B vitamins are essential for a long and healthy life. However, many of us do not know their importance and what we can do to get enough of them. This puts us at risk of deficiency diseases, which can lead to serious health problems.
Catherine Stewart, Registered Dietitian at Dublin Nutrition Center, explains the components of B vitamins. “There are eight of them – thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B6), biotin (B7), folate or folic acid, and B12,” she says.
“Some are responsible for carbohydrate metabolism, which acts as the key to extracting energy from food.” This means that a deficiency in these vitamins can cause energy levels to plummet, Stewart says. Masu.
Folic acid, B12, B6, and riboflavin also play important roles in DNA production and repair and methylation reactions within cells. This means that they are important for a variety of biological processes and their deficiency can have even more severe consequences.
Decreased folate levels are associated with increased risk of stroke. Vitamin B6 deficiency is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. And it has been found that there is a strong correlation between depression and low vitamin B12 levels.
Helen McNulty, Professor of Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Ulster, specializes in B vitamins and knows how important they are from the earliest moments of life, when the fetus is still forming in the womb. Outline.
“Neural tube defects (NTDs) are serious birth defects, such as spina bifida, that can lead to death or lifelong disability,” she says. “Ireland has one of the highest rates of NTDs in the world. Over 30 years ago it was proven that supplementing with folic acid during early pregnancy can prevent NTDs in your baby.
Therefore, it is recommended that women consume 400 micrograms daily for three months before and after pregnancy. This is because there is enough folate in red blood cells to support the early formation of your baby’s brain and spine during the third to fourth week of pregnancy, when the neural tube closes. ”
McNulty’s team at Ulster University is working in partnership with universities in Canada and Spain on the EpiBrain project, which investigates the effects of folic acid and related B vitamins on the brain throughout its life cycle. Their research shows that vitamin B plays an important role in brain health beyond the third week of life.
“In one of our studies, children of women who took folic acid throughout pregnancy performed better on cognitive tests at ages 3, 7, and 11 than children of mothers who did not take folic acid. “It showed that they were performing well,” she says.
Another study examined the effects of optimal B vitamin intake in an elderly population and found that folic acid taken in combination with vitamins B12, B6, and riboflavin over a two-year period protected against subsequent cognitive decline.
“B vitamins, particularly folic acid, appear to play an important role in brain health throughout the life cycle,” McNulty says.
Sinead Karan, Head of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics at the National Maternity Hospital, emphasizes the importance of vitamin B6 for women.
“We call it the women’s health vitamin,” she says. “It can minimize nausea and vomiting in pregnant women. It is recommended for treating premenstrual symptoms and can also help with progesterone-related fertility issues.”
Experts are concerned that many people are not reaping the full health benefits of these nutrients.
Research published in 2021 by Trinity College, Dublin found that one in eight Irish adults over the age of 50 is deficient in vitamin B12 and one in seven is deficient in folic acid. . The study also states that the deficiency is likely to be prevalent among all age groups.
One reason for this is that B vitamins are water-soluble. “
We throw out things we don’t need on a daily basis,” says Stewart. Vitamin B is not stored in the body, so you need to eat foods rich in vitamin B every day. ”
Another reason is that it is almost impossible to get enough folic acid through diet alone. “Folate is easily destroyed by heat, light, or damage to produce,” Curran says.
This is why McNulty is campaigning for mandatory food fortification. “Folic acid is now added to white flour, corn flour, and rice in more than 80 countries around the world,” she says.
“In those countries, the incidence of NTDs has decreased significantly. Here in Ireland there is no mandatory protection and the incidence has not decreased at all.”
She argues that current policies recommending that women take folic acid before and after pregnancy will never work.
“More than half of all pregnancies are unplanned, and women who are not planning a pregnancy are unlikely to be taking folic acid,” she says. “At three weeks of age, when the neural tube begins to close, children may not even know they are pregnant. By then, it may be too late.”
Enrichment has the potential to significantly reduce the number of children born with NTDs and improve the health of the broader population.
“We are just beginning to understand how B vitamins interact and play important roles in our overall health,” McNulty says.
“It makes sense to fortify foods to ensure that as many people as possible avoid the negative health effects of deficiency.”
