If you are looking for the rising star in the world of vitamins, vitamin B12 is probably your answer, and rightly so. Without reducing the importance of other vitamins, B12 has very significant roles. Severe vitamin B12 deficiency - blood levels that fall below the recommended level - can cause serious symptoms, including anemia and nervous system damage.
Vitamin B12 also called cobalamin, is essential for the human body, which needs it to produce DNA, the genetic material of the cells, red blood cells, proteins, hormones, and lipids (lipids). Vitamin B12 is also key to nervous health, is essential for the immune system, and has an important role in reducing the risk of brain events and heart disease. Even the body's energy production process (metabolism) will not work smoothly without B12.
Unlike other vitamins that the body does not store - vitamin B12 is actually stored in the body, and is stored in the liver, and even in large quantities. The best source of vitamin B12 is animal products, such as eggs, meat, seafood, and milk, because the vitamin produces an animal gut in the gut and stores it in their bodies.
Up to 15% of people do not get enough B12, and most likely suffer from celiac disease or other digestive problems, or are older than 50 years. Vegans and vegetarians and pregnant women can also suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency.
How Is Vitamin B12 Deficiency Expressed?
Vitamin B12 deficiency has a wide variety of symptoms. Low vitamin B12 levels can cause anemia and damage to the nervous system. Loss of appetite, weight loss, and feeling of weakness and fatigue are among the symptoms of B12 deficiency. Also, depression, poor memory, a thinking problem, and a fast heart rate may also indicate a deficiency. Other symptoms of vitamin deficiency can include tingling in the hands and feet, loss of balance, pain in the mouth or tongue, blurred vision, and constipation. Yellow skin, paranoia, and hallucinations may also indicate a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin B12 - Good values
Blood B12 deficiency is detected by a blood test, the results of which indicate the level of vitamin in the body. If you check the vitamin B12 level you have entered in the range of 712-170 picograms per milliliter of blood, then according to a general health fund you are within the normal range. Other funds also have higher ranges, ranging from 800 to 200, and in general, the recommendation is not to drop below 200 picograms per milliliter of blood, so as not to allow vitamin B12 reservoirs to dwindle further and enter a state of deficiency.
Will the Consumption of Excess Vitamin B12 Have Side Effects?
Unlike fat-soluble vitamins that accumulate in the body and excess can cause side effects, vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, so our body absorbs a certain amount and the rest is excreted in the urine, so a situation where excess vitamin B12 side effects are rare. In addition, it is not a toxic vitamin, so its high dose will not harm the body. Who can get excess vitamin B12? Most people are suffering from certain diseases, such as liver disease or leukemia, taking a large amount of vitamin B12. In any case, if you have a vitamin B12 recommendation, be sure to take the recommended amount.
How much vitamin B12 is it recommended to take?
Each of us needs to get Vitamin B12, at every stage of life. Below you will find a table listing the recommended daily consumption by age. The data were taken from the table of nutritional reference values of the Ministry of Health :
| age | The daily allowance is recommended |
| 6-0 months | 0.4 mcg |
| 12-7 months | 0.5 mcg |
| 3-1 years | 0.9 mcg |
| 8-4 years | 1.2 mcg |
| 13-9 years | 1.8 mcg |
| 14 years on (women and men) | 2.4 mcg |
| pregnant women | 2.6 mcg |
| Women are breastfeeding | 2.8 mcg |
How Should You Consume Vitamin B12?
There are two main ways to consume vitamin B12 - in your diet and supplements. Naturally, vitamin B12 is found only in animal-derived foods, especially beef, liver, chicken, turkey, fish (trout and salmon), and oysters, each of which provides an approximate daily intake. For those who do not eat animal products, such as vegetarians and vegans, as well as people who have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12, it is recommended to increase vitamin-rich foods, such as fortified cereals.
If you are recommended for vitamin B12 supplementation, it is important to pay attention to the recommended doses (in the table above) as well as the fact that there are two main types of B12 supplements: methylcobalamin and cyanocobalamin. And what is the difference between them? Cyanocobalamin is the most common form of vitamin B12 and is chemically synthesized and contains a cyanide molecule, whereas methylcobalamin is found in animal foods and contains a methyl group (carbon and hydrogen), so it is natural. It is important to know that when consuming cyanocobalamin, cyanide in the body is immediately converted to methylcobalamin in a process called methylation and cyanide does not remain in the body. Bottom line - both forms are good and provide good amounts of vitamin B12 to the body.
