There are a multitude of vitamins and minerals which are needed for a healthy body. Vitamin B12 or cobalamin is one of the 8 B vitamins. Vitamin B12 is vital for your body to keep your nerve and red blood cells healthy. This vitamin is needed to makes DNA which stores the genetic material for your body. Being deficient in B12 affects your ability to think and your memory and can be misdiagnosed with conditions such as dementia especially in the elderly.
Vitamin B12 can be found naturally only in animal products including:
• Eggs
• Milk
• Cheese
• Yoghurt
• Custard
• Red and white meat
• Fish
• Shellfish
Vitamin B12 can be added to food or drinks through fortification such as in soy milks or rice milks. Brands of soy milk which have added B12 include:
• Sanitarium
• So Good
• Soy Dream Original Enriched
Other foods which can be fortified with B12 include some vegetarian burgers and sausages and nutritional yeast.
You may have heard mushrooms and fermented foods like miso and tempeh contain vitamin B12.
This is true however the type of vitamin B12 is not able to be used in the body and has been suggested in research to actually inhibit the vitamin B12 found in animal based products to be absorbed properly in your body, so this is not a good source of vitamin B12.
Who is most at risk of not getting enough vitamin B12?
If you follow a vegetarian or vegan your diet may be low in vitamin B12. Also, as you progress to your older years your ability to absorb vitamin B12 reduces.
How do you know if you are getting enough vitamin B12?
If you are achieving your recommended servings for lean meats and alternatives and dairy products or alternatives you are likely to be getting enough vitamin B12. The servings recommended a day for women are 2.5 serves for both lean meat and dairy and 3 serves for lean meat and 2.5 serves for dairy a day for men aged between 19-50 years.
Take home message: If you are in one of the three categories listed above for the people potentially not getting enough vitamin B12 it is important to get regular blood tests. This will determine if you need to be on a supplement for vitamin B12.
References:
1. Herbert V, Drivas G, Manusselis C, Mackler B, Eng J, Schwartz E. Are colon bacteria a major source of cobalamin analogues in human tissues? 24 hr human stool contains only about 5 ug of cobalamin but about 100 ug of apparent analogue (and 200 ug of folate) [letter]. Trans Assoc Am Physicians 1984;97:382.
2. Carmel R, Karnaze DS, Weiner JM. Neurologic abnormalities in cobalamin deficiency are associated with higher cobalamin ‘analogue’ values than are hematologic abnormalities. J Nutr 1995;125:2511–5.
3. Kondo H, Binder MJ, Kohhouse JF, Smyth WR, Podeil ER, Alien RH, et al. Presence and formation of cobalamin analogues in multivitamin-mineral pills. J Clin Invest 1982;70:889–98.
4. Health AGDo. Eat for Health Australia: Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council; 2015 [cited 2017 27/02/2017]. Available from: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/recommended-number-serves-adults.
