New research investigates the link between vitamin B12 and inflammation in high-inflammation conditions like infection, obesity, and irritable bowel syndrome.
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Higher circulating vitamin B12 is associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers in individuals at high cardiovascular risk and in naturally aged mice
Go to source). Published 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 mice. A 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 (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP).
Mediterranean Diet's Impact on Cardiovascular Health
Rosa M Lamuela-Raventos, professor of nutrition, food sciences and gastronomy at INSA-University 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 Agriculture. They utilized samples from a randomized 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 disease.‘An inverse relationship exists, where higher levels of vitamin B12 correspond to lower levels of inflammatory markers in an individual. #inflammation #vitaminb12’
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An assessment of the serum levels of vitamin B12 and the concentrations of the inflammatory markers revealed a correlation between the two. 
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“We 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, occur,” the authors wrote.Surprisingly, the researchers noted that unlike humans, mice do not become B12 deficient with age.
“We didn't know this before, and it poses the possibility that studying mice could potentially help us understand how we could prevent B12 deficiency in older humans,” said Kovatcheva.
Reference:
- Higher circulating vitamin B12 is associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers in individuals at high cardiovascular risk and in naturally aged mice - (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jsfa.12976)
Source-IANS