Vitamin B12

Make sure that you get Vitamin B12 every day. B12 is located in red meat, fish, poultry, milk and eggs. A daily recommended dose contains 2.4 micrograms every day. That doesn’t sound like much. So how important is B12 if you don’t need too much? A B12 deficiency can cause all kinds of trouble.

Vitamin B12 Deficiency effects

The following list is possible side effects of not enough B12.

• Extremeties suffer from numbness and tingling
• Also, difficulty with walking and balance
• Anemia
• Jaundice or yellow skin
• Fatigue or weakness
• Paranoia and hallucinations
• Difficulty thinking or remembering
• Shortness of breath
• Even a swollen tongue

B12 assists in building red blood cells, nerves, DNA and has other functions as well.

Some people will take supplements to increase their B12 levels if they are feeling run down. However, I prefer to get my B12 naturally. We get B12 from meat, so one group of people affected by the need for B12 are vegetarians and vegans. Am I saying they have to change their lifestyle to survive? As a matter of fact, no I am not.

Eating Meat For B12 Not Necessary

Maybe we don’t need to eat meat—with the exception of vitamin B_{12 ,} every nutrient found in meat can be obtained somewhere else. The tiny amount of B_{12 ;} which we simply have to have, can be obtained from eating dirty or fermented produce. I like to get mine from properly fermented produce.
Vitamin B₁₂ is not found in any plant sources. It is produced by gut bacteria in the large colon and is absorbed from the waste material that we think of as “poop.”
Resources:
Bacteria for Breakfast, Dr. Kelly D. Karpa, P.31
In Defense of Food,  Michael Pollen, P.165.