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Hold your nerves

All you wanted to know about Vitamin B 12

Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, contains cobalt and is vital for healthy nerves and blood cells. Vitamin B12 also helps in the making of DNA. Foods rich in cobalamin include eggs, milk, milk products, fish, chicken, lamb, pork and beef. Fortified cereals are an important source of cobalamin. Adults require around 2.4 micrograms of cobalamin per day. Lactating women require slightly higher amounts.

Vitamin B12 is stored in the liver, which makes that organ a spectacular source of cobalamin. A slice of liver contains 7 to 8 times a day's requirement of Vitamin B12. Three ounces of fish contains nearly 80 percent of a day's vitamin 12 requirement. An egg contains 10 percent, a cup of milk contains 15 percent, and a cup of curd contains nearly 25 percent of the day's requirement. The amounts of meat required to prevent cobalamin deficiency do not increase the risk of heart disease or cancer. Deficiency of vitamin B12 is common in certain groups: people whose diet is solely vegetarian , and individuals with impaired absorption secondary to inflammatory bowel disease or bowel surgery, people with tapeworm infestations and those with eating disorders.

Longstanding cobalamin deficiency, and it does have to be longstanding deficiency because the body has large stores of this vitamin, can cause anaemia, fatigue, weakness, constipation, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Wait, there is more. It can also cause numbness and tingling of the hands and feet, depression, confusion, dementia, impaired memory, and soreness of the mouth and tongue.

No kidding

Infants with cobalamin deficiency fail to thrive, fail to develop and have movement disorders and anaemia. Breastfed infants of women who follow strict vegetarian diets can develop cobalamin deficiency within months of birth. Detecting this early is essential because untreated cobalamin deficiency can cause permanent brain damage in infants. Pregnant women need to consult a paediatrician about dietary measures to prevent this problem.

People who do not consume meat, dairy products or fortified cereals need to take oral Vitamin B 12 supplements. Also, it is perhaps better if elderly people take regular supplements of this vitamin. Oral supplements are of no use for those with impaired absorption. Lifelong injectable supplements are a must for those with deficiency caused by impaired absorption.

RAJIV. M

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