Vitamin B12 is extremely crucial to your body and maintaining proper health. There is a reason so many products brag about providing this extremely important vitamin. A deficiency of B12 can lead to many health problems that are not always obvious. Overtime, it can result in tiredness, loss of appetite, weight loss, constipation, and general weakness of constitution. Those are just the minor problems. In more extreme cases it can result in anemia, which can lead to fatigue, pale skin, chest pains, headaches, and dizziness; all symptoms which can affect your quality of life. And in the worst cases it can lead to diabetic neuropathy, which is nerve damage. You will lose control of portions of your body.
Due to this vitamin’s importance, it is crucial that you create a diet that includes it. Vitamin B12 is not produced naturally and is mostly only found in animal products; it does not occur naturally in plants. This puts vegans and vegetarians at the most risk for developing vitamin B12 deficiency. If you have a vegan or vegetarian diet, then you may want to invest in vitamins or some breakfast cereals or energy bars that are fortified with it. If that is not an option, there are certain vegetarian friendly food items that contain vitamin B12: tofu, nutritional yeast (a special yeast that is used by vegans – it is grown to be used as food instead of as a leavening agent in bread), cereal, and bread. Tofu can be cooked similar to paneer, in gravies, parathas and salads, and tastes similar to paneer when served warm from a casserole.
For the non-vegetarians and vegans, your best options for providing your body with vitamin B 12 is to consume fish. Sardines, tuna, and salmon are great sources, and come complete with a whole host of other nutrients that make them great food options in general. Animal liver and kidney are also great sources, especially lamb; so you have lots of options to make sure you stay healthy.
