HH334: Key Nutrients-Vitamin B9, Folic Acid & Vitamin B12 Cobalami

Welcome back to another episode of health hack, as I round out the week talking about more crucial B vitamins. And today I'm talking about vitamin b9 or folic acid, and vitamin B 12, cobalamin. Now vitamin b9 most mothers would be very well aware of because it is so important during pregnancy, and even using before pregnancy to ensure optimal levels in mom's body, because it is essential for DNA synthesis and cell division, which obviously makes it very important during pregnancy. It also helps to prevent birth defects, preventing neural tube defects and other serious birth defects, which is why many doctors are recommending folic acid to women who are thinking about getting pregnant and of all the B vitamins, I think that it's today's vitamins, b9 and B 12 that Doctors most recommend to their patients. Folic acid is also really good for heart health, because it helps to regulate homocysteine levels in the blood, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Now, supplementation is often needed to bring the body up to adequate levels, particularly during pregnancy, obviously in the cases of poor diets, and in some, you know, medical conditions, where the doctor might be prescribing it for people, it also, obviously is in many of our foods, it's just a matter of whether you're eating enough of them. Because of our nutrient depleted soil systems, it can sometimes take a lot of food to get the vitamin levels that we need compared to what we used to get from our food 100 years ago, which is why supplementation can be so important. However, foods that are good sources of folic acid are our leafy green veggies, such as spinach, kale and romaine lettuce, as well as legumes, lentils, chickpeas, black beans, citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits, nuts and seeds, such as sunflower seeds and peanuts, as well as fortified grains and cereals, and then moving into cobalamin or vitamin B 12, it is very good for red blood cell formation, which helps prevent anemia and ensures proper oxygen transport throughout the body. It also helps to boost brain health, and it plays a vital role in maintaining the health of nerve cell and supporting cognitive function, reducing the risk of neurogenerative diseases, and it enhances our energy levels, again, like vitamin b1 and b2, that I talked about in our last episode, as well as vitamin b3 that I talked about Two episodes ago. They're very good at converting food into energy, combating fatigue and boosting overall vitality. And good food sources of vitamin B 12 are animal products such as meat, poultry and fish, as well as dairy products, milk cheese, yogurt and eggs, and then fortified plant based milk and cereals and nutritional yeast as well. Now people who are on vegan or vegetarian diets can often have a hard time getting enough B 12 from their plant based diets, and therefore for them, supplementation might be really important. It's also really important as we age that our body's ability actually can tend to the ability to absorb B 12 decreases as we age, and therefore older adults might need to supplement to ensure that they are getting enough B 12, because their food sources aren't going to be enough. And also, because of the neuro degenerative benefits of B 12, it's very good for elderly people, and again, anybody with medical conditions, a doctor might be prescribing B 12 because, as I said, doctors tend to promote a folic acid and B 12 is a two that they tend to go to of all of the B vitamins. So you might hear about it from your doctor. Regardless, both of them are so good at supporting cell growth, heart health, boosting brain function, that you definitely want to make sure that you have them in your diet, whether it's from your food sources or supplementation. And if you would like to know about your own folic acid or B, 9b, 12 levels in your body, reach out, because we can easily do some lab testing to see where you are at. And if you are in indeed deficient and you need to be supplementing more in order to bring your body back into a state of sufficiency and back into a state of optimal health and vitality. So.