Donna L Brogan.com

There are several vitamins your body needs to survive.  Without Vitamin B12 our metabolism would be affected and there would be problems with the forming of our red blood cells. These red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, maintain the nervous systems, and send messages to and from the brain to tell us important  things.

As I noted in a previous post, vitamins fall into two general categories, fat-soluble vitamins which can be stored in the body and, in some cases, produced by the body.  Because of this, deficiency is very rare.   The other category is water-soluble vitamins which are not stored in the body.  Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin and can be stored but ,in some cases ,it cannot be properly used in the body.  Therefore, we must be eating it every day. You can find good levels of vitamin B 12 in eggs, poultry, beef, pork, shellfish, and dairy products, especially milk.  And,  if you are eating a healthy, balanced diet, you should’nt have to worry about having a  lower or higher than normal level of vitamin B12 in the body.

If you have special dietary needs or medical conditions, vitamin supplements may be needed.  Because vitamin B12 is one of the few vitamins that can be stored in the body, extreme deficiency is very rare.  However, if your body cannot use vitamin B12 properly or absorb it from foods in the intestinal tract, you may need vitamin supplements to help your body. If you believe that you are not getting enough vitamin B12, you should talk to your doctor and he or she can help you find the right vitamin supplements to take.

Vegans are especially prone to low amounts of this vitamin since most of the vitamin B12 we get in our diets is found in meat.  If you don’t get enough vitamin B12, you could develop a condition known as pernicious anemia. Symptoms include numbness and tingling in your arms and legs, weakness, loss of balance, and other neurological symptoms.  If you are worried about developing pernicious anemia, you should talk to your doctor about beginning to take vitamin B12 supplements today.