One of my coworkers was really frustrated earlier. And to cope with it, she did what any other nutritionist would do...brainstorm the possible reasons why the person who pushed her buttons acts the way she does.
"Maybe it's because she's deficient in vitamin B12," she said, randomly, out of nowhere, maybe a good ten minutes later.
"I'm sorry. What?" I asked.
"Yes. It only makes sense. After a certain age you will start to experience changes in your personality. And it's usually because you lack the vitamin B12 since we normally wouldn't get it just from the food we eat," she continued.
According to Northwestern University's Feinberg School Nutrition Fact Sheet, "vitamin B12 is required for folate absorption, storage and activation to its coenzyme forms." It is rare that this vitamin is destroyed by cooking, but a good third of it could be destroyed if the cooking time is prolonged. Vitamin B12 deficiency is usually caused by inadequate absorption, or low intake (usually found in the animal origin or dairy foods that are fortified with vitamin B12). For more information about vitamin B12 requirements and a list of food rich in this vitamin, please go here.
Below is a list of symptoms provided by B12patch.com that I suggest you stay on the lookout for:
Physical Symptoms:
- Paresthesia
- Weakness or fatigue
- Muscle aches
- Impaired vibration or position sense
- Impaired pain or touch perception
- Ataxia
- Abnormal gait
- Decreased reflexes
- Unexplained vision or taste impairment
- Impotence
- Urinary or fecal incontinence
- Lhermitte's sign (sudden electric-like shocks down the spine on flexing head)
- Positive Romberg's sign (increased unsteadiness on feet when eyes are closed)
Psychological Symptoms:
- Memory loss
- Disorientation
- Apathy
- Irritability
- Paranoia
- Depression
- Hallucinations
- Violent behavior
- Psychosis
- Personality changes
- Dementia
So, now you know, the next time someone decides to make you angry, look it up. I'm telling you, there's a reason for everything!
1 comments:
A lot of the energy drinks, which many people tend to abuse (especially around exam times in college), have a lot of vitamin B12, which means that there has to be a limit on how much you can take in. How do you know when to stop? Or, is it just not true that there is a limit to how much you should take?
Ideas?
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