Vitamin B12, the brain’s
KRYPTONITE
Also
known as cobalamin, vitamin B12 is undoubtedly one of the most important
dietary component. A diet deficient in cobalamin will severely impair your
cognitive development and can present with a lot many neurological symptoms ,
including mental retardation!
Not just
that, B12 is also involved in your
cellular growth and nutrition and it’s deprivation will lead to fatigue and tiredness. These are
just two of the many fucntions of this
wonder molecule. Here are a few others -
-
Saviour of the HEART ! : Eliminating an amino acid called
homocysteine via urine, cobalamin helps prevent the disastrous consequences of
circulating homocysteine in the blood, one of them being inflammatory heart
diseases
-
Keeps your bones intact: Homocysteine again impairs your bone
growth , thus making cobalamin necessary for a healthy bony framework of the
body
-
The nerves need it! : The nerves are coated by a sheath of
which vit B12 forms a major component, without which the nerves are exposed and
more susceptible to damage
-
Improves your mood: Cobalamin has also shown to be useful in
keeping one happy and confident about himself
What
happens when you don’t take the necessary amount of vit B12? The consequences
can be disastrous and better avoided than treated. Some of them are –
-
Mental problems including memory loss, depression, etc.
-
Nerve problems- mainly due to loss of the myelin sheath, they include tingling sensation, muscle
weakness,etc
-
Weakness and fatigue
-
Pale skin
-
Smooth tongue
-
Constipation, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, etc
-
Vision loss
How
do I prevent this disastrous occurrence?
Well diet is the most important factor
for B12 deficiency, and hence diet maintains the key line of treatment in B12
deficient cases. Foods rich in cobalamin are-
Ø MEAT!! Beef, chicken,
turkey, all of it contain the maximum amounts of cobalamin.
Ø EGGS!! Eggs have turned
out to be one of the richest source of vitamin B12, making it an almost compulsory component of diet
Ø Oysters: Oysters , too
form one of the major sources of B12. However, given the inadequacy of their
supply in the Indian market, their consumption is not much encouraged
Ø Crabs : A delicious sea
food, has a lot much to offer other than amazing taste, including abundant B12
Ø Salmon : Another major
source of B12
Even if the vegetarian diet has not much of B12 to
offer, there are certain products which have made it to the list
Ø CHEESE! Next time your mom
yells at you for eating too much cheese, you can tell her why you can never
stop having cheese!
Ø Whey powder: One thing
body builders will never have to worry about is cobalamin deficiency
Ø Milk and Yogurt:
Significant quantities of B12 are found in milk and yogurt
Ø Yeast Extract Spreads
Adequate and appropriate consumption of vit B12 rich
food stays the mainstay of preventing this unwanted occasion. Having said that,
B12 has become today one of the reasons of advocating eggs to the vegetarian
population, thus promoting egg consumption!
