Do you have a vitamin deficiency?
Guys, in case you didn't know, vitamins are crucial to your health, and I guarantee you, that the majority of people shrug them off. However, if there's two vitamins that you need to be taking every day, it's vitamins B12 and D.
In this post, we will explore why you need these vitamins, what signs of deficiency are, and how you can improve your intake of them.
What are they important?
Vitamin B12 is involved in red blood cell formation, nerve function, and overall brain health. You can find this vitamin mainly in animal products, like fish, eggs, and meat, but this can be also taken as a supplement.
Vitamin D is synthesized by your skin when its exposed to sunlight, but you can also find it in some foods such as mushrooms, egg yolks and more. This vitamin is integral for bone health, immune function, and mood regulation.
While both of these vitamins are essential for your overall well-being, the vast majority of people are deficient in at least one of them, due to various factors such as diet, lifestyle, medical conditions, and more.
What does Deficiency look like?
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 deficiency can develop slowly over months or years, and symptoms include the following:
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Pale or yellowish skin
- Muscle weakness
- Weight loss
If left untreated, vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to complications such as:
- Megaloblastic Anemia: a condition where your read blood cells are larger than normal, resulting in low oxygen delivery to your tissues
- Vascular Disease: a condition where your blood vessels are damaged by high levels of amino acid buildup.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency can occur if you do not get enough sunlight exposure, or if you do not eat enough foods containing vitamin D. Symptoms include the following:
- Bone loss
- Muscle weakness
- Fractures
- Osteomalacia: a condition where the bones become soft and brittle due to poor mineralization
- mood swings
If left untreated, vitamin D deficiency can lead to complications such as:
- Osteoporosis: a condition where the bones become porous and fragile due to low bone density
- Osteopenia: a condition where the bones have lower than normal bone density
- Increased risk of infections: Your immune system is weakened greatly by lowered levels of vitamin D
How you can improve your intake
Your diet plays an integral role in vitamin B12 and D intake. For those that have restrictive diets, plant-based foods such as the following now come fortified with these vitamins:
- soy milk
- cereals
- nutritional yeast
- meat alternatives
Always be sure to check the labels to see how much of these vitamins are in each serving. The recommended daily intake for vitamin B12 and D are 2.4 micrograms and 600 micrograms respectively.
Alongside this, getting enough sunlight per day ensures that you are getting the daily recommended dose of vitamin d. We recommend shooting for at least 30 minutes of sunlight per day.
Conclusion
So that is what vitamins B12 and D deficiency can look like. If you believe that you are having symptoms of these deficiencies, we recommend you check out our at home blood panel. The Vitamins B12 & D Test makes the ability to find out your levels fast, non-invasive, and easy. The best part? You can do it from the comfort of your home.
After you take your test, you will receive your results online, and will be given proper next steps tailored to your results.
