Modern food trends about eating healthy, have sparked a lot of discussion about Vitamin B12. Also known as Cobalamin, Vitamin B12 is vital. It fulfills a number of essential functions in the body, it is necessary for blood formation, cell metabolism, and nerve function. Our body can not produce vitamin B12 by itself, we have to take it in with the food we eat. Certain diets (vegan) taken to the extreme or illness of the digestive tract may result in a B12 deficiency. However, a healthy balanced diet should provide sufficient intake and can effectively prevent vitamin B12 deficiency. But how much vitamin b12 do I need?
Human and animal organisms cannot produce B12. This essential vitamin is only produced through microbial fermentation by certain bacteria and archaea. Some B12 producing bacteria live as symbionts in our digestive tract and small quantities of it are provided by them. The rest is consumed via the food we eat.
Now, what kinds of foods are to be consumed for healthy levels of vitamin B12?
Animal foods are found to be the best and greatest sources of the same, including organic grass-fed dairy products, cage-free eggs, wild-caught fish, grass-fed meat, organ meat in addition to organic poultry.
However, vitamin B12 is also found in minute quantities in fortified plant foods like nutritional yeast, grain products and in algae and other sea vegetables. The only fallout here is that these fortified plant food sources are not as absorbable as their counterpart, that is natural animal sources.
How much vitamin B12 do I need to consume a day?
An adult should consume about 3 μg (three micrograms) of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) per day. This should be taken in with the food eaten.
Pregnant and lactating women may have an increased demand for B12 and should consume about 3.5 to 4 micrograms per day.
A sufficient supply of vitamin B12 is vital for a healthy metabolism
Vegetarians and vegans are among the risk groups for vitamin B12 deficiency. So are the elderly or people that suffer an intestinal illness that reduces the absorption of nutrients via the intestinal mucosa.
As the body store cobalamin in the liver and the depot may last for up to two years, it can take time until a vitamin B12 deficit is often discovered.
What is Vitamin B12 good for?
Your energy level, memory, mood, heart, skin, digestion, hair are all affected by the levels of the vitamin B12 in the body. It is also critical for addressing adrenal fatigue and maintaining healthy nervous as well as cardiovascular systems. In addition to the aforesaid functions, it also regulates multiple metabolic functions like the production of enzymes, the biosynthesis of DNA, and the hormonal balance.
Because of its far approach and rendering to the most critical functions of the body, vitamin B12 deficiency can manifest as a lot of different symptoms. These negative symptoms may vary in their manifestation and are often much noticeable, like chronic fatigue, mood elevations, psychological disorders such as depression and even chronic stress.
Talking of the central nervous system, vitamin B12 helps to maintain the healthy functioning of the nerve cells. Maintenance of the protective covering of the nerve cells, myelin sheath, and regulation of neurotransmitter signaling is also aided by this vitamin. Imbalances in the levels of vitamin B12 can result in impairment of cognitive functions.
This is for information purposes only and does not substitute specific advice by your medical professional.
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