Do You Get Enough Vitamin B12?
You want to make sure you do this to stay healthy.Vitamin B12 does plenty of things for your body. For example, it helps to make your DNA and your red blood cells. Since your body does not produce vitamin B12, you have to get it from animal-based meals or supplements. And you should do this regularly because your body does not store vitamin B12 for long.
How much will you get?
The answer depends on things including your age, your eating habits, and medical conditions, and the medications you take. The average recommended amount, measured in micrograms (mcg), varies by age:
Babies up to 6 months of age: 0.4 mcg
Infants 7–12 months: 0.5 mcg
Children 1-3 years of age: 0.9 mcg |Children 4-8 years old: 1.2 mcg | Children 9-13 years: 1.8 mcg
Teenage 14-18: 2.4 mcg (2.6 mcg per day if pregnant and lactating 2.8 mcg per day)
Adult: 2.4 mcg (2.4 mcg per day if pregnant and 2.0 mcg per day if breastfeeding)
Food sources of Vitamin B12
You can get vitamin B12 in animal foods, which are obtained naturally, or from items that have been fortified with it.
Animal sources incorporate dairy products, fish, meat, eggs, and poultry. If you are looking for a fortified diet with B12, check the Nutrition Facts label of the product.
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Most people in the US get adequate amounts of this nutrient. If you are not sure, you can ask your doctor if you should have a blood test to check your vitamin B12 levels.
With age, this vitamin can be difficult to absorb. This can also happen if you have weight loss surgery or any other operation that removes part of your stomach, or if you drink heavily.
If you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, you may be more likely to develop it:
Atrophic gastritis, in which the lining of your stomach is thinned
Pernicious anemia, which makes it harder for your body to absorb vitamin B12.
Conditions that influence your small intestines; such as Crohn’s disease, bacterial growth, celiac disease, or a parasite Immune system disorders, such as lupus or Graves’ disease.
Taking some medicines that hinder the absorption of B12. This includes some heartburn drugs including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) such as rabeprazole, omeprazole, esomeprazole, lansoprazole, and pantoprazole; H2 blockers such as cimetidine, famotidine, and ranitidine; And some diabetes medicines like metformin.
If you follow a vegetarian diet, you can also get vitamin B12 deficiency (meaning you do not eat any animal products, including meat, milk, cheese, and eggs) or you are a vegetarian who has enough eggs or dairy. Do not eat products. Meet your vitamin B12 needs. In both of those cases, you can include fortified foods in your diet or take a dietary supplement to meet this requirement.
Continuous Pregnant or new mother?
Are you a pregnant woman on a vegetarian or vegetarian diet, and only planning to breastfeed your baby? You should talk to your doctor before you have your baby so that you have a plan on how to get enough vitamin B12 to keep your child healthy.
Without enough vitamin B12, your baby can develop developmentally and not thrive or grow like that.
Symptoms of vitamin b12 deficiency
If you are deficient in vitamin B12, you can become anemic. A slight deficiency may not have any symptoms. But if left untreated, the symptoms can be:
- Weakness, fatigue or laziness
- Heartburn and shortness of breath
- Pale skin
- A smooth tongue
- Constipation, diarrhea, loss of appetite or gas
- Nervous problems such as numbness or tingling, muscle weakness, and walking problems
- Vision loss
- Mental problems such as depression, memory loss, or behavioral changes
Treatment
If you have severe anemia or have trouble absorbing vitamin B12, you will first need shots of this vitamin. You may need to get these shots, take a high dose of a supplement by mouth, or after that.
If you do not eat animal products, you have options. You can change your diet to include vitamin B12-fortified grains, a supplement or B12 injection, or high-dose oral vitamin B12 if you are deficient.
Adults who are deficient in vitamin B12 have to take B12 supplements or multivitamins daily, which contain B12.
For most people, treatment resolves the problem. However, any nerve damage that is caused by the deficiency may be permanent.
Prevention
Most utmost people can prevent vitamin B12 deficiency by eating enough meat, dairy products, poultry, seafood, and eggs.
If you do not eat animal products, or have a medical condition that affects how well your body absorbs nutrients, then you can take vitamin B12 in multivitamins or other supplements and foods that are vitamin B Of 12.