Vitamin B12 has a lot of pro-he alth properties and is necessary for the proper functioning of the body. Find out why you should maintain the correct level of vitamin B12 in the body and learn more about the effects of its use among physically active people.

Advantagesvitamin B12,professionally known as cobalamin, cannot be overestimated, especially in the diet of physically active people. In addition to a diet rich in cobalamin, it is also worth supporting supplements with vitamin B12, because it is a water-soluble vitamin and the risk of overdosing it is low.

B vitamins play an important role in maintaining the he alth of athletes and physically active people, because they support the processes of energy production, among other things. Numerous studies confirm the thesis that deficiencies of B vitamins contribute to a reduction in the ability to perform high-intensity physical exertion. This is especially caused by a deficiency of cobalamin - also known as vitamin B12.

Especially athletes who train endurance disciplines are at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. People who are on reduction diets, slimming diets, vegetarians and vegans are also at risk, because vitamin B12 is mainly found in products with a high fat and protein content.

Are you an active athlete and passionate about exercise? Find out why you need to ensure a sufficient supply of vitamin B12 in your daily diet!

What does vitamin B12 give - deficiencies and depressed mood

Vitamin B12 is very important in maintaining the he alth of the entire body. The functions of cobalamin include:

- prevention of anemia and atherosclerosis, red blood cell formation
- DNA formation
- protein synthesis, carbohydrate and fat metabolism
- nerve sheath formation, prevention of nervous system diseases
- counteracting weakness and fatigue
- increasing strength and endurance capabilities
- increasing the ability to concentrate and memory

Vitamin B12 deficiencies in the body are manifested, among others, by anemia, pale skin, weakness and chronic fatigue, digestive system disorders, lack of appetite, weight loss, tastelessness, stomatitis, problems with balance, tremors and tingling in the limbs, mood disorders.

Ifwe regularly practice sports, such symptoms can be not only harmful to us, but also extremely dangerous. An active person uses much more vitamin B12 than the average person, and therefore should implement additional supplementation.

So what should be the proper level of vitamin B12 in a physically active person? The level of vitamin in the body should be in the range of 148-740 pmol / l (200-1000 ng / l) of the vitamin in the plasma. On the other hand, vitamin B12 deficiency is diagnosed at a value lower than 89 pmol / l (120 ng / l).

How does this information translate into the functioning of the body of a physically active person?

An athlete with a deficiency of vitamin B12 or its low level will achieve much worse sports results, suffer from low mood and malaise, much more often will be muscle fatigue, loss of strength and faster gasping, moreover his psyche and the nervous system will not function properly, which can result in reluctance to exercise, fatigue, apathy and even depression. These are just some of the effects of B12 deficiency!

Facts about vitamin B12 for trainees

There are many myths about vitamin B12 on the internet, but we can also come across some very important facts about consuming this pro-he alth vitamin - let's take a closer look!

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin. It is necessary to maintain good he alth and maintain the proper functioning of metabolic changes. For this reason, it is essential in the diet of athletes! Vitamin B12 is also involved in the production of red blood cells in the bone marrow and the construction of the myelin sheath and the formation of new nerve transmitters.

When we have a deficiency of this vitamin, we can expect poor sports results and no increases in the expected training effects. What's more, vitamin B12 metabolizes carbohydrates, fats and DNA - especially purines and pyrimidines, and thanks to the conversion of folic acid to biologically active tetrahydrofolate, it ensures the stability of the human genome.

In addition, vitamin B12 also plays a coenzyme role in the conversion of homocysteine ​​into methionine. In other words - Vitamin B12 creates, builds and keeps our entire body he althy.

Myths about vitamin B12 for trainees

The first is that vitamin B12 is found in some vegetables and fruits, and the claim that spinach, kale and spirulina contain it.

Cobalamin is found in the liver, heart, kidneys, fish, poultry, and animal products such as milk and eggs - not found in plant foods. Inproducts for vegans and vegetarians, there is only a similar chemical substance that is not absorbed by the human body.

The second myth is that only restrictive vegans should take vitamin B12. Each of us should supplement with this vitamin, because it is very poorly absorbed from food.

While vegans and vegetarians are more likely to suffer from deficiencies, these deficiencies are extremely common among meat eaters! What's more, cobalamin supplementation should also be considered by people over 50, because the quality of gastric juice secreted with age, which is necessary for the metabolism and absorption of vitamin B12, decreases with age. Supplementation should also be used by athletes, because they have much greater energy transformations, in which vitamin B12 is actively involved.

The third myth is that vitamin B12 can be overdosed. This vitamin is soluble in water, so it does not accumulate in the body, but is excreted in the urine and sweat. Cobalamin deficiencies are much more dangerous than an overdose, which can even cause irreversible he alth effects, e.g. diseases of the spinal cord, mood changes, mental illness, heart attack, catatonia, dementia, depression and memory loss.

Another myth regarding the intake of vitamin B12 is the claim that a person can store this vitamin in his body even for several years. Of course, the human body is capable of having a certain amount of cobalamin, but this is a period of only a few, not several years! At the same time, we must remember that even with a slight deficiency of cobalamin, its reserves are immediately used up. This is the case, for example, when administering anesthesia at a dentist's office or prior to an operation in a hospital.

The latest common myth about cobalamin is that a deficiency of this vitamin is unlikely to be likely as your gut bacteria are making sure you get enough of it. Although it turns out that scientific research has shown that bacteria of the species Pseudomonas and Klebsiella produce vitamin B12 in the small intestine, this production is either very little or not enough.

Interestingly, large amounts of the vitamin are produced in the large intestine, but it is no longer useful for humans, because its absorption occurs in the small intestine - it all boils down to the fact that the human body is not able to produce the right vitamin amounts and effectively assimilate it.

Is it worth supplementing vitamin B12 during training?

In a study conducted on 80 Polish athletes practicing a given disciplinefor a minimum of 3 years, it has been shown that vitamin B12 has a huge impact on the sports achievements and he alth of the respondents. Why?

Researchers studied 40 women and 40 men between the ages of 17 and 34, and the predominant disciplines among them were athletics, rowing and alpine skiing. Other disciplines that were among the respondents included cross-country skiing, ski jumping and mountain biking.

In the subjects, the supply of vitamin B12 in the diet was determined on the basis of the analysis of daily food rations obtained on the basis of dietary diaries filled by athletes, specifying the type and amount of consumed products and dishes. The study found that 92% of the respondents had insufficient implementation of vitamin intake and these people had worse sports results than the other respondents!

The research also showed that most of the deficiencies occurred among women and people practicing mixed sports. Men involved in endurance sports had sufficient vitamin B12 results. This could be related to their specialized diet focused on a large supply of protein and fats.

What is the result of this? Athletes and amateurs of regular training should pay special attention to the intake of vitamin B12, because it is removed from the body quite quickly as a water-soluble vitamin. What's more, physically active people have a greater need for this vitamin due to the intense effort of the nervous, immune and motor systems, which are associated with regular training or professional practice of a given sports discipline.

Vitamin B12 should be consumed especially by professional athletes and all enthusiasts of strength sports, long-distance running, swimming and other endurance sports.

Wondering how to measure your vitamin B12 levels? The test to help us find vitamin B12 deficiency is a urine sample of methylmalonic acid or a blood homocystin test. Each of us should do them, because taking into account the daily diet and exercise that we undertake, many of us need additional supplementation with this vitamin. If we are physically active people, we should take vitamin B12 every day!

Maximum daily dose of vitamin B12

- In he althy people, the dose should be 4 µg per day.
- In children aged 15-17 years, the dose should be 4 µg, and in infants aged 7-11 months - up to 1.5 µg per day.
- In patients with pernicious anemia in remission The daily intake of vitamin B12 is from 4 to even 20 µg per day.
- In pregnant women, the dose of the vitaminB12 should be around 4.5 µg per day.
When it comes to supplementing with vitamin B12, most pharmaceutical products recommend consuming one tablet a day before or after a meal.

People who are physically active should not only focus on supplementation. If we want to stay he althy and be able to regularly use the benefits of physical activity, we must first of all take care of a daily diet rich in this pro-he alth vitamin. Where can we find her?

The most vitamin B12 can be found in fish (especially pike, salmon, herring, mackerel and trout), pork, beef, veal and poultry livers and kidneys, ripening cheese, eggs, milk and dairy products, mushrooms, chicken and pork.

Read also: Vitamin B12 - properties, occurrence, dosage, deficiency

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