Researchers at the US National Academy of Sciences stressed the need for older adults over the age of 50 to take vitamin B12 food tablets to protect them from neurological disorders.

The researchers pointed out that vitamin B12 deficiency causes neurological damage ranging in severity from numbness and light tingling, to lack of balance, change in memory, and imbalance in motor coordination.

They said that most of the elderly consume sufficient foods that meet their needs of this nutrient and achieve the recommended daily amount of it, but between 10 and 30% of them – especially those over the age of fifty – may develop a disease that hinders the absorption of the vitamin by their bodies.

The scientists explained that the patient with this condition produces very small amounts of stomach acid and suffers from a defect in the work of the digestive enzyme responsible for separating vitamin B12 from food proteins, while nutritional supplements of this vitamin do not need to be separated from proteins and reach the body tissues directly without obstruction