Serious problems caused by a Vitamin B5 deficiency are very uncommon and usually only seen in people with other serious medical conditions. There are two exceptions to this, and those are people who abuse alcohol and those on extreme diets who do not take proper precautions. Vitamin B5 is found in many foods, but the main sources are meat, dairy products and whole grain foods. Vitamin B5 is necessary for the body to properly use fats, both those that are consumed in food, and those that are already stored in the body. Because vitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid, is also used in all forms of energy conversion including carbohydrates and proteins, a deficiency will greatly affect energy levels and functions of many cells in the body.
There are many situations that can lead to a vitamin B5 deficiency, but they are all very rare. The two most common causes are because of problems extracting the vitamin B5 from food, or because the nutrient is not present in the food to begin with. People on vegan diets who do not eat any meat or dairy products need to pay attention to the other foods they are consuming to be sure to get enough vitamin B5. Non-animal sources are mainly whole grain foods and certain vegetables. The other major cause of vitamin B5 deficiency is a problem with the digestive tract. This is mainly seen in people who consume too much alcohol or caffeine, both of which do not allow the body to absorb vitamin B5 quickly enough before the food is passed through the digestive tract. Certain medications can also interfere with the ability of the body to absorb vitamin B5, they include many antibiotics, some sleeping pills as well as the birth control pill. Care must be taken whenever using these medications over long periods of time as they may slowly lead to a vitamin B5 deficiency.
There are many symptoms of a vitamin B5 deficiency, some are superficial and not harmful in themselves, and others are dangerous and can lead to serious problems. Because Vitamin B5 is so important in energy conversion and production, the most serious side effects of a vitamin B5 deficiency are related to cells starving for energy. These side effects include things like memory problems, confusion and irritability when affecting brain cells and things like fatigue and muscle weakness when affecting muscle cells. Some of the more superficial side effects of a vitamin B5 deficiency include things like poor skin quality and loss of hair color and overall poor hair quality.
The treatment for vitamin B5 deficiency is simply taking supplements daily and attempting to overcome the causes of the deficiency in the first place. There is very little history of vitamin B5 causing long term issues that cannot be corrected, in most cases, the cause of the vitamin B5 deficiency will cause other problems that lead to severe health issues before the vitamin B5 deficiency has a chance to cause any long-lasting damage to the body. One of the real dangers of vitamin B5 deficiency is that the symptoms are generally non-specific and easily overlooked, therefore the deficiency can go undetected and cause a prolonged lowering of quality of the individual’s life. For instance, the person could be chronically tired or have poor memory for long periods of time.
Vitamin B5 deficiency is not a common problem because sufficient levels of the nutrient are easily obtained through even modest amount of meat, dairy and whole grain foods. Because vitamin B5 is mainly used by the body to produce energy, a deficiency will result in symptoms related to low energy levels. These symptoms are usually first to appear as an overall feeling of being tired and weak as well as mental conditions such as poor memory or alertness. A vitamin B5 deficiency is hard to identify because they symptoms are so widespread and non-specific, but they are easily overcome by increasing the amount of the nutrient consumed.
