Hi, and welcome back to our channel.
Today we're going to talk about the Vitamin B12 Supplement Benefits.
So first we'll talk about what is Vitamin B12.
How does it benefit you?
What does it do?
And follow it up with when do you know you have a deficiency?
And should you take a Vitamin B12 Supplement?
But before we begin, my name is Marcie Vaske and I'm a licensed nutritionist with Flusso Nutrients and at Flusso Nutrients, we work very hard to keep you educated on different types of supplements so that you can make the best choice for yourself.
As always, you always want to be sure that you are not contraindicating supplements with any medications or even other supplements you're taking. So if you do have questions, speak to a literate supplement practitioner to be sure you're making the best choice for yourself.
[Video Transcript Below + Supplement Links Discussed In Video]
So first, what is Vitamin B12?
And vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that is essential for many bodily functions. Everything from energy production to our brain health to even red blood cell formation, as well as keeping that my and sheath healthy around our muscles.
Now the key thing about Vitamin B12 is that our body does not produce it. So it is critical that we get it through dietary means or supplementation.
Benefits of Vitamin B12 Supplement
And number one, it helps to produce our red blood cells, and in this way it prevents anemia by keeping our red blood cell count higher and healthier. It also helps with DNA synthesis, so it's vital for this genetic material development of our cellular functions as well. It helps to support our nervous system and it maintains this protective sheath around our nerves and aids in our transmitter production as well. It helps in energy metabolism, so it it helps to convert our food actually into energy. And finally, B12 helps to support our heart health here. It helps to reduce homocysteine levels, which is a risk factor for heart disease. So because our body doesn't produce Vitamin B12, we must consume it or take it in supplement form.
So where do you find it in certain foods?
And the top of the list is going to be animal proteins. So beef, chicken, poultry, any of those will be high in Vitamin B12. You'll also find it in fish and in eggs. So vitamin B12 can be found in eggs and our dairy products. So if you have a nice amount of all of those in your daily diet or weekly plan, you're getting likely sufficient vitamin B12. You can also consume vitamin B12 through fortified foods and plant-based milks, so things like almond milk, soy milk, oat milk.
So although you may eat many of the foods I talked about from proteins to eggs to even dairy products, are you low in vitamin B12, our body is always talking to us and giving us information on what it's low in and what it needs. And some of the symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency can feel like fatigue and weakness, so just feeling really tired.
Anybody who might be suffering with pale or even jaundice skin, that may be a B12 deficiency as well as numbness or tingling in our hands and feet and mood changes. Cognitive function, those can all be vitamin B12 deficiency signs. So if you are having any of those symptoms and can't really connect it to any other outliers, any other vitamin and mineral deficiencies, because sometimes they can seem confusing, I would say that obviously you can get a blood lab to see what your B12 values are, and this would give you more indication if you need to maybe take a supplement or increase the foods that are high in Vitamin B12 if you choose to go the supplement route.
Typically, people who are vegans or even vegetarians struggle with getting enough B12 just because of the protein content alone. Also, people who struggle with gastrointestinal disorders may not be getting the B12 that they need. So a lot of times if we're having trouble digesting food or getting the nutrients out of our foods, we tend to be lower in our Vitamin B12. Also, older adults tend to be lower in vitamin B12 because they do have just absorption issues. And also pregnant and breastfeeding individuals can also go really low in vitamin B12.
So if you fall into one of those categories, if you're sensing that you have some of the symptoms I talked about, it may be worthy to go in and get a lab value for your B12 and see if you actually are deficient or not. So if you do find that you're having those symptoms or your B12 is low, you can easily take Vitamin B12 in a supplement form.
And it comes in many different types of forms. Everything from a sublingual to a liquid to a capsule to a tablet, and oftentimes the dose will be 5,000 micrograms per day. And if you're doing sublinguals, you would just put that under your tongue and let it melt. And this gets into your bloodstream much more quickly than let's say a capsule or a tablet.
You can also do the liquid B12, which again would be more bioavailable. So starting with that 5,000 microgram dose per day will be ideal in helping to increase your levels. Another thing to consider or keep in mind if you do the B12 supplement, is that you want to take B12 before 3:00 PM because vitamin B12 boosts up our energy, so we want to be sure we're not taking it at five or six or nine o'clock at night, and then you're having trouble sleeping.
Final thoughts
So if you have listened to this video today and you're concerned that you might be low in B12, I'm going to link a couple wonderful supplements in the description box where you can order them if you choose to, or just to get an idea on what some good brands are for vitamin B12 as well.
If you have any questions, you can always comment in the comment section below. We love to get them and answer them and give you more information. And again, use these Flusso Nutrients videos to help support your journey on what supplements may be good for you and maybe something you don't need. Thanks for watching.
Check out the high-quality supplements we discussed in this video - links below for your convenience!
1) B12 Pro: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com/b12-pro
2)Â Methyl B12: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com/methyl-b12
3) ALL PROFESSIONAL QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS: https://flussonutrients.nutridyn.com & https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/flussonutrients