Vitamin B12 is unquestionably a multihyphenate actor, the Paul Mcartney of vitamins, an epithet that uber-talented musician would graciously acknowledge. The formation of red blood cells that transmit vital oxygen around our bodies to provide us with energy, the genesis of myelin, a protective insulation around our nerve cells, the synthesis of DNA, essential for the making of new cells and the expression of our unique genetic code, the metabolism of fats and sugars another primal energy source and the liver’s capacity to detoxify any substance that we need to eliminate are just some of the paramount activities executed by this principal vitamin.
Vitamin B12, sourced entirely from animal foods like eggs, meat and fish, might be a substance we are not getting enough of as we age or for that matter at any time in our lives when our digestive system is not functioning optimally to break down the food we eat and extract the essential nutrients we need. This can lead to a host of problems including fatigue, depression, memory impairment, numbness or tingling in our hands and feet, mouth ulcers and an assortment of other troublesome concerns.
A blood test which assesses our B12 status is not always an accurate indicator of how effectively B12 is functioning inside our cells and for this reason pathology laboratories now measure another substance called homocysteine concurrently. Homocysteine like cholesterol is a protein that is harmful when levels are too high increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. If B12 together with other B vitamins are operating as they should then homocysteine will be recycled and have no ill-effects. Elevated homocysteine indicates that this biochemical process is compromised and needs to be addressed to ensure that the team of B vitamins with B12 at the helm together with other natural remedies if needed see to it that homocysteine levels are normalised.
