Vitamin B12 - What you need to know

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that plays a critical role in many of the body's functions. It helps keep nerve cells healthy and supports the formation of red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body. Because it's involved in so many processes, vitamin B12 deficiency can have wide ranging effects on your health.

What is Vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin that functions as a cofactor for methionine synthase, which is required for the synthesis of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), a universal methyl donor in the body. SAMe is important in many biochemical reactions and an adequate supply of B12 is necessary to ensure these reactions proceed normally.

The human body can’t produce B12, so it must be obtained from other sources. The most common sources are animal products, including meat and eggs. However, there are also many plant based foods that contain B12 such as whole wheat bread, green leafy vegetables, nuts and yeast. Alternatively, B12 sources can be obrtained through adequate supplementation.

What does Vitamin B12 do?

Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin that helps keep your body healthy. It's involved in the creation of red blood cells, DNA, RNA, neurotransmitters and antibodies. Vitamin B12 also helps with energy metabolism and methylation (a process that affects how cells work).

Also, B12 Vitamin benefits the development of the nervous system and helps with cognitive function - including memory and concentration. It's also important for the production of DNA.

If you don't get enough Vitamin B12 in your diet (or if your body can't absorb it well), you may be at risk for anemia, fatigue, weakness and numbness in your legs and arms. 

How much Vitamin B12 do I need?

The recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms for adults. Children need even less than that - the amount that a two year old needs is about 0.9 mcg, while an 8 year old child needs only 1.2 mcg/day.

During pregnancy and lactation, a woman will need a higher intake of B12. During pregnancy, a 2.6 mcg is recommended, while lactating mums will need about 2.6 mcg per day.

The recommended daily intake for vitamin B12 is based on the amount necessary to prevent deficiency symptoms. However, the amount needed to maintain good health and to prevent other diseases is not known.

Where can I find Vitamin B12?

There are several ways to get your recommended daily intake of vitamin B12. The easiest way is to consume foods that have been fortified with the nutrient, such as cereals and nutritional yeast, including soy milk.

Vitamin B12 can also be found in some vegetables and fruits, including asparagus, kale, spinach and avocado, as well as seaweed and spirulina (a type of blue green algae). However, these foods do not contain enough vitamin B12 to meet your daily needs.

If you're vegan, it might be hard to get enough vitamin B12 from food alone. You might need to take a B12 for vegans supplement or eat fortified foods to make sure you're getting enough. 

VITUS Pure Plant Sourced B12 contains 100% of your recommended dietary intake (RDI) of vitamin B12 and vitamin D. This nutrient-dense powder is made from 89% organic ingredients, including a quinoa sprout powder that is rich in B vitamins including Vitamin B12, which contributes to energy metabolism and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

Signs of vitamin B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause a number of symptoms, including:

• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue or weakness
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Muscle weakness and soreness
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Tingling sensation in arms and legs

The most common way to test for deficiency is through B12 blood tests. This will show whether or not your body has enough of the vitamin stored in its tissues and organs. While this is a good way to determine if you're deficient, it won't tell you how severe the issue might be or whether or not it's affecting your health. 

Imuni Vegan Complete is all in one capsule for plant based diets, containing B12 for vegeterians and vegans. Each dose is packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients to support energy production, metabolism, healthy growth and development, hair growth, nail strength and thickness, skin health and integrity, teeth and bones, calcium absorption, thyroid hormone production, muscle function and more.

Causes of a Vitamin B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 deficiency is most likely to occur if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, which may be low in vitamin B12. Other reasons that your diet might lack sufficient vitamin B12 include:

• A high intake of raw fish or meat (where bacteria may have destroyed the vitamin)
• Cooking at very high temperatures (which oxidizes and destroys molecular bonds in food)
• Eating foods that are staples for some cultures, but don’t necessarily provide adequate amounts of nutrients like B12 - such as tortillas made from white flour instead of whole grains such as corn or wheat.

A lack of B12 can also be caused by intestinal problems, such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease or genetic condition called pernicious anemia, which prevents the body from absorbing vitamin B12.

Who is at risk for a Vitamin B 12 deficiency?

If you're not a meat eater, it's possible that you're deficient in vitamin B12. If you don't eat fish, eggs, or dairy products on a regular basis (or at all), then your risk of a deficiency is higher than someone who does. Even if your diet includes animal products, it may still be lacking in the crucial vitamin. Here are some other groups of people who might need to pay extra attention to their diets:

• Vegetarians
• Older adults
• People with pernicious anemia
• People who have had gastric bypass surgery
• People with Crohn's disease or celiac disease

Why eat foods rich in vitamin B 12?

Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin that helps keep your nervous system healthy and works with folate to make red blood cells. It's also important for keeping your heart and muscles working well.

Most plant foods don't contain much vitamin B12, even though they're fortified with it. However, there are some exceptions: you'll find vitamin B12 in fortified cereals, nutritional yeast flakes, seaweeds like kelp or dulse flakes (a type of edible algae), and soy milk.

If you don't have enough of B12 in your diet, you may develop symptoms of deficiency - like feeling tired and weak, having difficulty concentrating and trouble with balance or walking.

Know how to get more B12 in your diet

If you're not a meat eater, it may be hard to get enough vitamin B12. If this is the case for you, here are some additional ways to boost your intake:

• Eat more seaweeds, yeast flakes or dulse flakes. These foods contain large amounts of vitamin B12.
• Take B12 supplements if you don't eat enough animal products or fortified foods. Some people take larger doses - 800 micrograms per day - but this isn't recommended unless advised by a doctor. High quality supplements from reputable companies like Vitus will help ensure that they have an adequate amount of b12 in them so that taking one tablet daily will provide all the recommended daily allowances (RDAs).

The body does not store vitamin B12, so it's important to get a regular supply. If you are concerned about your levels, consult with your doctor and get tested. Consuming a multivitamin is another way to increase your B12 intake. VITUS Vegan Multi contains over 100% RDI of vitamins A, B12, C & D, folic acid, calcium, iron & iodine, plus many other vitamins and minerals.

Final thoughts

The takeaway here is that there are many sources of Vitamin B12, and you should try to eat a variety of foods to get the most out of your diet. It's important to know what foods contain vitamin B12, so that you can make sure you're getting enough!

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS