Vitamin B12 also known as Cobalamin is an essential nutrient that helps to Build Healthy Red Blood Cells Which carry oxygen through your body Builds DNA It helps to build DNA, the genetic material inside your cells Builds Myelin And it also builds also the protective coating around your nerves and brain. Many people become deficient in Vitamin B12 because of aging, stomach ulcers or not eating enough meat/fish.
In this article we will be exploring 10 important health benefits of Vitamin B12, and how you can absorb more of this for a healthy body.
Energy Levels
Vitamin B12 plays an important role in helping the body to build red blood cells, along with iron and folate. This helps to nourish over 100 trillion cells and to produce energy. People who are low in B12 often become anemic, feeling tired, weak, have low energy levels, and may feel out of breath quite often. Getting more B12 into your diet can help to boost energy levels by raising oxygen in the cells, and helping remove waste like carbon dioxide.
Nerve Health
Vitamin B12 is absolutely essential for building and protecting the myelin sheathe. This is a fatty substance that covers and protects the nerves through the electrical system of your body, helping them to communicate. If you are lacking B12, you may experience nerve problems like pain, tingling, shooting, stabbing or numbness in your feet, hands, legs or arms (peripheral neuropathy).
Brain Health
Memory problems, brain fog, depression, paranoia, delusions or mental illness are very common issues in people who are deficient in Vitamin B12, especially those who choose not to eat meat/fish. B12 helps to protect the nerves and neurons in the brain, and has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s when you have enough. Taking a supplement of methyl cobalamin (bioavailable b12) or improving absorption later in life can help support a healthy brain right through to old age.
Heart Health
By supporting the production of red blood cells, B12 helps to supply the heart muscle with oxygen and energy. If you lack B12, your red blood cells do not form properly, so your heart has to work harder to pump blood through your body, often triggering a fast heart-beat. Vitamin B12 also breaks down homocysteine, an amino acid which can increase risk of heart disease if unregulated.
Oral Health
Vitamin B12 also plays a role in supplying oxygen to the tissues in your mouth, throat and the inside layer of the digestive system. This helps to prevent mouth problems like ulcers (canker sores), and a shiny swollen red tongue which often occurs in people with a B12 deficiency. If you are a vegetarian, have pernicious anemia or digestive damage, taking a methyl cobalamin supplement may help to overcome these issues.
Supporting Eyes
Your eyes are made out of nerve tissue, including the retina which picks up light and send signals to your brain so that you can see images and in colour. Vitamin B12 is important for building the myelin coating around these nerves to protect them against free radicals and high blood sugars. If you have low B12, this can cause the nerves in the eyes to become damaged, causing your eyesight to suddenly weaken, and blurriness in your field of vision. Getting more B12 however can help protect the eyes and reduce the risk of macular degeneration.
Skin Health
Vitamin B12 also plays a key role in supplying oxygen to your skin cells so that they can remain healthy, youthful and with a natural glow. By boosting red blood cells, the protein called hemoglobin reaches the surface of your skin giving it a healthy tone and colour. People with anemia (Low B12/Iron) will often notice their skin is paler, with a slightly yellow tone.
Muscular Health
You need a healthy nervous system to send signals to your muscles to contract and relax, when you are performing any movement or motor activity. Vitamin B12 helps to improve nerve signalling by supporting the myelin coating around your nerve cells. Athletes and those who exercise frequently need to keep their Vitamin B12 levels high, as they require more oxygen than those who do not.
Detoxification
One form of Vitamin B12 that your body makes called hydroxocobalamin has the job helping to keep your blood clean, By binding to substances like cyanide and nitric oxide, in order to transport them out of the body and prevent toxicity. It can be used a treatment for burn victims who are suffering from smoke poisoning to help clear out the toxins so that they can be released through the urine.
Pregnancy
It is vital for pregnant women to meet their Vitamin B12 requirements, in order to supply nourishment to the child and meet their own needs. B12 levels often fall by 30% by the third trimester, which can trigger miscarriage, or poor brain development in the child if left unchecked. Nursing mothers need enough B12 to produce healthy breast milk in order to support the growth of the brain and nervous system in their child.
Nail Growth
By supplying oxygen to the nail matrix, your body is able to produce strong, smooth and healthy nail cells, Along with the help of other nutrients like iron, silica, zinc, copper and Vitamin A. Anemia or a B12 deficiency often causes deep vertical ridges to appear on the fingernails, due to the lack of oxygen.
