The healing power of vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 can boost your energy if you're anemic, lower your heart disease risk, and even help improve your mood or stave off depression. Find out how you can get more vitamin B12 in your diet and what it can do for you!

Although this vitamin is plentiful in most people's diets, some adults over age 50 have trouble absorbing it from food because they don't produce enough stomach acid to separate it from the protein in meat, fish, and seafood (the best sources). In fact, as many as 20 per cent of older adults are thought to be deficient in vitamin B12. The body is able, however, to absorb B12 from supplements and from fortified cereals.

• Deficiency-related fatigue
• Depression
• Heart disease
• Nerve pain, numbness, and tingling
• Pernicious anemia
• Stroke

Vitamin B12 is important for red blood cell production, which explains why it's useful against anemia. It assists in converting food into energy and maintains the protective sheath around nerves. Because of its beneficial effects on nerves, it may help prevent a number of neurological disorders, as well as thwart the numbness and tingling often associated with diabetes.

Vitamin B12 lowers levels of homocysteine, an amino acid associated with an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. It may also improve the immune response in older people — in fact, older people who have mildly low vitamin B12 levels may not get the full protection from a pneumonia vaccine. What's more, the vitamin helps the body produce neurotransmitters, chemicals that transmit nerve signals and affect mood. It's often in short supply in people with depression.

Research also shows that low levels of vitamin B12 are common in people with Alzheimer's disease. Whether this deficiency is a contributing factor to the disease or simply a result of it is still unknown.

• The average recommended dose for vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms a day for adults. But, many experts recommend you get 100 to 400 micrograms. Always concuslt your physician before adding this to your daily routine to see what dosage is best for you and your specific health needs.
• Studies suggest that B vitamin supplements can help regulate mood. A good daily B-complex supplement will cover the bases. Look for a brand that contains 800 micrograms of folic acid, 50 to 100 milligrams of B6, and at least 500 micrograms of B12.
• Supplements of vitamin B12 may be important for vegans (who eat no animal products).