There are many vitamins that can be found in both plants and animals. This is why becoming a vegan or vegetarian doesn’t have to mean depriving yourself or becoming unhealthy for your morals. But Vitamin B12 is one vitamin that can only be found in animal meat, fish, dairy, and eggs, which means vegans have to find supplements.
Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that’s responsible for keeping the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy. It also helps make DNA. Without B12, you will find that you often get weak as B12 helps prevent a type of anemia called megaloblastic anemia. Now, it’s been found that there might also be a link to a deficiency of B12 to old-age dementia as well as autism in young people and schizophrenia in
middle-age people.
In the new study, Richard Deth (a professor at Nova Southeastern University) found that at a certain point, a B12 deficiency leading to an extreme decrease in metabolism is not compatible with cell survival. It can have a stronger effect on younger people as their brain is still developing as can contribute to a loss of previously normal function in the brain.
For all of you VIVA GLAM vegans and all of you contemplating the switch, make sure to keep in mind that you need to maintain your Vitamin B12.
To avoid a deficiency, ALWAYS
contact your doctor first to get your blood work done to see if you’re deficient. If you’re to take supplements that you don’t really need, they could do more harm than good so make sure to consult your doctor first.
