Facts on Vitamin B12
Facts on Vitamin B12
By Chris Rosenbloom, RHD, RDN, CSSN
A swim coach wrote to me expressing concern about age group swimmers taking shots of vitamin B12 without professional guidance. Let’s clear the air about what vitamin B12 can and cannot do for swimmers.
Vitamin B12 is a vitamin found in milk, meat, fish, eggs and other animal protein-rich foods. It is not found in grains, fruits or vegetables, although breakfast cereals add vitamin B12, so fortified foods are a good source of the vitamin for those who don’t eat meat.
Vitamin B12 has many roles in the body, but the primary ones are making red blood cells, maintaining a healthy nervous system, and making DNA, the genetic material that is a blueprint for all cells in our body. One symptom of a deficiency of B12 is fatigue. Every swimmer experiences fatigue, so you can see why so many people think taking vitamin B12, either by injection (shots) or through a supplement, will give them more energy. Couple that with the marketing of energy drinks and shots, touting that the vitamin B12 in the drink is the source of “energy,” and it is easy to see why swimmers would turn to an easy solution to combat tiredness.
Learn more here:
Vitamin B12 is a vitamin found in milk, meat, fish, eggs and other animal protein-rich foods. It is not found in grains, fruits or vegetables, although breakfast cereals add vitamin B12, so fortified foods are a good source of the vitamin for those who don’t eat meat.
Vitamin B12 has many roles in the body, but the primary ones are making red blood cells, maintaining a healthy nervous system, and making DNA, the genetic material that is a blueprint for all cells in our body. One symptom of a deficiency of B12 is fatigue. Every swimmer experiences fatigue, so you can see why so many people think taking vitamin B12, either by injection (shots) or through a supplement, will give them more energy. Couple that with the marketing of energy drinks and shots, touting that the vitamin B12 in the drink is the source of “energy,” and it is easy to see why swimmers would turn to an easy solution to combat tiredness.
Learn more here:
