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| Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) is an oxygen carrier; it decreases blood cholesterol; it metabolizes fat. Source Food Sources of Vitamin B12. Those who don't like taking supplements can eat fortified foods, including fortified soy milks and rice milks, breakfast cereals, fake meats, sea weeds, one type of nutritional yeast (Red Star Brand Vegetarian Support Formula) and so on. Read labels. The main thing to remember if you rely exclusively on fortified foods is that you have to eat them at least twice each day. The best sources of B12 are animal-derived: liver, meat, salt-water fish, oysters, milk, eggs, aged cheese such as Roquefort, and fortified brewer's yeast. Those on an animal-free diet may wish to eat unwashed, organic produce whenever possible. There is debate over the reliability of non-animal sources of Vitamin B12. It was found that people on vegan diets had lower levels of serum B12 levels than the general population. It should be noted that there are different techniques for measuring the B12 content of foods. It facilitates the cyclic metabolism of folic acid, which is essential for thymidine (one of the four DNA bases) synthesis. Directions There appears to be some confusion among practitioners of natural medicine about whether oral, sublingual or intramuscular administration is preferable for patients requiring vitamin B12 therapy. On the other hand, patients who are likely to be noncompliant with oral therapy should be seen regularly by a doctor and treated with intramuscular injections. The current US RDA for vitamin B12 is 6mcg, but less for children and more for nursing and pregnant women. Those with problems absorbing B12 should continue taking their B12 sublinbgually. Long-term B12 Supplementation B12 supplementation is especially important for those who consume few or no animal products - vegetarians, vegans and raw-food vegans/fruitarians. For some people it is hard to remember to take something once a week and they may prefer to get into the habit of taking something every day, which is more physiologically natural. |