“Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live”.
Jim Rohn.
Hello, young Padawan
Reading the title of this article, I can see you are disappointed because you think it is very targeted, that it will not concern you, especially if you are an omnivore, for example.
Well, you would better read it carefully if you want to take care of your health in general and the health of your nervous system in particular, because the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency is likely to affect the entire world population.
Vegans, vegetarians, omnivore, raw-fooders, “potatovorous” and even those who listen to Justin Beaver (yes, that’s how I call him …) but let’s go back on topic.
What is vitamin B12 ?
To get straight to the point, here is the definition of the Wiki buddy: “Vitamin B12, also called cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin that is involved in the metabolism of every cell of the human body: it is a cofactor in DNA synthesis and in both fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. It is particularly important in the normal functioning of the nervous system via its role in the synthesis of myelin, and in the maturation of developing red blood cells in the bone marrow.
Vitamin B12 is one of eight B vitamins; it is the largest and most structurally complicated vitamin. It consists of a class of chemically related compounds (vitamers), all of which show physiological activity.” (source : Wikipedia).
It should now be clear to you: Do not mess with the B12, my friend.
where do we find it?
Many herbivorous mammals, such as cattle and sheep, absorbed B12 produced by bacteria in their own digestive system. In the past, all of us, both human and non-human found our B12 in the ground, plants, dirt and eating animals who are metabolizing it. But our “modern” soils have been so “washed” by pesticides of all kinds and modern sanitized lifestyles that our environment has become sterile, almost devoid of good micro-organisms and good bacteria, now difficult or impossible to metabolize.
Thus, livestock animals are now supplemented with B12 by humans. Omnivore people are expected to receive B12 through this means, for example by eating meat or milk of livestock animals that are themselves supplemented.
Except that between the methods of breeding that are not always in the legality (and which sometimes make “the forgetfulness” to supplement the animals #economicprofitability), the livestock animals themselves that are more and more sick in these concentration camps we still dare to call “farms” (Have you ever watched the “Earthlings” documentary ?), and other uncertainties that we probably do not control at 100%, it turns out that a growing part of the population is found deficient in vitamin B12.
Young, old, athletic, sedentary … you, maybe? This is not a deficiency to be taken lightly. Unless you want to find yourself in a few years, bedwetting in a nursing home and no longer remember who you are. While a simple blood test, and if necessary a possible taking of a small pill from time to time could change your future.
Blood measurement of B12
This is a little extra info for vegans who read me (but not only!) because even if I always source my articles, I imagine that everyone will not go to read all of them. There is a crucial parameter for vegans (but not only!) regarding the blood test for the measurement of B12 because they are necessarily more exploded at the risk of B12 deficiency even if we will discover below that the statistics can also fall outside the beam.
Here is an excerpt from what the site of the French vegan federation says:
“Otherwise, blood counts are unreliable for vegans. Indeed, when anemia is attributable to vitamin B12 deficiency, a high folate level masks the symptoms that a blood count is supposed to detect. The blood test for homocysteine is much more reliable. It is desirable that the concentration of homocysteine is less than 10 μmol/liter. Finally, the level of vitamin B12 is given more explicitly by the analysis of methylmalonic acid (MA). If the concentration of methylmalonic acid is less than 370 nmol/liter of blood, your body has enough vitamin B12. Similarly, when urine is tested, the level of methylmalonic acid should be less than 4μg/mg creatinine. Many doctors still rely on blood tests for B12 levels and blood counts. They are inadequate, especially for vegans.” (source: French vegan federation).
And a little extra info: Note that false negatives (high rate of vitamin B12 in the presence of deficiency) can occur in people with autoimmune disease, liver disease or lymphoma. Excessive intake of vitamin C or pregnancy, for example, may contribute to false positives (low vitamin B12 in the absence of a deficiency). If you have celiac disease (and not just gluten intolerance), know that the absorption of B12 stops but happily returns to normal once the gluten is removed from the diet. However, it is necessary to regularly check the B12 rate to make sure that everything is fine on this side. (source: Canadian Intestinal Research Society).
That is why these measurement of B12 by these parameters are essential. For everyone, not just vegans.
Is B12 deficiency responsible for many “troubles”?
Do you have digestive problems? fatigue? little sadness? Iron deficiency? Loss of sleep? Irritability? Bad memory? Do a blood test to evaluate your B12 because maybe no need to go further.
Ladies, in particular, keep in mind that your lack of iron may not only be the cause of your diet or your “too much tea during or after meals”. Indeed, a deficiency of B12 can be a cause of anemia. Then you can take all the iron you want: it’s “pissing in a violin” as we say in French. It means that you won’t get any results. Do you say that in the USA? “Getting blood out of a stone” maybe?
Conversely, massive overconsumption of B12 may be harmful to the body if you are not deficient, which is why it is essential to have a blood test every 2-3 years, just to know where you are and where you are going, unless you are vegan or vegetarian with a strong vegan tendency. In this case, it is imperative to supplement yourself in B12 because you eat not or nearly not supplemented animal products. To know how to supplement yourself properly I invite you to go to this website: “NCBI – National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S.A” to have all the info.
it can happen to everyone … even to omnivores
Why is your faithful servant so interested in B12?
About ten years ago, I had a general blood test, including all the measurement parameters mentioned above. At the time I was still an omnivore, and it turned out that I came across an extremely competent doctor, because when he saw the diagnosis of my iron deficiency, he went to see if I was not in lack of B12 too.
And so it was discovered that I also had a severe B12 deficiency (which probably explains my taste for smutty jokes, attack of the nervous system, lol. ed), a vicious circle that prevented my body from metabolizing his iron. This is called “metabolic anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency”. I was 27 years old and I ate meat, dairy products and fish at the time. You see it can happen to everyone, whether omnivore or not.
And I know that I am not an isolated case, there are in my entourage a small dozen people who proved to be deficient in B12 while omnivores and some studies announce that half of the world population would be deficient. The studies I consulted being based on a search for B12 in the blood, I do not source it here (for the reasons above, ed) but I sincerely believe that we should not be far.
I hope I have convinced you to do this research at your next blood test, no rush at all, even if you are currently B12 deficient, the earth will not collapse, your body has resources, but not to infinity. That’s what I tried to slip gently into you here; I mean your mind! (my bad, I’m an ex B12 deficient, ed) #smuttydracula.
A blood test or urine test, in short, always check before supplementing, except for vegans and vegetarians with a strong vegan tendency that must be supplemented because they eat not or nearly not supplemented animal products.
To take care of the only vehicle that accompanies us from the first to the last day of our lives is of vital importance, literally.
Do you find it normal for your health to rely on doctors, who have certainly made long studies 20 years ago, without ever asking about or checking anything, while you question for twenty minutes your mechanic on the motor of your Ford Cortina for its maintenance? Don’t you think that’s crazy? Indeed, it is.
Today we can no longer economize on individual knowledge. Our health is our responsibility. So, get information, cross them, take a step back, do your own analysis and take care of yourself!
healthy kisses! 🍏
Sources :
– https://www.badgut.org/centre-information/sante-et-nutrition/vitamine-b12/?lang=fr
Eastern Market, Detroit, Michigan, USA.