According to health authorities, women should start counting if they have the right amount of nutrients in the body. During pregnancy, the supply should also increase to meet the nutritional demands of the baby in the womb. To be able to do this successfully, increasing the amount of servings of the five food groups per day would help fill up the lacking vitamins and minerals in the body.
Among the five food groups which servings should be increased include fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, milk and yogurt and other sources of calcium, and protein sources like meat, poultry, beans and nuts. Getting enough of the essential vitamins during pregnancy is easier to do when you have a balanced diet. Yet if you have difficulty planning your meals, your doctor might be able to suggest to you vitamin supplements. It should be remembered however that prenatal vitamins should be taken only with doctor’s advice. Also, vitamin supplements should not be considered as an alternative to eating as it only fill up the lacking nutrients in your daily diet.
Vitamin B is one of most important vitamins especially during pregnancy. Vitamin B6 is essential to fertility and stronger immune system and helps in the development of red blood cells. This vitamin also helps the body to properly digest protein. Vitamin B6 aids pregnant woman to deal easier with morning sickness and nausea. It is important to note that expectant moms should only take what is prescribed by the physician as over dosage can lead to numbness and nerve damage. Vitamin B12 on the other hand works well for the nervous system. Additionally, this is required for proper red blood cell formation, neurological function, and DNA synthesis.
Aside from Vitamin B, there are other essential vitamins needed when you are an expectant mom. Folic acid, iron, and calcium are some of them. Folic acid helps avoid birth defects. Meanwhile, iron helps prevent anemia and ensures that oxygen is properly distributed in the body through the blood. And calcium strengthens the bones and avoids bone problems later in life.
If you think you may have difficulty having a balanced diet due to your lifestyle, you should consult your doctor into taking the right prenatal vitamins for you. Make it clear on the content of the vitamins and how many should be consumed per day. Large doses can be risky to your pregnancy too. Prenatal vitamins make it easier to adhere to the nutritional requirement of a person especially during pregnancy. Be smart into taking your vitamins and always have a healthy and balanced diet.
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When it comes to getting lots of vitamins and minerals in their diet, vegetarians and vegans are generally more successful than the average omnivore. After all, they consume more fruits and vegetables than the general public.
Where they do sometimes fall short is with nutrients found mainly in animal products, like vitamin B12. Vegans in particular need to look into the possibility of taking a supplement to be sure they’re getting what they need.
What Does Vitamin B12 Do?
Vitamin B 12 is essential for healthy living. Its main functions involve the formation of red blood cells and the maintenance of a healthy nervous system. B 12 is necessary for the timely synthesis of DNA during cell division. This is especially important in tissues where cells are dividing rapidly, particularly the bone marrow tissues responsible for red blood cell formation.
B 12 is also important in maintaining the nervous system. Nerves are surrounded by an insulating fatty sheath which is made of a protein called myelin. B 12 plays a vital role in the metabolism of fatty acids essential to maintain healthy myelin. B 12 deficiency over a long period of time can lead to nerve degeneration and irreversible nerve damage
Reliable sources of vitamin B12 are in animal products like meat, eggs and dairy products. Some research has shown that it also occurs in some kinds of plants, such as seaweeds, an algae called spirula, and fermented soy products. However, recent studies have come to the conclusion that humans cannot process this form of the vitamin, so these are not effective sources of B12 for vegans and vegetarians.
Fortunately, a large number of cereal products are enriched with vitamin B12. Breakfast cereals are an excellent source as well as some enriched breads. By paying attention to the nutrition labels on these kinds of products, it is possible to supplement a diet that is otherwise lacking in B12.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
How will you know if you are deficient in B12? The deficiency can take years to show up in a noticeable way, so if you develop symptoms long after your diet has changed, make sure you get your doctor to check it out. Some of the symptoms that can point to a deficiency are: dizziness, paleness, shortness of breath, fatigue, anemia and hearing problems.
These are early symptoms. If the condition remains untreated the effects are more serious. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause progressive damage to the nervous system, especially the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.
When the spinal cord is involved, the first symptoms include difficulty in feeling vibrations in the feet, loss of position sense, and loss of muscle co-ordination. Other advanced symptoms are weight loss, exaggerated reflexes, damage to the optic nerve, hallucinations, personality and mood changes. Eventually those suffering from a deficiency will develop an enlarged spleen and liver.
If all of that has you running out to find the biggest B12 supplement on the market, put the brakes on for a moment. A healthy, young adult should be able to get most of the B12 he or she needs by either eating animal products or enriched cereal products.
A multi-vitamin supplement which includes B12 is a good idea if your diet is limited. As you get older, your body’s ability to absorb B12 from animal sources actually decreases. So supplements become more important after the age of 50.
Vitamin B8 is a water-soluble vitamin, which is not only widely distributed in food but also manufactured in the lower digestive tract of the human body. It is very stable when heated.
Benefits of Vitamin B8 -
* Vitamin B8 or biotin is imperative for a healthy immune system. It is necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats from food. It is also required for the utilization of proteins, folic acid and vitamin B 12.
* Vitamin B8 plays an important role DNA and RNA synthesis (genetic material), production of red blood cells and proper functioning of the nervous system.
* It is essential for the growth of healthy hair as well as prevents premature greying of the hair as well as hair loss. Biotin, found as an active ingredient in many of today’s shampoos and hair conditioners, is said to repair damaged hair and keep hair healthy.
* This vitamin also helps to maintain the skin in healthy condition. It helps to evenly distribute the colour pigment – melanin throughout the skin. Deficiency of this vitamin often leads to pigmentation problems.
* Required in the creation of glycogen, and is also essential in the making of fatty acids.
* Essential for pregnant women as it helps prevention of neural tube birth defects
* It has a significant role in red blood cell formation along with homocysteine metabolism (required for proper functioning of the heart). Deficiency of Vitamin B-8 results in megaloblastic anemia.
Deficiency of Vitamin B8 -
A deficiency in B8 is rare since it is widely available in food.
Vitamin B9, is also referred to as folic acid or folacin or folate; and its chemical name is pteroylglutamic acid. Folic acid is the parent compound of a large group of naturally occurring, structurally related compounds collectively known as the folates.
In 1941, a substance was extracted from spinach leaves and named folic acid – from the Latin word “folium” for leaf, which was found to be useful in the cure for anaemia.
B9 is a water-soluble vitamin, which is absorbed from the small intestine, carried by the bloodstream and stored in the body (liver), but not in large amounts. The body uses what ever amount of folic acid it needs and excretes the extra through urine.
Benefits of Vitamin B9 -
* B9 is important for the production, growth and maintenance of new cells – especially during pregnancy and infancy when cell reproduction is extremely rapid. Both adults and children need folates to manufacture normal red blood cells and to prevent anemia.
* Required during early pregnancy to prevent birth defects, including problems with the spine (neural tube defects called spina bifida) and brain. Pregnant women who do not get adequate amounts of folate are also more likely to have premature babies or babies with low birth weight.
* Folic acid is required for red blood cell formation, energy production as well as the forming of amino acids. Necessary for creating heme – the iron containing substance in haemoglobin, which is imperative for oxygen transport.
* It works as a coenzyme in DNA and RNA synthesis, therefore important for normal cell division. This is why folic acid is so important during pregnancy, for embryonic and foetal nerve cell development.
* Vitamin B9, in association with vitamin B12 help convert homocysteine (a blood toxin which leads to cholesterol in heart muscles), thereby reducing blood levels of homocysteine and lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease. Increased homocysteine levels result in weak bones leading to fractures.
* B9 is involved in the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which regulate mood, sleep and hunger.
* B9 is also linked to play an important role in prevention of certain cancers – lung, colon, and cervical.
Deficiency of Vitamin B9 -
Deficiency of folic acid, along with Vitamin B12 deficiency, causes a type of darkish brown, blotchy pigmentation that normally appears on the face, inside of mouth, on the thighs, and on the palms.
Folate deficiency can cause diarorhea, anaemia, loss of appetite, heart burn, constipation, weight loss, sore and swollen tongue and a variety of other symptoms.
In a developing foetus, folic acid deficiency may cause birth defects such as spina bifida (neural tube defects) and anencephaly.
Symptoms of deficiency include: