The Importance of Vitamin B12 for Health & Energy

The B12 vitamin is one of the vitamins that are essential to maintain a healthy body. Otherwise called Cobalamin, B12  is required for the process of converting the carbohydrates, fats and proteins from food into energy.

B12 also helps keep the red blood cells healthy and therefore prevents heart disease in addition to keeping the immune system functioning at its best.

Additionally, B12 is used to make the protective covering of all nerve cells in the body. This is often essential for all of the nerves but especially for those in the brain. If there isn’t enough B12 to make this protective layer then the brain cannot function properly.

If the body does not have enough B12 then anemia is the most obvious symptom. That’s because the body is unable to create enough healthy red blood cells, as well as because it’s not creating enough intrinsic factor to help absorb the B12 from the food.

The body tends to make less intrinsic factor once someone reaches 50. Kids are also in danger from anemia because they’ll not eat the food that contain B12. Pregnant women would like a lot of B12, since  the fetus absorbs B12 throughout the pregnancy to grow properly.

The quantity of B12 the body needs is relatively tiny, but needed on a daily basis.

The B12 isn’t enough on its own, though, since the body cannot absorb it easily. To help the body absorb it the abdomen produces intrinsic factor that allows more of the B12 to be absorbed.

B12 is solely found in animal foods such as liver, eggs, fish and meat, but most people consume far more than their suggested daily quantity of it. This usually isn’t a problem, since the body can only absorb about 0.5 of the B12 that’s consumed. Of course, strict vegetarians or vegans may need B12 supplements.