The Energy Vitamin and then some Vitamin B12 is known as the “energy vitamin,” and it is essential for many critical functions in your body, including energy production, supporting your immune system, and helping to regulate the formation of red blood cells. Recent studies from the US Framingham trial show that one in four adults in the US are deficient in this vitally important nutrient and nearly half of the population has suboptimal blood levels.
Vitamin B12 is present only in animal sources of food—which is one of the reasons vegetarians or vegans suffer from deficiency resulting in less than optimal nervous system function, a tendency toward nervousness, and even less-than-optimal eye health. India is a primarily vegetarian based culture and current studies there show about 80% of the adults are deficient in vitamin B12.
In addition, the older you get the more likely you are to have a vitamin B12 deficiency. The two main contributors to B12 deficiency are inadequate diet and an inability to absorb it.
The older you get the more inefficient the digestive system becomes, especially due to the standard American diet. The lining of the stomach gradually loses its ability to produce hydrochloric acid which releases vitamin B 12 from your food. The use of antacids or anti ulcer drugs will also lower your stomach acid secretion and further decrease your ability to absorb vitamin B12. Infection with Helicobactor pylori, a common contributor to stomach ulcers, can also result in vitamin B12 deficiency.
The main cause of vitamin B12 deficiency is a term researchers call food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome or pernicious anemia. Cobalamin is the scientific term for vitamin B12. When the stomach lining losing its ability to produce intrinsic factor, which is a protein that binds to vitamin B12 and allows for absorption into the small intestine, supplementation of vitamin B-12 may still be necessary. Even if your diet is rich in B-12, such as meat, poultry, liver, brewer’s yeast, clams, eggs, herring, mackerel, dairy products, or seafood you may still be deficient.
Low energy is one of our country’s biggest health complaints, due to refined foods which deplete nutrients, containssugar, chemicals, food colorings and preservatives. Add harmful effects of caffeine, pollution, conventional therapies, and stress, it becomes a recipe for energy drain.
The benefits of Vitamin B-12 are many. It helps folic acid regulate the formation of red blood cells, and the body to use iron. It is needed for proper digestion, food absorption, carbohydrate and fat metabolism. It assists the nervous system – the nerves function and communicate in an optimal manner as well as promote normal nerve growth and development by maintaining the fatty sheaths, which play a vital role in nerve protection. This micronutrient is critical to circulation and adrenal hormone production – plus, it boosts immunity. Vitamin B-12 supports a healthy mood and feelings of well-being. It also provides excellent support for memory, mental clarity, and concentration.
Plant sources have virtually no vitamin B-12. Vegetarians should take this essential micronutrient to ensure an adequate supply of it, because it is found almost exclusively in animal tissues. Few plant foods are sources of B-12. They have B-12 analogs – not the form that provides the benefits of B12.
B-12 can be taken during the day for sleeping difficulties. B-12 plays a vital role in melatonin production. Melatonin has been called “the sleep hormone” because it is responsible for a good night’s sleep. As you age, it becomes more difficult to get a good night’s sleep because the body becomes less efficient at making this hormone.
The late Victor Herbert, a renowned B-12 researcher, said that many multivitamin products on the market today contain dangerous B-12 analogs. In other words, analogs get created when crystalline B-12 interacts with other nutrients in multivitamin products, such as vitamin C, iron and copper—increasing the body’s need for B-12. Most multi-vitamins sold today are a complete waste of money when it comes to their B-12 quality and performance.
Before supplementation of Vitamin B12, consult with an expert, due to the complexity of its chemical structure.
References:
- www.mercola.com
- Grogan, Peyton at the vitamin connection
- Natow, Annette, PhD., R.D., Complete Book of Vitamins and Minerals. Publications Internationals, Ltd. Illinois, 1988.
For more info, contact Leslie Baker, PharmD, RPh at (775) 829-0774.
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