Vitamin B12 and Fatigue
Today I’m talking all about Vitamin B12 people.
I’m talking about this vitamin today because I feel like crap! It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon, my mouth is full of ulcers and I’m ready to put my head down on the table and sleep…..forever!
So of course this got me researching, and my research has led to this little post.
Vitamin B12.
A powerhouse of a nutrient that helps to:
Keep our nerve and blood cells healthy and happy
Fend off chronic fatigue and adrenal fatigue, depression and brain fog
Boost our mood whilst supporting our memory, heart, skin, hair and digestion.
Did you know that being deficient in vitamin B12 can actually result in hypothyroidism symptoms?
Did you also know that studies have shown many of us with hypothyroidism are actually B12 deficient?
Why is this never talked about in a doctor’s office?!
You see, our thyroid relies on a variety of B vitamins to function and B12 happens to be the transporter of iodine (from the food we eat) to the thyroid gland to help it produce thyroid hormones. It is also needed for our bodies to produce the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which then signals our thyroid to produce more hormones. As you can see – crucial!
There is a lot of controversy over what food sources are best. The media will tell you that animal foods are the best, and according to the NIH, “plant foods do not naturally contain vitamin B12 unless they are synthetically fortified, like in nutritional yeast”. However, if you dig a little deeper, vitamin B12 isn’t actually “created” in animal protein either as the animals actually ingest vitamin B12 through their feed. It’s actually produced by bacteria - not in animals or plants. Did you know that farmed animals received B12 by eating fortified (supplemented) feed, which has been exposed to bacteria-laden manure and by drinking untreated (contaminated) water?
Whether your team plants or team animals = vitamin B12 is something just about EVERYONE is deficient in.
Compared with other vitamins, we don’t need a large amount of vitamin B12 — but we do need to replenish our supply almost daily, as B vitamins are water-soluble and so are flushed out of the body quite easily.