Vitamin B12 is essential for our bodies. It protects our nerve functions, helps the healthy production of blood cells, and promotes brain functions. Making sure you are getting enough B12 into your system will ensure that your body is functioning at its best, allowing you to focus on achieving your goals and leading a healthier lifestyle!
It’s important to check that your vitamin B12 levels are within the normal range. If you have a B12 deficiency, this can be extremely damaging for your vital organs – particularly in the long run. After water and oxygen, vitamin B12 is the next essential micronutrient molecule vital for health, B12 deficiency is common and can manifest at any age and is largely unrecognised.
Vitamin B12 is the generic name for a group of compounds based on the cobalamin molecule that has cobalt as the trace mineral and its core. Cobalamin is a highly active complex organometallic molecule. It is the largest most chemically complex of all the 13 known vitamins and is generally red in colour. Like other B & C vitamins, cobalamin is water-soluble, a characteristic that affects how it is absorbed, excreted and stored in the body. Vitamins A, D, E & K are all fat-soluble.
Vitamin B12 is absorbed into our tissues through the digestive tract, however, this process can be disrupted from poor digestion, intestinal disease or the use of some medications etc. The main causes are due to atrophic gastritis and lack of Intrinsic Factor (IF), a glycoprotein produced by the stomach that is required for the absorption of B12. As well as from poor diet and digestion, vitamin B12 deficiencies can also be affected by a genetic condition such as:
B12 is important as it affects the proper functioning of the nervous and peripheral systems, mood and cognitive functions and the formation of blood in the bone marrow, skin and mucous membrane, bones, the glandular system, the immune system, the digestive system, fertility and pregnancy and development of the embryo.
Vitamin B12 deficiency consequently manifests as a wide range of different symptoms, some of which appear to be unrelated or may even be misdiagnosed. B12 is fundamental to animal life and metabolism that the symptoms are also widespread.
The traditional way of diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency has been with a blood test to determine the patients B12 levels as well as the presence of any signs or symptoms of pernicious anaemia. The problem is that many sufferers of a B12 deficiency may not have anaemia or have a serum B12 blood level within an abnormally low range in accordance with the ‘normal’ ranges set. There are no national or international agreements of what a normal range. The tests can also give false readings where they do not assess the bioavailability of the B12 or whether it is functional or not. It is, therefore, better practice to look for trigger symptoms and undertake a one-minute health check to see if a client will benefit from B12 Injections.