Cyanocobalamin
Are you feeling tired, legs aching, tingling in your hands and feet, forgetful, or depressed?
These can all be caused by a deficiency in vitamin B-12. Vitamin B-12 is important for its role in building the protein sheath that surrounds the nerve fibers and the spinal cord. A deficiency in this vitamin can result in a slow deterioration of the nerve tissue resulting in numbness or prickly sensation in the extremities, burning feet, forgetfulness, mental confusion, and depression.
Vitamin B-12 is also important in its role in producing healthy red blood cells at the rate of 200 million a minute. A deficiency in this vitamin results in misshapen cells that are unable to carry oxygen making one pale, tired and anemic.
How much Vitamin B-12 do you need in the form of a supplement depends on your age and general health. If you are healthy, energetic and regularly eat animal foods such as chicken, liver, fish and beef, 5 micrograms daily is sufficient insurance against a deficiency of this all important vitamin. If you are over 60 years of age, due to your diminishing ability to absorb vitamins, you should take 10 micrograms. If you've been ill, are a vegetarian or just feeling really worn out, you should increase the amount of vitamin B-12 to 25 micrograms daily.
Don't let a Vitamin B-12 deficiency get
out of hand as the damage done to the nerve tissue can be
permanent and result in paralysis, or permanent dementia. Here is a convenient way to get your daily requirement of B12 with folic acid plus vitamin c and green tea. Just mix with water and drink! Highly absorbable and tastes good too!!
B Vitamins are nature's "feel-good" nutrients, promoting energy, stamina, mental clarity and improved mood. Sublingual B-12, B-6 & Folic Acid tablets are designed to dissolve under the tongue to speed B Vitamins directly to the bloodstream where they go to work - without the need for expensive, often painful, B-12 injections
Unlike caffeine and other artificial stimulants, B vitamins don't give you that artificial jolt of energy, followed by an inevitable letdown. Your body uses B vitamins the way nature intended - to give you sustained stamina and mental clarity throughout the day, every day
Vegetarians or individuals consuming a primarily plant-based diet may be at higher risk of Vitamin B12 deficiency since its best sources are animal products. In short, all the critical roles that Vitamin B12 plays in your body, combined with its difficult absorption and availability primarily from animal products compels a careful review of your diet to determine whether you are getting adequate levels.
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Country Life Vitamin B12 with Folic Acid -- 500 Mcg 100 Lozenges
The term vitamin B12 (or B12 for short) is used in two different ways. In a broader sense it refers to a group of Co-containing compounds known as cobalamins - cyanocobalamin (an artefact formed as a result of the use of cyanide in the purification procedures), hydroxocobalamin and the two coenzyme forms of B12, methylcobalamin (MeB12) and 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin (adenosylcobalamin - AdoB12). In a more specific way, the term B12 is used to refer to only one of these forms, cyanocobalamin, which is the principal B12 form used for foods and in nutritional supplements. Methylcobalamin is the most absorbable and most beneficial for the nervous system.
Pseudo-B12 refers to B12-like substances which are found in certain organisms, such as Spirulina spp. (blue-green algae, cyanobacteria). However, these substances do not have B12 biological activity for humans.
Structure
B12 is the most chemically complex of all the vitamins. B12's structure is based on a corrin ring, which, although similar to the porphyrin ring found in haem, chlorophyll, and cytochrome, has two of the pyrrole rings directly bonded. The central metal ion is Co (cobalt). Four of the six coordinations are provided by the corrin ring nitrogens, and a fifth by a dimethylbenzimidazole group. The sixth coordination partner varies, being a cyano group (-CN), a hydroxyl group (-OH), a methyl group (-CH₃) or a 5'-deoxyadenosyl group (here the C5' atom of the deoxyribose forms the covalent bond with Co), respectively, to yield the four B12 forms mentioned above. The covalent C-Co bond is the only carbon-metal bond known in biology. [1](p.32)
Synthesis
B12 cannot be made by plants or by animals, as the only type of organism that have the enzymes required for the synthesis of B12 are bacteria (eubacteria, archaebacteria).
History as a treatment for anemia
B12 deficiency is the cause of several forms of anemia. The treatment for this disease was first devised by William Murphy who bled dogs to make them anemic and then fed them various substances to see what (if anything) would make them healthy again. He discovered that ingesting large amounts of liver seemed to cure the disease. George Minot and George Whipple then set about to chemically isolate the curative substance and ultimately were able to isolate vitamin B12 from the liver. For this, all three shared the 1934 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
The chemical structure of the molecule was determined by Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin and her team in 1956, based on crystallographic data.
Deficiency
B12 is mostly absorbed in the terminal ileum. The production of intrinsic factor in the stomach is vital to absorption of this vitamin. Megaloblastic anemia can result from inadequate intake of B12, inadequate production of intrinsic factor (pernicious anemia), disorders of the terminal ileum resulting in malabsorption, or by competition for available B12 (such as fish tapeworms or bacteria present in blind loop syndrome). Neurological signs of B12 deficiency, which can occur without accompanying hematologic abnormalities, include demyelination and irreversible nerve cell death. Symptoms include numbness or tingling of the extremities and an ataxic gait.
The American Psychiatric Association's American Journal of Psychiatry has published studies showing a relationship between depression levels and deficient B12 blood levels in elderly people in 2000 [3] and 2002 [4].
Traditionally, treatment for B12 deficiency was through intramuscular injections of cyanocobalamin. However, it has recently been appreciated that deficiency can be treated with oral B12 supplements when given in sufficient doses. The usual daily intake in the Western diet is 5-7 mcg. However, when given in oral doses ranging from 1000-2000 mcg daily, B12 can be absorbed in a pathway that does not require an intact ileum or intrinsic factor.[5] The Schilling test can determine whether symptoms of B12 deficiency are caused by lack of intrinsic factor, though this is being performed less often due to the lack of availability of reagent for the test.
Sources
Vitamin B12 is naturally found in foods including fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products. Fortified breakfast cereals are a particularly valuable source of vitamin B12 for vegetarians. Table 1lists a variety of food sources of vitamin B12.
While vegetarians usually get enough B12 through dairy products or eggs, it is often found lacking in those following vegan diet who do not eat B12 supplements or fortified foods, like fortified cereals, fortified soy-based products or fortified yeast extract. Claimed sources of B12 that have been shown through direct studies of vegans to be inadequate include spirulina (an alga), nori (a seaweed), barley grass, and human gut bacteria. Several studies of vegans on raw food diets show that raw food offers no special protection against B12 deficiency either. The only known vegan source of substantial B12 is the Chinese herb Dang Gui (Angelica sinensis), used for centuries for treating anemia.