Hello everyone welcome or welcome back to MDKB.This
is the Episode(4 )of our weekly dose of vitamins series.
Vitamin B9 commonly known as folate or folic acid
is just as other B complexs a water soluble vitamin. Simply
folate is present in the naturally occuring foods like plants and meat while folic acid is more
like a synthetic or oxidized form of vitamin B9 like in supplements and fortified foods.
However both are inactive forms becuz your body is gonna convert them into their the active form
known as methyl tetrahydrofolate or MTHF.
The Biochemistry or pathway of folate or folic acid is a little complex and
very long. So here are the conversion steps of vitamin B9 into its active form in your body.
The highlight of the whole pathway is this two reactions
in which vitamin B9 plays an important role.
The first one with the second star of the show vitamin B12 converts the Homocysteine
into methionine which is an important amino acid,taking part in alot of metabolic reactions
ranging from regulating cells functions to promoting good hair health.
Also Homocysteine is bad which can cause damage to your heart,Brain
and blood vessels when elevated.So it is helpful that B9 keeps Homocysteine levels low.
In the second one, DUMP is converted into DTMP which has its own benefits too that is to promotes
DNA synthesis in order to produce red blood cells. Other benefits of folates include reduce
heartproblems, strokes, improve neurological condition like autism,
improve mental health, prevent birth defects like neural tube and others. That's why it
is important to take folic acid before and during pregnancy, of course under a doctor prescription.
Then obviously the curious question comes like what would happen if we don't take enough folic
acid or you have other conditions that might make your folates levels low? The answer obviously is
Vitamin B9 Deficiency which symptoms primarily come from the anemia, specifically megaloblastic
anemia. The symptoms include fatigue, pale skin or nail colors, irritability , weakness and lethargy
,headache, feeling faint and many more. The deficiency also caused other problems which
include neural tube defect in newborns, mental health conditions, increase the risk of cardiac
problems and many others like that. Vitamin B9 deficiency is common in
older people.But you can prevent it with just having the required amount
by eating the right delicious foods. From plant sources we have green leafy
vegetables like spinach, asparagus, broccoli and others like beans,peas
avocadoes,fortified foods amd etc From the animal sources we have livers,milk,egg,yogurt,cheese
and others. The recommended daily dosage of folate or folic acid is
About 400 mcg or mcg DFE for adults older than 14 years old.
600 mcg DFE for for pregnancy time and 500 mcg DFE for lactating women.
The conversion of mcgDFE into mcg of is given below.And this is the chart for the recommended
daily dosage of vitamin b9 from NIH. So we know about Vitamin B9 what
about his coworker or relative whatever Vitamin B12 .This gonna get interesting.
Vitamin B12 also known as Cobalamin comes in various different forms. The inactive
forms are known as Cyanocobalamin as in supplements and Hydroxycobalamin
as seen in injections which are then converted into Methylcobalamin and Adenosylcobalamin
which are the active forms. Methyl cobalamin is also present in the naturally occurring foods.
Ok before seeing the pathway of vitamin B12,how
it gets into our body let me introduce you the friends of Vitamin B12 .
They are the Transcobalamin 1 with a lot names presented in saliva, the intrinsic factor
secreted by your stomach cells specifically the parietal cells and there is the Transcobalamin 2.
So let's see the pathway. You eat B12 containing foods .You chew them together with saliva
and swallow. It then reaches the stomach where the acid and the pepsin breaks down the food releasing
the B12. The lonely vitamin is then joined with Transcobalamin 1who saved B12 from the acidic
environment and safely take him to the duodenum. There the Transcobalamin 1 gets destroyed by the
proteases from the pancreatic juice. However the intrinsic factor quickly attach free B12
and puts it into blood circulation via receptors in the ileum saving B12 from intestinal bacteria.
In the blood the B12 is yet again joined by another friend
Transcobalamin 2 and he takes him to the cells where vitamin 12 can now peacefully
performs it's functions and provide benefits. The benefits of B12 include DNA synthesis,
help produce red blood cells, help folic acid to change methionine into homocysteine,
regulate folate levels, provide fatty acid and amino acid synthesis, Myelin development
and promote mental health. So it is good for both your brain and body.
Thus Deficiency of the vitamin lead to a variety of symptoms in both.
Starting with an anemia symptoms like pale skin,fatigue,
unintentional weightloss, breathlessness to
neurological symptoms like numbness and tingling in hands and feet,poor memory and coordination
depression and others.As B12 is also involved in folate pathway it can lead to folic acid
deficiency, pregnancy problems and increase homocysteine levels so you can imagine how bad
that is. The deficiency can happen if something went wrong in the pathway like missing a friend or
in following situations beside not taking enough. However unlike any other B vitamins B12 is
actually stored in your liver enough to sustain a couple of years without showing
any deficiency symptoms.But prevention is better than cure. Here is the list of foods contains B12
which are mostly of animal products so if you are a vegan then you should
Make sure to consult with your doctor before taking any new medications.
So now you know about Vitamin B9 and Vitamin B12 so the quote of the video will be health is a
priceless wealth invest while you can . Bryant McGill.
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