Vitamin B12 food, sources and deficiency

Foods high in B12 include meat such as lamb and beef, fish including salmon and cod, milk, cheese and eggs. There are also plenty of breakfast cereals that are fortified with the vitamin that can help you get the amount you need. B12 is not found naturally in vegetables, fruits or grains, which means if you are a vegetarian or vegan, you may find it hard to get enough B12. However B12 can be found in nutritional yeast, which has a savoury cheese-like flavour and can be added to vegan meals such as vegetarian pesto pasta and cauliflower dairy-free cheese.

B12 can also be found in nutritional yeast, which has a savoury cheese-like flavour and can be added to vegan meals such as vegetarian pesto pasta and cauliflower dairy-free cheese.

Vitamin B12 can also be found in supplements and can even be administered through injection for those who are severely deficient.

You should be able to get all the vitamin B12 your body needs by eating a healthy, balanced and varied diet, however if you need to boost your B12 levels you can take supplements. B12 supplements can help to combat feelings of tiredness and fatigue, as well as supporting a healthy pregnancy.

If your levels of B12 are low, it means that your body doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells. These blood cells carry oxygen around the body and then returns carbon dioxide to the lungs so that you can exhale it.

Being deficient in B12 can lead to anaemia, which is a term to describe the blood cells in your body. Your red blood count can be low which means that your body is not getting enough oxygen.

Adults aged between 19 and 64 need 1.5mcg of vitamin B12 a day. If you eat meat and dairy products you should be able to get enough B12. For example 85g of salmon contains 4.8mcg of B12, 236ml of semi-skimmed milk contains 1.2mcg of b12 and one boiled egg contains 0.6mcg.