Overview
- Vitamin B12 underpins red‑blood‑cell formation, DNA synthesis and nervous‑system function, with these benefits formally recognized by European regulators.
- Those at heightened risk for B12 deficiency include people on vegan or vegetarian diets, older adults and patients with gastrointestinal disease or gastric surgery, with large liver stores delaying symptom onset despite a daily need of only a few micrograms.
- Practical prevention stresses fortified foods or supplements for plant‑based diets, routine blood testing for those at risk and injections or high‑dose oral therapy when absorption is impaired.
- Citing research that associated very high, prolonged supplemental B12 intake with increased lung‑cancer risk in men, Germany’s risk‑assessment authority advises keeping B12 from supplements at or below 25 micrograms per day.
- Vitamin K remains crucial for blood clotting, with newborns routinely given oral doses after birth and at early checkups, while adult deficiency is uncommon, diagnosed with coagulation testing and corrected with oral or injectable vitamin K.