Hey there,
Vitamin B12 is a vitamin that can dissolve in water ("water-soluble"). This vitamin is naturally present in some foods and can also be taken as a dietary supplement or as a prescription. Your body does not generate B12 on its own, so you must get it in food or supplement form. Vitamin B12 exists in different forms, and each contains the mineral cobalt. Methylcobalamin and 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin are the types of B12 vitamins that work in your metabolism.
Vitamin B12 is essential for very important body processes like normal red blood cell formation, nerve function, and DNA synthesis. In food, vitamin B12 is usually bound to protein. If you take vitamin B12 in supplement form, it is free from protein binding.
What Happens With Vitamin B12 Deficiency?
If you don't get enough vitamin B12, you could have symptoms like:
- Megaloblastic anemia
- Fatigue and weakness
- Constipation
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
Vitamin B12 deficiency could be caused by not getting enough of the vitamin in your diet. Another cause of vitamin B12 deficiency can be due to an illness called pernicious anemia, which is an autoimmune disease. Pernicious anemia leads to problems in the wall of your stomach, and the result is that your intestines can't absorb the vitamin. This is due to a lack of a substance called intrinsic factor. This means that even if you eat plenty of vitamin B12-rich foods and take supplements, you will still have a vitamin B12 deficiency. People with pernicious anemia usually need to be treated with vitamin B12 injections.
Some neurologic specific symptoms that can occur with vitamin B12 deficiency are:
- Hand or feet numbness and tingling
- Difficulty maintaining balance
- Depression
- Confusion
- Dementia
- Memory difficulty
- Soreness of the mouth or tongue
What About Vitamin B12 & Aging?
As you can see from the list of symptoms above, vitamin B12 has a lot to do with processes commonly associated with aging. Take cognitive function for instance. If you are deficient in vitamin B12, you could experience trouble with remembering things, such as directions to get somewhere. In the worst case scenario, you could even develop Alzheimer's disease-like dementia. Therefore, adequate vitamin B12 intake plays a protective role in brain function.
If we look at the other symptoms associated with vitamin B12 deficiency ― such as fatigue, constipation or depression ― we can see how these are sometimes associated with aging. Instead, could it be a simple vitamin deficiency instead?
What Are Good Sources of Vitamin B12?
The most natural way to get adequate vitamin B12 is from animal sources. These are some of the foods with the highest vitamin B12 content:
- Clams
- Liver and beef
- Fish like trout, salmon, tuna, and haddock
- Milk, yogurt, and cheese
- Eggs
- Chicken
What Does Vitamin B12 Do for You?
The benefits of sufficient vitamin B12 in your diet are numerous. Let's look at how this powerful vitamin helps keep you young from head to toe:
Brain health: Vitamin B12 helps keep your neurons functioning optimally. This means B12 may prevent Alzheimer's. Due to its ability to lower homocysteine, vitamin B12 might also lower your risk of stroke.
Mood: Low vitamin B12 levels have been associated with depression. Even general fatigue might be due to a lack of vitamin B12. Some evidence suggests that vitamin B12 may also help you cope with anxiety and stress.
Energy: Vitamin B12 plays a key role in the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose which you need for energy. Also, if your nervous system is not working normally, it could lead to fatigue.
Skin & hair: As vitamin B12 plays a role in cell production, it may promote more supple skin and healthier hair. Vitamin B12 deficiency may speed up the skin and hair aging process.
Heart & circulation: Although the studies are not conclusive, vitamin B12 lowers the level of an important heart attack risk marker (homocysteine).
Digestion: Vitamin B12 plays a critical role in your metabolism and food breakdown in your digestive tract.
Pregnancy: By interacting with folate, vitamin B12 may play a role in the prevention of neural tube defects in newborns.
Should You Take a Vitamin B12 Supplement?
Before you take additional vitamin B12 beyond what's in your diet, you should consult with your doctor. If you have symptoms as described in this article ― with no other obvious cause ― you might ask for more sophisticated testing of your vitamin B12 levels. If you are found to be vitamin B12 deficient, the next step would be to determine if you absorb the vitamin properly in your digestion. Poor absorption would require vitamin B12 injections to correct the deficiency.
I hope this helps!
Sue
PS, please check out my blog for other interesting & helpful articles!
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