Search Results for: blog why does my body need vitamin b12

Tinnitus Hope?

I have always loved music and I love to have it loud. Back when I was younger, it was a matter of just liking it loud. Nowadays, it is more a matter of not being able to hear it. Yes, apparently all those years of loud music and even louder concerts have taken their toll on my rapidly aging ears and given me tinnitus. Tinnitus (I like to call it Pete Townshenditus because The Who guitarist suffers from it) is a ringing in the ears. It can be anywhere from slightly annoying to debilitating. It can be caused by loud … Continue reading →

Sores in the Corners of the Mouth

The last few winters have brought me a new problem: the corners of my mouth dry out and crack open. It’s painful, it looks ugly and makes me self-conscious, and I’m having a hard time healing it. If I open my mouth too wide (like for a yawn), anything that has healed cracks open again. It’s very frustrating! You know what that means: time to do some research and write an article. There are a few names for this sort of problem. According to Columbia University’s Go Ask Alice health site, this is known as angular cheilitis, angular stomatitis, or … Continue reading →

Biotin for Nail Strength

The things we eat can have a huge impact on our bodies inside and out. If your nails are weak, brittle, and prone to splitting, you can give them a boost from the inside out with a biotin supplement. Biotin is a B vitamin that is found naturally in foods like eggs and liver. However, the amount of biotin in a serving of eggs or liver may be too low to make a difference with your nails! Eggs contain 25 mcg of biotin per serving; liver contains 27 mcg per serving. A Columbia University study found that a daily biotin … Continue reading →

How Do Vitamins Work?

Lately, I’ve been looking at different vitamins and what they do for the body. Vitamin A helps your vision; vitamin D helps build strong bones. Other vitamins promote healing (like vitamin C and vitamin E) or energy production (the B-complex vitamins). Every vitamin does something different… but how do they work? There are two different types of vitamins. Some vitamins are fat soluble — like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K. This means the vitamins are stored in the fat tissues in your body — especially in the liver. They wait until your body needs them, and … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12 is a little bit different from other vitamins. If you don’t have a certain substance in your digestive system, you can’t absorb vitamin B12! Your stomach produces a substance called intrinsic factor. This substance has to be in the intestinal tract in pretty large amounts for your body to be able to absorb vitamin B12. If you don’t have intrinsic factor in your digestive tract, you’ll eventually develop a vitamin B12 deficiency called pernicious anemia. Liver is probably the number one source for vitamin B12 — but any and all animal foods contain this vitamin. In fact, people … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Vitamin B2?

Oh, so many B vitamins… folic acid, B6, B12… And our bodies need them all! Vitamin B2 was discovered by accident in the early part of the 20th century when nutritionists were looking for an enzyme that promoted growth in food. What they found instead was a yellow substance that we know now as riboflavin — also known as vitamin B2! Along with the other B-complex vitamins, vitamin B2 helps your body make energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Riboflavin especially promotes the production of energy in the brain! Researchers believe that vitamin B2 may be able to help bring … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Folic Acid?

Folic acid is actually part of the large family of B vitamins. Folate helps your body form DNA and RNA — the genetic building blocks for our bodies. The name folate comes from the word “foliage” because green, leafy vegetables are a great source for this vitamin! So why is folic acid important? You can’t grow without it. That makes folate especially important for pregnant women. Without enough folate while the baby is developing, you run the risk of serious brain disorders. Since 1992, doctors have suggested that women of childbearing age get four hundred micrograms of folate every day … Continue reading →