- Maintaining a constant body temperature is a key function of the body, but certain factors can disturb this process.
- Deficiencies of iron, vitamins B12 and B9 can significantly affect the feeling of cold, weakening circulation and heat production.
- Understand why your body may be constantly freezing and what symptoms indicate you’re deficient in key vitamins.
Why might you feel cold all the time?
The human body is designed to maintain a constant body temperature. Natural thermoregulation protects us against cooling and overheating. Both the brain, arteries and glands constantly work to maintain the correct body temperature. However, sometimes this balance is disturbed. The most common cause is, of course, and exposure to extreme weather conditions. However, it sometimes happens that fluctuations in body temperature result from certain deficiencies. According to research published in the Journal of Thermal Biology, deficiencies in certain nutrients can disrupt heat production, which in turn causes a constant feeling of cold. These ingredients include many minerals and vitamins, deficiencies of which may occur in winter. This includes iron, which is responsible for the production of hemoglobin, a protein that transports oxygen in the body. It happens that without sufficient amounts of oxygen, muscles and tissues do not produce the necessary heat.
Not only iron deficiency affects our thermoregulation. It is also a deficiency of vitamin B12. This vitamin is necessary for the production of red blood cells and brain function. Its deficiency causes poor circulation and a constant feeling of cold, especially in the hands and feet. Vitamin B9, i.e. folic acid, is also related to vitamin B12. Its deficiencies block the production of red blood cells and may also affect the level of cold felt.
What are the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency?
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency can develop insidiously because it can store its reserves, and the first symptoms may be non-specific. The most common ones include chronic fatigue, weakness, pallor, palpitations and shortness of breath on exertion, because B12 is crucial for the proper production of blood cells. Some people also notice “brain fog”, problems with concentration and memory, depressed mood, as well as tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, sensory disturbances or difficulty maintaining balance – these are signals that the deficiency is beginning to affect the nervous system. Sometimes, gastrointestinal problems also occur, such as poor appetite, diarrhea, glossitis or constipation.
The cause of deficiency may be too little supply in the diet, but very often the problem is absorption. B12 naturally occurs mainly in animal products, so people on a vegan diet (and some vegetarians, if dairy products and eggs are rare) are particularly at risk. The risk also increases in the elderly, after stomach or intestinal surgery, in inflammatory bowel diseases, in celiac disease, as well as in people with pernicious (autoimmune) anemia or with long-term use of certain drugs, e.g. metformin or proton pump inhibitors. , it is worth not delaying the diagnosis: the basis is blood tests and consultation with a doctor who will select the treatment and form of supplementation (oral or injection) depending on the cause.
