Scurvy fever, convulsions, and eventual death are frequently seen. Scurvy, including subclinical scurvy, is caused by a deficiency of dietary vitamin C since humans are unable to metabolically make this chemical. Provided diet contains sufficient vitamin C, the lack of working GULO enzyme has no significance, and in modern Western societies, scurvy is rarely present in adults, although infants and elderly people are affected. Virtually all commercially available baby formulas contain added vitamin C, preventing infantile scurvy. Human breast milk contains sufficient vitamin C, if the mother has an adequate intake. Commercial milk is pasteurized, a heating process that destroys the
Vitamin B12 deficiency While most symptoms resolve with supplementation some developmental and cognitive problems may persist. Tinnitus may be associated with vitamin B deficiency. The total amount of vitamin B stored in the body is between two and five milligrams in adults. Approximately 50% is stored in the liver, but approximately 0.1% is lost each day, due to secretions into the gut—not all of the vitamin in the gut is reabsorbed. While bile is the main vehicle for B excretion, most of this is recycled via enterohepatic circulation. Due to the extreme efficiency of this mechanism, the liver can store three to five