Do you take regular vitamins? One of the most important ones that you could be adding to your life is vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin. It plays an important role in your body. However, those who are vegetarian or vegan may need supplementation for vitamin B12 because plants don’t have cobalamin. So vegetarians specifically who follow a vegan diet need to take extra B12 supplements to keep themselves healthy.
We know that eating as natural as possible is going to help our health, but if you are not eating meat and fish then a solid vegan b12 supplement is the answer. Before you start taking extra B12 supplements, however, you need to test for a deficiency. As a vegan or a vegetarian, you might find that low levels of B12 can affect your health and, if you are ever pregnant, the health of your baby.
A b12 and cobalamin deficiency will affect older adults as well because it can prevent you from getting enough into your bloodstream even with a sufficient B12 intake as a regular meat eater and not just a vegan. So how can you up your B12 levels so that your blood and your body are both happy and healthy?
- You can eat animal products. Of course, if you are vegan, you are not going to follow this advice, so please skip on down to the next one. Animal products such as poultry, seafood, meat, dairy are all the main sources of cobalamin in the diet. Human stomach bacteria typically have more cobalamin than they make. You need to be able to eat more animal products in your day, so make sure that you are using proteins like eggs, dairy and milk, meat as a main source of your meal and then pad it with vegetables on the side.
- Lean into dairy substitutes. If you’re not a fan of upping too much meat, the consumer demand for milk substitutes should show you that the increase worldwide means that everybody’s paying attention to their health right now. If you rely solely on these products, you can lower your cobalamin levels by almost half, but new food processing technologies allow the enrichment of non dairy products like soy milk. Using dairy substitutes can help you to raise your B12 and increase your levels overall.
- Great supplements. Speak to your doctor or your pharmacist about A B12 supplement that you can take everyday. This will help you to raise your cobalamin levels and improve your memory. Taking the right supplements can make a difference and with regular blood tests you can determine whether or not your B12 levels are moving or not. From there you can work a solution with your doctor so that you are able to maintain those higher B12 levels and feel good within yourself.
With the right support, you can make sure that your B12 levels are where they should be for the long term. Otherwise you may start having to deal with other issues with your health which could have been avoided in the first place with a supplement.
