Importance Of Vitamin B12

Preventing Anemia

Anemia is a condition caused by a reduction in the formation of red blood cells. And guess what, vitamin B12 is necessary to generate a sufficient amount of red blood cells in the body. Moreover, it is also crucial in creating healthy white blood cells and platelets, which greatly contribute to your overall immunity. Therefore, if you want to prevent or treat anemia, then you must add vitamin B12-rich foods to your diet.

Build Stronger Bones

Vitamin B12 is also linked to stronger bones by reducing the risk of osteoporosis, a disease wherein your bones are weakened, leading to fractures. This can be devastating, especially hip fractures. Therefore, to keep this condition at bay, you must complete your vitamin B12 dosage and ensure all other B vitamin levels are in the right range. Lastly, you have to eat vitamin B12-rich foods as supplements don’t necessarily improve bone health.

Protect Your Vision

Although rare, a severe lack of vitamin B12 can also lead to a condition known as optic neuropathy. This is a condition wherein the optic nerve is damaged. This is something you want to avoid at all costs as the optic nerve connects the eyes to the brain. Consequently, you will experience a loss of vision and can even develop blind spots. While it affects only one percent of the people suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Keep Depression At Bay

Some studies have found a link between vitamin B12 deficiency and the onset of depression. However, if the vitamin B12 levels are brought back up, it doesn’t necessarily cure or reduce the symptoms of depression. Thus, to prevent depression, it is vital to keep the levels up by eating vitamin B12-rich foods. That being said, the link is still being studied, so the jury is still out on this one.

Link To Cognitive Function

Since there is some connection between vitamin B12 and the brain, it seems to have an impact on cognitive function. Once again, this is a topic currently under research, but it has been proven in some cases that giving vitamin B12 as supplements to those with cognitive problems saw an improvement in thinking, judgment, and learning. This is very important as cognitive problems have also been linked to serious neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, in some other studies, a rise or drop in B12 didn’t have much impact on cognitive problems. In any case, it is a link that is closely being studied.

Boost Your Energy

Do you feel you are low on energy on most days? Well, have you ever had your vitamin B12 levels tested? If you found that the levels were low, then there is your underlying cause. A drop in vitamin B12 has been linked to low energy. Eat plenty of vitamin B12-rich foods to regain your energy and mood. Alternatively, you can also go for supplementation in this case. However, if your vitamin B12 levels are normal and you are still tired, something else might be the culprit, and increasing the levels won’t have an effect.

Clear, Healthy Skin

If you want clear, healthy skin, keep your vitamin B12 levels in the optimal range. If it is too low, you will find the development of dark spots on your skin. You can even face vitiligo or light patches on your skin. Moreover, with low vitamin B12 levels, mouth ulcers, eczema, and acne are not far behind. So make sure to eat vitamin B12-rich foods for healthy skin.

Prevent Hair Loss

Much like depression, a good enough vitamin B12 level can aid in preventing hair loss. However, if you already suffer from hair loss, increasing the levels may not help much.

Stop Nail Discolouration

Your nails also tell whether you need more vitamin B12. If your nails have turned a certain shade of blue, brown, or gray, then you definitely need vitamin B12-rich foods and perhaps even supplementation to bring the levels back up. Once you reach normal levels of B12, the discoloration should subside.