Q: My 55 years old father has low vitamin B12 count and has pain in his body. He is also suffering from hypertension and high cholesterol for which he takes these medicines - amlopres-L, Tenolol and Modlip-asg. Have these drugs caused vitamin B12 deficiency? How do we treat this?

A:B12 deficiency can cause neuropathy and anaemia, but diffuse pain is unlikely. The drugs you mentioned do not cause B12 deficiency. Vegetarians get B12 deficiency quite frequently because their diet usually lacks vitamin B12. Only vegetarian source of B12 is milk products – but it’s a poor source. If your father is suffering from B12 deficiency then he will need supplementation.