Vitamin B12 plays a huge role in supporting your health – from muscles, mood and energy to hair growth and well-functioning cells, it’s a vital component – but many people don’t get enough of it.
Experts say that B12 deficiency is most likely to affect the elderly and those following a plant-based lifestyle, but it can also affect younger people who aren’t benefitting from a well-rounded diet.
Nutritional therapist Alexa Mullane explains that “B12 is naturally found mainly in animal products like meat, fish, eggs and organ meats. Vegetarian sources of B12 include chlorella, nori, nutritional yeast and certain mushrooms, but many vegans and vegetarians have insufficient levels of B12 because it’s not widely found in plants.”
According to Mullane, not getting enough B12 can result in anaemia, fatigue and more intense symptoms including shortness of breath, palpitations, pale skin, muscle weakness, numbness and tingling in hands or feet, blurred vision and memory loss.
“Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that is crucial for many functions in the body. It’s used to make DNA, it helps us to make energy and it’s vital for maintaining a healthy nervous system. We can’t make vitamin B12 ourselves so it’s essential that we get it from our diet,” she explains.
It’s an notoriously difficult nutrient to absorb in the gut. According to experts at Betteryou, “at most only one per cent of our dietary intake will be absorbed by the body, and that relies on digestive efficiency and the presence of a chemical called intrinsic factor. Tiredness, stress, ill-health, poor or limited diet will all reduce this absorption further.”
For some, supplementing B12 is the best port of call. A daily supplement can help you reach your nutrient goals, particularly if you’re not eating a diet that’s rich in foods like meat, fish and eggs. For most people, these foods are part of an everyday diet and so B12 deficiency isn’t a concern, but for others with allergies, intolerances or lifestyles and beliefs that don’t allow a daily serving of these types of foods, a supplement can support healthy body and brain function.
Of course, not all supplements are created equal, some are more bioavailable than others and some offer different doses of essential nutrients in varying levels of quality and purity. So we turned to Alexa Mullane for her suggestions on the best B12 supplements to buy and how to take them. Read on for her expert recommendations.
