Ask Urgent Care Experts: Vitamin B12
Ask Urgent Care Experts: Vitamin B12
We spend a lot of time making sure that we’re getting the right vitamins–and for good reason. Vitamins are crucial for health, both in the body and in the mind, and prolonged deficiencies can cause big problems. So, we plot ways to get our vitamins. We plan our meals around which vitamins are present in which foods. We read nutrition labels like novels. We’re willing to take supplements–even the ones that come in huge, unwieldy, uncomfortable pills that even the bravest of us have trouble swallowing. It’s true: we do a fairly good job at getting the vitamins we need. However, one vitamin that’s notoriously tricky to get and crucially important to have is Vitamin B12.
B12
Vitamin B12 is the last in a long line of B Vitamins that support and enhance metabolism. For its part, Vitamin B12 is water-soluble, easily absorbed into the body, and easily used throughout blood, tissues, and cells. It is crucial in the body for many reasons, although a healthy metabolism is often considered among one of its strongest benefits; metabolism relates to accessing and utilizing the nutrients in food as well as maintaining a good body weight, and thus B12 is highly valued for lending a helping hand in weight loss programs. However, this vitamin has countless other benefits. The only problem? Vitamin B12 is notoriously hard to get–and deficiencies can cause serious health concerns.
Advice from Experts
So, what do you need to know about getting enough Vitamin B12–and what will happen if you don’t? Let our opens in a new windowUrgent Care experts explain!
- Plants and animals. We’ve said that B12 is notoriously hard to get, and that’s because its only reliable source is in animal products. Fish are especially high in Vitamin B12, while certain organs–like liver–are also good sources.
- Deficiencies. A prolonged deficiency of Vitamin B12 can have many adverse effects, starting with breathing and nerve problems, equilibrium issues, and vision loss, and, in extremely prolonged cases, Alzheimer’s, Autism, neurological disorders, and more. The moral of the story? It’scrucial to get enough Vitamin B12.
- Supplements. B12 supplements (those containing methylcobalamin) sound like an easy way to get enough of this vital vitamin. However, everyone absorbs Vitamin B12 differently; certain health issues can impact absorption and utilization, and so can countless smaller aspects of your personal health. As a result, it’s important to talk to your doctor in order to find out what’s best for you.
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