Hello and welcome to Vibrant Lives podcast,
Formerly Amanda's wellbeing podcast,
Five minute food facts series.
I'm Amanda Hayes,
Your host,
A lawyer turned nutritionist with a passion for learning about how to live a vibrant life through practising mindfulness and meditation,
Eating a nourishing healthy diet and moving my body.
For me it's mainly through trail running and triathlon and sharing what I learn with you on this podcast.
The content of my five minute food facts series is for information purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your health professional.
The exciting nutrient for today's podcast is cyanocobalamin,
Otherwise known as B12 and also that is a lot easier to pronounce.
B12 is one of the B group vitamins,
Which is soluble in water,
And there are eight vitamins in the B group,
Including thiamin,
B6 and folate,
Which no doubt you've heard of.
Vitamins are essential nutrients required in tiny amounts.
I've chosen to focus on B12 today because it's a vitamin that's very important to know about,
Particularly if you do not eat animal products.
I'll explain why in a minute.
Also today I'll be talking about B12 for adults,
Not for children and infants.
B12 has numerous vital roles in our body,
Including together with folate,
B12 is essential for DNA synthesis,
That is making new cells.
B12 protects nerve fibres by maintaining the sheath around them.
It's involved in the formation of red blood cells.
It's also a coenzyme in the metabolic processes that is releasing energy from food and more.
Just quickly in relation to the last point,
B group vitamins do not themselves provide energy,
As some supplement advertising would have you believe,
But because they are necessary for energy production,
Low vitamin B status can cause a lack of energy.
So where do we obtain B12 in our diet?
Almost anything of animal origin contains B12,
Including meat,
Liver,
Eggs,
Milk,
Cheese.
It's also found in fish,
Shellfish and some bacterially fermented foods like yogurt.
Non-animal sources of B12 rely on fortification,
Such as fortified soy products,
Breakfast cereals and nutritional yeast.
So how much B12 do we actually need?
It is required in minuscule amounts.
According to the National Health and Medical Research Council,
The RDI or recommended dietary intake for adults,
Both men and women,
Is 2.
4 micrograms per day.
The total body store in our liver of B12 is about 3 to 5 milligrams,
Which is enough to last for several years.
If you eat a reasonable amount of meat,
You will be getting enough B12.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians are also very likely to be consuming enough B12.
Adults with no animal products,
Like a strict vegan diet,
Contain practically no B12,
So it is a nutrient that vegans absolutely need to be aware of.
And if you're vegan,
Most definitely monitor your B12 levels with your doctor.
I would also note that some products such as sea algae,
Miso and spirulina do not provide an active or bioavailable form of B12,
So you should also be aware of that.
Basically where it's at for B12 is the consequences of deficiency.
The symptoms of B12 deficiency can include fatigue,
Weakness,
Constipation,
Tingling of the hands and feet,
Confusion and poor memory,
To name some.
The most common cause of B12 deficiency is actually malabsorption,
Rather than inadequate intake.
To understand this,
It's useful to know about the basics of B12 absorption.
So B12 undertakes quite a long journey in our bodies.
In the stomach,
Hydrochloric acid and pepsin,
Which is a digestive enzyme,
Release B12 from foods,
Where it is bound to enzymes in meats and other animal foods.
And then B12 binds with intrinsic factor,
Which is a transporter protein for B12.
It passes down the small intestine bound to the intrinsic factor and is finally absorbed into the bloodstream in the terminal ileum.
Binding with intrinsic factor is vital for B12 to be absorbed.
A common condition in older people is atrophic gastritis.
This is where the cells of our stomach are damaged and the production of gastric acid,
In other words hydrochloric acid,
And intrinsic factor decline,
Which is one of the major causes of malabsorption.
When it comes to DNA synthesis,
Which I mentioned before,
B12 and folate depend on each other for activation in the DNA sequence.
When B12 is deficient,
Normal nuclear division is interrupted because the folate is trapped.
This leads to a reduction in DNA synthesis and can ultimately cause spinal cord and nervous system disease.
When it comes to B12 and your blood,
B12 deficiency causes pernicious anaemia,
A type of anaemia known as megaloblastic anaemia.
It's called this because the red blood cells are enlarged.
It's important to mention that the anaemia caused by B12 deficiency and by folate deficiency look the same under the microscope,
But it is very important to distinguish between them something your doctor can run tests for because if folate is given when it's actually B12 that is needed,
It can have devastating,
Potentially irreversible neurological consequences from decreased performance on intellectual tests to creeping paralysis starting in the extremities.
Therefore early detection and treatment is really vital to avoid any permanent damage.
And if that's not enough to get you to eat a steak or some cheese or some fortified soy,
Another important B12 role is that it helps regulate homocysteine levels.
Homocysteine is a byproduct of protein digestion.
B12 deficiency can lead to raised homocysteine levels and that's not desirable because elevated homocysteine is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
For those who need it,
B12 supplements are readily available including vegan formulations produced microbiologically so not derived from animals.
There are various forms of B12 supplements and some people apparently have strong opinions about which ones are best but I won't go into that.
I'd recommend speaking with your health practitioner if you're considering taking a B12 supplement.
To be thorough,
It's worth touching on whether we can actually have too much B12.
Is it toxic at high levels?
So the National Health and Medical Research Council has not set an upper limit for B12 because there is insufficient data.
There is no evidence that current intake levels represent a health risk.
But like all vitamins,
More is not necessarily better.
So if you are taking a supplement,
I would always say stick to the recommended doses.
And that's it for B12.
It's definitely a vitamin that punches above its weight.
We only need minuscule amounts but the consequences of deficiency can be dire.
Thank you for listening today.
I hope you found that informative and useful.
Eat well,
Move well,
Think well.
