B12 Vitamins

What is vitamin B12 (Hydroxocobalamin Vitamin) and what does it do?

Vitamin B12 is required by the body for the healthy development of red blood cells in the bone marrow, in addition B12 vitamin is used for physical growth and development, absorption of folic acid and carbohydrates from diet.

As the body’s daily requirement of B12 is very small, deficiency may take years to developed or be noticed. When deficiency does occur, the formation of abnormally large red blood cells (called macrocytes) with limited capacity to carry oxygen gives rise to anaemia.

For B12 to be absorbed and used by the body it needs to undergo a specific process.  The presence of hydrochloric acid in the stomach causes B12 vitamin to separate from the protein to which it normally attaches in food and to combine with a different protein present in the stomach called intrinsic factor, this helps absorption by the body. In some cases people may have a condition in which their body lacks production of intrinsic factor causing them to have what is called Pernicious Anaemia which stops them from absorbing B12 vitamin.