Vitamin B 12 depravation could lead to the loss of red blood cells and nerve damage

More people than ever before are turning away from meat, fish, poultry and dairy products, and looking to getting their daily proteins from beans and nuts. This means that the Vegans and vegetarians among us are being deprived of the very important vitamin B 12.

The vegetarian rage is a wonderful option for animal-conscious individuals who are put off by the idea of eating something that used to be alive. The vegan lifestyle is producing a population of generally healthy, lean individuals but that’s only with those that know exactly what they’re doing. It is also contributing many cases of vitamin b 12 deficiency within that population which is quite a concern.

Vegetarians and vegans aside, even we so called more balanced eaters are substituting our poor nutritional diets with what have become trendy vitamins of all kinds. It’s almost commonplace for folks to talk about what vitamins they’ve put themselves on boasting about brands such as the Now vitamins, Swanson vitamins, Life vitamins, and of course the Vitamin Shoppe products.

Getting back to the 12 B vitamin deficiency among vegans, is mainly because they cut out so many of the foodstuffs that contain b 12. The foods that are rich in vitamin b 12 are protein-rich foods like beef, chicken and fish. Dairy foods are also rich in vitamin b 12 and people who forgo the meats, fish and dairy find themselves with a deficiency that has serious adverse effects on the body including pernicious anemia. Pernicious anemia is a condition in which the body loses red blood cells and may lead to nerve damage.

Physicians note that children who follow a vegetarian diet often develop pernicious anemia. The condition can be treated with injections of vitamin b 12, but it is necessary for individuals to keep a continuous level of the vitamin in their systems. The stored nutrients prevent the individual from completely losing all stores of the vitamin if they return to a vegetarian lifestyle.

A deficiency of vitamin b 12 can also cause significant nerve damage. A common treatment for autism, a neurological disorder, is to add supplements of the nutrient to the autistic person’s diet. Many families swear that the supplements result in fewer tantrums and less self stimulatory behaviors like hand flapping and pacing.

Taking supplements is the ideal approach to warding off any possible occurrence of deficiency. The good news is that it is almost impossible to overdose on vitamin b 12. The nutrient is water-soluble and passes through the urine. The bad news is that the body does NOT hold on to the nutrient in its cells for a very long time so it is necessary to keep up with taking supplements on a consistent basis.

Another piece of good news lies in the amount required for daily intake. We need relatively low amounts of vitamin b 12 in our diet to reap the benefits of the nutrient. And adult can find a full day’s supply of the vitamin in a cup of milk, one egg and a four ounce serving of meat. A vegetarian would need to look to a supplement, and although there are many affordable supplements around, it’s important to do your research as there should be no price on ones health. A good starting place to find information on nutrition supplements is to hop on line and check out some of the sites dedicated to this subject.

Article by Steven Jacobs