Tip 257: Vitamin B12, the Ambiguous Vitamin
When you ingest vitamin B12, you consume both a vitamin and a mineral.
Vitamin B12 or cobolamin, common
l
y known as "red
vitami
n
", is the only
vitamin that contains essential mineral elements. It is
e
s
sential for p
r
o
per functioning of the c
e
ntral nervous system, production
a
nd regeneration of red blood cells a
n
d
proper utilisation of fat,
carbohydrates and protein for
b
ody buildin
g
. It also imp
r
oves conc
e
ntration, memory and b
a
lance. Valu
a
ble
sources of
t
his vitamin are kidney, liver, meat, milk, eggs, ba
n
anas and p
e
anuts. Its d
e
ficiency can lead to
certain types of anaemia, poor appetite and loss of energy and mental disorders.
Off all the
n
utrients essential to h
u
man health, vitamin B12
deficiency is most likely
t
o be noted among Indians expatriated to other countries. N
u
merous European studies found th
a
t
vegetables grown in India are superior source of
cobolamin.
The recommended daily
allowance of
this vitamin is 3 mcg. T
a
ken in large
therapeutic
doses from 50 to 100 mcg., it is beneficial
in
the treatment of lack
o
f
concentrati
o
n, fatigue,
d
epression,
insomnia and poor memo
r
y
.
Tip 258: Don’t Forget Your Vitamin B2
In addition
t
o vitamin B
1
, ensure your daily diet includes vit
a
min B2.
Vitamin B2 or riboflavin, also known
as vitamin
G, is essential for growth and general
h
ealth as also for healthy eyes, skin, nails and
hair. It helps eliminate sore mouth, lips and ton
g
ue. It also functions wi
t
h other substances to metabolise
c
a
rbohydrates, fats, and p
r
otein. The main
sources of
t
his vitamin are green le
a
fy vegetabl
e
s
, milk, che
e
se, wheat germ, egg, almonds, sunflower, seeds, citr
u
s fruits and t
o
matoes. Its deficiency can cause a
burning se
n
s
ation in
the legs, lips and tongue,
oily skin, p
r
emature wr
i
nkles on f
a
ce and arm and eczema.
The recommended daily allowance for this vit
a
min is 1.6 to 2.6 mg for adults and
0
.6 to one mg
for children.
Its use in
la
r
ger quantiti
e
s, say from 25 to 50 mg is beneficial
in the treatment of nutritional
cataracts and other eye ailments, dig
e
stive distur
b
ances, nervous depression, general debility, and cer
t
ain types of high blood
p
ressure.
Tip 259. Li
k
e
y
ou make
sure
y
ou take B2, ensure
y
our d
a
i
l
y
diet includes vitamin B3.
Vitamin B3 or niacin or
nicotinic acid is essenti
a
l for proper
circula
t
ion,
healthy functioning of the nervous system and proper protein and carb
o
hydrate me
t
abolism. It is essenti
a
l f
o
r
synthesis of
sex hormo
n
es, cortiso
n
e, thyroxin
a
nd insulin.
It
is cont
a
in
e
d in liver, fish, poultry, peanut, whole wheat, green leafy v
e
getables, d
a
tes, figs, pr
u
nes and tomato. A deficiency can lead to skin
eruptions, f
r
equent stools, mental depression, i
n
somnia, chronic headaches, digestives disorders and
anaemia.
The recommended daily allowance is 12 to 20
mg for adults and 4.8 to
12 mg for children.
Large doses of this vit
a
min say up to 100 mg with each meal, preferably together with other B group vitam
i
ns, affords
r
elief in case
of migraine and high bl
o
od pressure
caused by nervousness, high ch
ol
esterol and
arterioscler
o
s
is.
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