Diet for Vitamin B12 Deficiency

From LoveToKnow Diet

A diet for vitamin B12 deficiency may seem like a daunting project at first, but it's really not that hard to find the good stuff if you know where to look. In fact, vitamin B12 is one of the more commonly-used vitamins for fortification in pre-packaged food products, and it is also found fairly easily in a broad range of common foods.

Why Vitamin B12 Is Important

Vitamin B12, also known as cobolamin and cyanocobalamin, plays a number of important roles in your body. To name a few of the benefits, vitamin B12 is responsible for maintaining cellular integrity (i.e. resisting carcinogens and other ills), the production of red blood cells, aid the absorption of calcium, maintaining nervous system health, and offering some protection against strokes and coronary disease.

The health risks in a deficiency situation may not be as dire as other nutrients, but they're serious enough. Symptoms include fatigue, disorientation, numb hands and feet, shortness of breath, and stomach problems. As things deteriorate, anemia and color blindness can set in, as does a higher risk of cardiovascular ailments.

At the same time, vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin on which it is virtually impossible to overdose. In other words, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose in making an effort to cover all bases when it comes to consuming vitamin B12.

Starting a Diet for Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Before you launch a diet for vitamin B12 deficiency, let's review your reasons for taking this step. Do you recognize the symptoms above? Are you experiencing other symptoms as well? Have you seen a doctor about your concerns? The reason this is important is that it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of an ailment without the assistance of a medical professional. If there is something else, perhaps more serious in nature, you definitely don't want to waste time on a wild goose chase.

Once you determine that you do indeed have a vitamin B12 deficiency and that you need to dramatically improve your vitamin B12 intake, the following list offers prime candidates for your new diet.

Foods Rich In Vitamin B12

Meat, both red and white (beef, lamb, chicken etc)
Sea food (mollusks, clams, mackerel, salmon, caviar etc)
Eggs
Cheese and other dairy products
Most adult breakfast cereals
Fortified soy milk
Fortified meat substitutes

As mentioned earlier, vitamin B12 is one of the most commonly fortified vitamins, so look for it in pretty much anything from bread and waffles to sports protein bars and protein shakes.

Putting Together The Diet

So, now you have some tools to start working with. You also need a target amount of vitamin B12 that you're aiming for each day, but that's something your doctor or dietician can help you establish. The official recommendation (RDI) is 6 mcg of vitamin B12 per day. You get more than that in a single, large bowl of Kellogg's Bran Flakes. However, you may be aiming for a lot more than the RDI, at least in the short term.

Suppose your dietician told you to aim for 60 mcg of vitamin B12 per day, a good 10 times the RDI. Eat normally, but make sure to add a 200 calorie serving of mackerel (30 mcg), 78 grams (3/4 cup) of Kellogg’s All-Bran with Extra Fiber (19 mcg) and a 23 gram (1 cup) serving of New England dry clam chowder mix (9 mcg). That's 30 + 19 + 9 = 58 mcg right off the bat. Eat normally, and you're bound to get the remaining 2 mcg without much trouble. Good luck!

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