jen's everyday blog

Vitamin B-12

Dan and I were having a conversation the other day about nutrients and I mentioned that there was a type of nutrient that can’t be synthesized by the human body and is only found in animal sources (meat, milk, eggs). I couldn’t remember what it was, though. It turns out it’s B-12. Here’s a page with lots of interesting information on it. In particular, it says that B12 can be re-absorbed by the body, so it takes a long time to become deficient in it, if you start out with enough of it in your system. With respect to what happens if you don’t have enough, B12 causes anemia, because red blood cells can’t develop properly without it. Apparently 1/2 a pint of milk or several slices of cheese or two eggs suffice to meet the recommended daily requirement of B-12. There are other, less appealing sources of B-12, but I’ll let those interested in discovering them read the article for themselves,

posted at 13:02 on Sun, 28 Aug, 2005 | path: /living



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