What is vitamin B12 good for?
What is vitamin B12 good for?
Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body’s blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent megaloblastic anemia, a blood condition that makes people tired and weak.
Why is B12 only found in animals?
Vegetarian animals harbor bacteria in their intestines that make vitamin B12 for them. This is a symbiosis of sorts where the herbivores provide a steady supply of food and a nice warm home, and the bacteria excrete B12 that the herbivores then absorb.
Where does B12 come from?
Vitamin B12 is naturally present in foods of animal origin, including fish, meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products [5]. In addition, fortified breakfast cereals and fortified nutritional yeasts are readily available sources of vitamin B12 that have high bioavailability [12,13].
Can too much B12 cause miscarriage?
Homocysteine and vitamin B12 status were not associated with miscarriage risk.
Can you take vitamin B12 alone?
Yes, vitamin B12 can be provided on its own, without folate.
Is it OK to take B12 every other day?
The usual dose for pernicious anemia-associated vitamin B12 deficiency is 100 mcg given as an injection into the muscle or under the skin once daily for 6-7 days. Then the dose may be given every other day for 7 doses followed by every 3-4 days for around 3 weeks.
How much B12 is safe while pregnant?
Boosting B12 While Pregnant The National Institutes of Health recommended that pregnant and nursing moms consume 2.8 micrograms (mcg) of B12 per day.
Why is it important to take vitamin B12?
There’s no question that vitamin B12 is essential for health. This nutrient is responsible for numerous functions in your body, including red blood cell formation, energy production, DNA formation and nerve maintenance (1).
Which is a better indicator of vitamin B12 deficiency?
Elevated methylmalonic acid levels (values >0.4 micromol/L) might be a more reliable indicator of vitamin B12 status because they indicate a metabolic change that is highly specific to vitamin B12 deficiency [ 5-7, 12 ].
How many micrograms of vitamin B12 a day?
The average adult should get 2.4 micrograms a day. Like most vitamins, B12 can’t be made by the body. Instead, it must be gotten from food or supplements. And therein lies the problem: Some people don’t consume enough vitamin B12 to meet their needs, while others can’t absorb enough, no matter how much they take in.
What foods should you eat if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency?
In many people, a vitamin B12 deficiency can be prevented. If you are a strict vegetarian or vegan, it’s important to eat breads, cereals, or other grains that have been fortified with vitamin B12, or take a daily supplement.
Which is a better test for vitamin B12 deficiency?
And methylmalonic acid is a MUCH better marker of vitamin B12 deficiency because it actually tells you if your body can utilize the B12 floating around in your bloodstream. Doctors know this, or at least they should because they were taught this as a first year medical school.
There’s no question that vitamin B12 is essential for health. This nutrient is responsible for numerous functions in your body, including red blood cell formation, energy production, DNA formation and nerve maintenance (1).
What happens if you are deficient in vitamin B12?
Vitamin B12 might be one of the most important vitamins in the body because every single cell in your body needs it. And if you are deficient in this important vitamin you may start to experience problems in energy production, nerve cell growth, and other areas .
What does it mean when your B12 levels are high?
If your test shows excessive B12 levels, in the absence of supplementation, this may be a sign of liver disease or cell death (and the breakdown of tissues) that release the vitamin back into your blood circulation. Therefore, high serum B12 levels (hypercobalaminemia) may be a warning sign of some serious underlying pathologies: