Food sources of vitamin B12:

· eggs

· meat

· poultry

· shellfish

· milk & milk products

Vitamin B-12 is essential for maintaining healthy nerve cells and red blood cells, and a deficiency can cause symptoms ranging from fatigue and mild diziness to nerve damage, anemia and dementia. Unlike most vitamin, B-12 occurs naturally only in animal products including meat, fish, poultry and dairy, so vegetarians and vegans may not receive adequate amounts of B-12 in their diets.

Adult over the age of 50 may not absorb an adequate amount of B-12, and are advised to eat B-12 fortified foods and take vitamin B-12 supplements. Recently, researchers have found that 6 micrograms of B-12 per day is adequate to prevent signs of mild B-12 deficency, and suggest that the daily intake for vitamin B-12 should be more than doubled from the current recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 2.4 micrograms per day, which is believed to be the minimum amount needed to prevent more serious problems such as anemia, nerve damage and mental dysfunction.

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