Today, one of the most common symptoms for visiting your doctor is fatigue, along with other accompanying experiences such as weakness, brain fog, depression and or anxiety.
Most doctors don’t routinely check vitamin B12 levels. But in my 15 years as a health coach, I have found a vitamin B12 deficiency is more often part of the problem associated with such symptoms, especially if you are vegan or vegetarian.
The following symptoms are an indication you may be suffering from a vitamin B12 deficiency.
- Unexplained Fatigue and Weakness
Do you ever experience waking after a good night’s sleep still feeling tired and unrested? If constant fatigue continues for days and weeks, it may be the result of B12 deficiency.
One of the roles of B12, together with folic acid, is to make red blood cells, which provide oxygen to your muscles and organs. A low red blood cell count leads to anemia and extreme fatigue.
- Forgetfulness
We can all suffer the occasional memory lapse, however, chronic forgetfulness can also go hand in hand with a B12 deficiency.
I’ve experienced clients with dementia-like symptoms only to get their B12 levels tested and find them frighteningly low. B12 plays a vital role in the maintaining of the brain and nervous system.
- Depression and Mood Swings
Vitamin B12 deficiency, when left untreated, can lead to brain shrinkage and symptoms such as confusion, apathy, depression and anxiety. We often forget that vitamin B12 is vital for psychological well being.
Scientific research points to vitamin B12 as one of the strongest nutritional factors influencing mental health.
My top four recommendations for increasing your intake of Vitamin B12 are:
- Organic chicken livers, as organ meats are some of the richest sources of B12 and are easily absorbed by the body.
- Adequate amounts of clean, ethically produced, grass fed and grass finished meats
- Sardines
- Eggs
Generally speaking B12 is not easily bioavailable to the body from plant-based foods.
In supplement form I recommend the bioavailable and metabolically active coenzyme form of vitamin B12, methylcobalamin by BioCeuticals.
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