sources first. It can be found in many foods from a paleo-type diet.

• Meat
• Fish
• Beef
• Eggs
• Lamb
• Pork
• Chicken
• Cheese

They add it in to make it easy. If you are vegan, or prefer to eat a lower meat protein, you will have to find other options. Even though B12 is not found in plants, you can easily find it in other foods. Many breakfast cereals and food bars have added B12 to fortify it. It’s easy to check the label to make sure you are getting enough.

Fortified foods

Some foods are also fortified with vitamins such as B12, including...

• Breakfast cereals
• Milk
• Yogurt
• Rice
• Yeast

Supplements

Vitamin B12 is water-soluble. What that means is that it is hard to overdose on it. What your body doesn’t use, will be passed out through your urine. If you are taking it with a B complex, it can cause you to have neon yellow in the toilet. That’s not just the B12, it is probably the B2, which is riboflavin. Many doctors offer injections of vitamin B12 for hepatitis C to pep up their patients.

Vitamin B12 is responsible for many of your body’s functions. It...

• Prevents heart disease
• Helps nerve health
• Builds healthy red blood cells
• Repairs skin and hair
• Heals gut and bowel disease

In my experience, by getting enough eggs and meat in your diet, you may feel better. Knowing that your cereal is fortified also provides the reassurance that you’re getting the vitamins you need. If you are not eating right and concerned about excessive fatigue or body aches with hepatitis C, ask your doctor if vitamin B12 is right for you. It can get you all jazzed up and knock out a lot of symptoms.