Natural Ways to Increase Levels of Vitamin B12

Our body is a delicate balance of various components such as water, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and other essential nutrients. This delicate balance needs to be maintained in a healthy and proper amount in order to lead a healthy life. Even if the delicate composition of any one component goes wrong, the human body would suffer.

Vitamin B12 or Cobalmin, is an important component for the healthy functioning of the human body. It is the most crucial vitamin B required by the human body. This particular vitamin is essentially required for healthy functioning of the nerve tissue, functioning of the brain, and effective production of red blood cells. Vitamin B12 is a water soluble protein which is why it can dissolve in water and travel easily through the bloodstream. Human body can store vitamin B12 for up to four years and the excess vitamin B12 is naturally excreted through urine. This vitamin is the longest and the most complicated vitamin in terms of its structure. Industrially, this vitamin can only be synthesized through the process of bacterial fermentation synthesis.

Natural Ways to Increase Vitamin 12

Deficiency of this essential component can lead to neurological difficulties and anemia in human beings. A young adult above the age of fourteen should consume more than 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 regularly. This vitamin is easily available naturally in meat products. Some of the foods or natural ways to increse Vitamin B12 include

• Milk
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Meat and Meat Products
• Shell Fish
• Ham
• Beef
• Fish, especially haddock and tuna
• Sardines
• Mackarel
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Pork
• Lamb
• Some nutritional yeast products

Apart from these natural ways to get Vitamin B12, some varieties of soy milk, rice beverages, and soy based meat substitutes, and some breakfast cereals are artificially fortified with vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is not naturally present in plant foods. That is the reason the vegetarians are at a greater risk of vitamin B 12 deficiency. However, the fortified soy products and breakfast cereals can fulfill such deficiency even in the vegetarians.

Types of Vitamin B-12

• Methylcobalmin: This is the most active form of vitamin B12 found in human body. This form of vitamin B12 offers overall protection of the nervous system which also protects the brain cells. This form of vitamin B12 also facilitates the detoxification process while initiating the biochemical reactions within the human body.


• Cyanocobalamin: This is the synthetic version of B12 which is prepared in the laboratory. This also is the cheapest supplement available in the market. This is the most stable form of vitamin B12. This stability though is achieved due to the presence of cyanide, though in harmless quantity. The human body surely needs to expand, convert, and remove this cyanide component from it as soon as possible.


• Hydroxocobalamin: This form of vitamin B12 is naturally created by bacteria. This form of vitamin B12 is easily convertible into Methylcobalmin. This type of vitamin B12 is usually injected in the human body during the process of treating vitamin B12 deficiency and cyanide poisoning.


• Adenosylcobalamin: This is the least stable form of vitamin B 12. This is a naturally occurring form of vitamin B12 outside the human body. This particular type of vitamin B12 does not easily translate into tablet based supplements.

Among all these vitamin B12 forms, Adenosylcobalamin and Methylcobalmin are the only two natural and active forms of vitamin B12, one found within the human body while the other found outside it. Researches have found that vitamin B12 supplements have no known side effects. However, in certain human health conditions such as Atrophic gastritis, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, Graves' disease or lupus, and Pernicious anemia, the human body is unable to absorb vitamin B 12.

Though it is advisable to have a naturally balanced diet in order to avoid the deficiency of any vital mineral or vitamin, at times our lifestyle and dietary patterns do lead to circumstances where our bodies face some kind of deficiency. It is better to supplement our bodies in order to fulfill such deficiencies and protect it from other grave consequences. In case of vitamin B12, there are various forms of supplements available in the market such as methylcobalamin forms or methyl B12.