Vitamin b12

The vitamin B12 level is measured by clinical examination by blood sampling. Healthy values are set between 150 and 400 pmol/L.

Levels below 150pmol/L are a clear sign of deficiency.

The daily nutritional requirements of B12 recommended by health authorities are:

• Up to 11 months: 1.5mcg.
• 1 to 3 years: 1.5mcg.
• 4 to 6 years: 1.5mcg.
• 7 to 10 years: 2.5mcg.
• 11 to 14 years: 3.5mcg.
• 15 to 17 years: 4mcg.
• Over 18 years: 4mcg.
• Pregnant women: 4.5mcg.
• Breastfeeding: 5mcg.

Aunque se pueda tardar mucho tiempo en detectar unos niveles bajos de B12, no debes ignorar algunos de los síntomas que es posible sufrir en caso de déficit:

• Fatigue or weakness without apparent cause.
• Dizziness and balance problems.
• Mental confusion.
• Slow reflexes.
• Mood swings.
• Lack of motivation and apathy.

Consult your doctor or a specialist about any of these symptoms so that they can give you the best recommendations according to your particular situation and indicate how and when you should take this vitamin, whether it's prescribed or not.

Its deficiency can lead to a disease called pernicious anaemia; a lack of healthy red blood cells in the body.

Unfortunately, it can take years for symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency to appear in your body, so diagnosis can be complicated and can only be detected through blood tests.

This vitamin is also excreted in the urine, although not quickly; hence it is often stored in the liver or kidney.

As we age, our body finds it increasingly difficult to absorb the cobalamin we eat through food. As such, people of middle-age should take extra special care of their B12 levels.

People who suffer from pernicious anaemia also have difficulties in absorbing cobalamin. In such cases, specialists normally inject patients with vitamin B12 to increase levels in the body.

Those following vegan diets may also suffer deficits, as the natural sources of B12 are meat, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products.

Vegetarians can also have difficulty meeting their recommended daily intake if their diet doesn't include sufficient dairy products.

In all these cases, an intake of dietary supplements rich in B12, as well as foods fortified with B12, is essential. The aim is to meet the nutritional requirements of a vitamin that's essential for our body.

Intrinsic factor is the body’s key protein for absorbing vitamin b12 from food because it allows the cobalamin molecule to pass through the wall of the small intestine.

This step can only be performed using a “transport medium”, which is the protein called intrinsic factor.

Too much B12 can also be detrimental to health, as the accumulation of vitamin B12 can cause adverse effects in the body.

Some of the symptoms include anxiety and a fast heartbeat, stomach pain, blurred vision, and muscle aches.

Although cobalamin is a substance with few side effects in healthy people, you should always follow the guidance of specialists so that they can analyse your data at an individual level.

The body naturally absorbs B12 in foods of animal origin, including:

• Beef liver.
• Clams.
• Fish.
• Poultry meat.
• Eggs.
• Milk and dairy products

Vegetables don't contain any vitamin B12 unless they're fortified, as is the case with some fortified yeasts and cereals.

As such, it is essential for those who don’t consume enough animal products to take dietary supplements to ensure optimal levels of B12.

Cobalamin or B12 is found in foods of animal origin, and it's absorbed when consumed in the diet.

To ensure normal B12 levels, B12 should be supplied daily, although in the case of vegans this should be through supplementation or certain foods fortified with the vitamin.

This is because vegan diets do not contain cobalamin, as they do not consume any foods of animal origin, including eggs and dairy products. The same can happen in vegetarian diets that do not provide enough vitamin B12.

The bioavailable forms of B12 in supplements are cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin, both of which can be used to meet the body's nutritional requirements.