Vitamin B12

Lets’s talk about Vitamin B12

What does the B12 vitamin do?

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, also known as cobalamin. t is needed to form red blood cells and DNA. It also is a key player in the function and development of brain and nerve cells. Vit B12 binds to the protein in the foods consumed. In the stomach, hydrochloric acid and enzymes unbind vitamin B12 into its free form.

Symptoms of vit B12 deficiency

👉 Pale yellow tinge to your skin.

👉 A sore and red tongue.

👉 Mouth ulcers.

👉 Pins and needles

👉 changes walking & moving

👉 Disturb vision.

👉 irritability & depression

👉 neurological symptoms

👉 Feeling very tired or weak.

👉Experiencing nausea & vomiting.

Following a vegan diet, can cause a higher chance of a vitamin B12 deficiency in people. Reliable vegan sources are foods that are fortified with B12

Here is a list of vegan sources that are high in vitamin B12.

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Nutritional Yeast
Fortified Plant-Based Milk
Fortified Breakfast Cereal
White butyon mushrooms
Fortified Rice
Supplements
Tempeh.
Chlorella.
Nori Seaweed.

Chia pudding Bowl.

Chia pudding blowl is a dense and filling breakfast. Chia seeds is a super food. They are high in fibre, antioxidants,, protien and omega3 fatty acids.

Ingredients

200ml plant base milk

2 tbsp Chia seeds

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp maple syrup

A dash of cinnamon

Method

Toppings

Blueberries

Kiwi

Seeds

Method

Place all the ingredients into a mason jar, close it tightly and shake it.

Place thr jar in the refrigerator overnight.

Next day, emptty the puddibg into a bowl and stir well as the chia seeds will expand.

Add toppings of your choice and enjoy.

Healthy Berry Jam

Strawberries and raspberries are high in:
Antioxidants nutrients
Fibre
Helps with weight loss
High in folate
High in micronutrients
Lowers Cholesterol

Ingredients

2 cups of strawberries

3 cups of raspberries

4 tbs chia seeds

1 lemon

2 tbs of maple syrup

Method

Start by adding all the ingredients in a large pan.

Cook the over a low to medium heat for around 10-12 mins.

Once cooked remove from heat.

If there are any big chunks, use a fork to mash them down.

Pour the jam into a jar and let it cool down.

Once cooled, close the jar and place it in the fridge..

Let’s talk about the macronutrient FAT.

Let’s talk about the macronutrient FAT

Fat breaks down into fatty acids to provide the body with energy. Apart from being a rich source of energy, it has many of the essential roles in the body:

Provides the body with essential fatty acids.

structural compounds, which body is unable to produce itself and can only get from food.

absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

Creates hormones.

promotes healthy skin and hair.

Essential for brain health, as the brain is composed of 60% fat.

Fats found in the following foods:

Oils – olive, canola, sunflower, vegetable, soybean, sesame, peanut, etc

Dairy: Butter, margarine,
Full fat and 2% dairy &
Eggs.

Meat, poultry and
fish.
Nuts & seeds
Avocado

Trans fats should be cut out or reduced from thr diet. They mostly come from hydrogenating or adding hydrogen molecules to unsaturated fats. It can be found in margarine, shortening, baked goods, doughs, and fried foods.

Large quantities of saturated fat caused high cholesterol levels and increase risk of heart disease. It’s very
beneficial to reduce the amount of saturated fat in diet. Saturated fat is found mainly in animal sources like, fatty beef, lamb, pork, poultry with skin, lard, cream, butter, full fat cheese, and dairy.

Unsaturated fats are healthy fats and can help with decreasing thr risk of heart disease. They originate from plant sources; avocados, nuts and nut butters, seeds, olives, and oils (olive, canola, safflower etc.). Also found animal products like, fatty fish including salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, and herring.

Importance of Carbohydrates

Let’s talk about carbs

There is a wde perception that carbs are the enemy when it come to weight loss peopletend to cut out carbs from their diet to achieve weight loss and follow low carb diet.

Let me start by dismissing this notion.. carbs are not the Enemy. Of course you should reduce processed and sugary carbohydrates from the diet, for weigh loss and to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The healthier sources of carbs such as wholegrains, fruit, vegetables and pulses are an important integral part of a healthy, balanced diet and ones that will help with weight loss.

Another important point to make is that Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy: They fuel the brain, kidneys, heart muscles, and central nervous system.

Priary functions of carbohydrates

💪 Energy production.

💪 Energy storage.
Building

💪 macromolecules.

💪 Sparing protein.

💪 Assit with lipid metabolism.

Side effects of not eat enough carbs. Limiting Carbs from the diet can cause the body to break down fat into ketones for energy. This is called ketosis. Ketosis can cause side effects such as bad breath, headache, fatigue and weakness