Do you have any problems such as being distracted, tranced, easily feeling tired, and unable to find out the reason? This is very likely a symptom of lack of vitamin B12! Everyone may have heard about what the vitamin B group is, but they may be a little unfamiliar with B12.

What is Vitamin B12? Who is prone to lacking vitamin B12? What impact does lack have? Today, Sean, a brand nutritionist of "Health Designer", will introduce this vitamin B12 that is very important to health!

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Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin), also known as chloramine, is a water-soluble vitamin, the latest vitamin to be discovered at present. On the outside is a material with bright red crystals.

Healthy adults refer nearly half of their vitamin B12 sources to diet. Vitamine B12 in food is combined with protein. After digestion, it is released in the stomach and then combined with the intrinsic factor (IF) secreted by gastric wall cells, and enters the kidney tract and absorbs into the blood circulation. Therefore, as long as any of the digestive and absorption of the gastrointestinal tract is problematic, vitamin B12 may be malabsorbed and lead to lack.

What is the daily intake of vitamin B12?

In nature, only microorganisms can synthesize vitamin B12 by themselves, so eating is the main source of vitamin B12 in humans. Among animal foods, especially liver and meat, there are rich vitamin B12, and dairy products also contain a small amount. In general plant-based foods, if they do not have special nutritional additions, they do not contain vitamin B12! Therefore, pure vegetarians are prone to the crisis of deficiency due to insufficient sources of diet, and special attention should be paid to additional supplements.

Vitamin B12 Recommended Intake

Liver is the main part of the human body that stores vitamin B12, and is through the liver circulation (Enterohepatic) Circulation) Humans can continuously absorb and use vitamin B12, and only a very small amount will be excreted from the body every day. For long-term vegetarians, the stock of vitamin B12 that relies on the liver alone can last for a few years, so the body will not immediately develop deficiency, but if it is not supplemented without attention, the symptoms of deficiency will also occur after the liver stock is consumed.

What are the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency?

Although vitamin B12 is the last vitamin discovered by scientists, it is very indispensable in humans! We can learn whether the body lacks vitamin B12 through blood tests. If it is lacking, the following deficiency symptoms may occur:

• When the giant ball-type vitamin B12 deficiency occurs, it affects the differentiation and maturation of red blood cells in the body, causing huge changes in the blood cells, which also affects the abnormal number of platelets and leukocytes, leading to vicious blood cells. Common symptoms include skin whitening, reduced activity, fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, etc.

• Neurosymptoms and decreased mental function. Patients with vitamin B12 deficiency will experience neurosis, including numbness and pain in the lower limbs, unstable pace, and even affect cognitive function, such as inattention, emotional dissonance and dementia. The mental distractions, illusions, etc. mentioned above are vitamin B12 deficiency diseases in this aspect. It is particularly important to note that there is no way to recover from vitamin B12 in late stages, so more attention should be paid to the treatment mechanism.

• Increase the risk of cardiovascular disease The concentration of homocysteine ​​in the blood has always been regarded as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. If vitamin B12 is lacking, it will increase the concentration of homocysteine ​​in the blood, which will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. So we need vitamin B12 to adjust the concentration of homocysteine ​​in the blood.

What are the ethnic groups that are prone to lack of vitamin B12?

Generally, healthy adults can get enough vitamin B12 if they have a balanced diet. Usually, the conditions that are lacking will appear among the following high-risk groups. If you are also from the following ethnic group, you should pay special attention to the supplement of vitamin B12!

• Pure vegetarians Vitamin B12 hardly exists in general plant-based foods, so it is difficult for pure vegetarians to get enough vitamin B12 through diet. In the "Vegetarian Diet Indicators" published by the Ministry of Welfare in Taiwan, it is mentioned that vegetarians can replenish vitamin B12 by taking algae (hair belts, seaweed, etc.), but the American Nutrition Society mentioned in its official white paper on vegetarianism that "algae is an unreliable source of vitamin B12." To this day, the two factions still hold the same view, so it is recommended that pure vegetarians can still choose to supplement vitamin B12 with health foods to compare the insurance!

• Patients with gastrointestinal absorption problems, including chylos, kidney mucosa, etc. may also be affected by the mechanism of liver circulation, which makes vitamin B12 unable to be effectively recycled and used, resulting in a lack of deficiency.

• The lack of vitamin B12 in the elderly is very common in the elderly. Due to insufficient secretion of gastric acid and decreased absorption of the stomach tract, the elderly cannot effectively release vitamin B12 in food and cannot effectively absorb it, so they are also a group that is more prone to lack.. Because vitamin B12 deficiency is unknown at first and similar to many elderly syndromes, it is more likely to be ignored.

After reading today's article, do you also have more understanding of Vitamin B12? In addition to having a balanced diet and maintaining a good living habit, ordinary people should also conduct regular health checks, and pay attention to their physical conditions and people around them at any time to reduce the risk of these deficiency symptoms!