Vitamin B12 – A Key Component to Your Health
B12 is a vitamin that is very important to your health. Your body needs b12 to create and maintain cells. B12 helps to create the red blood cells in your body. The creation of many enzymes in your body also requires the presence of B12.
A life threatening B12 deficiency can result from a disease called pernicious anemia. Mental confusion, pallor, low blood pressure, fatigue, a rapid heart rate and shortness of breath are all symptoms of low blood pressure. Neurological issues also accompany a B12 deficiency. If they are not treated, these symptoms may become permanent.
Even if you do not have a B12 deficiency, just having low levels of B12 can harm your health. Most people experience symptoms long before a deficiency develops.
Low B12 levels can cause and increase in homo-cysteine in your body. Homo-cysteine is an amino acid that just happens to be toxic. Homo-cysteine does not cause problems at low levels, but it can lead to cardiovascular disease and many other health issues at higher levels. High levels of homo-cysteine is an indication that you may develop heart disease. The lower your levels of B12, the higher your homo-cysteine rises. Research has shown that taking supplemental B12 lowers the homo-cysteine in the body by breaking it down into an amino acid that the body can process.
Because B12 is found in dairy, fish and meat, most people do not have a problem getting enough B12 in their diets. The issue is that many people have B12 absorption issues. As you age, B12 absorption problems become much more common. This is because your body produces less intrinsic factor which is needed to properly absorb B12. This is why many people elect to take B12 shots when they get older. Of course, many people take b12 shots for other reasons. As an example, B12 for weight loss has become very popular.
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