Women have special dietary needs. Vitamin B-12 is a critical nutrient for women, influencing several diseases that affect women. Vitamin B-12, also called cobalamin, also provides energy to women -- the B vitamins transform the foods in your meal plan to energy. This vitamin is good for your nerves and promotes DNA and RNA production.
Daily Recommended Intake
Women do not need a great deal of vitamin B-12 each day. The daily recommended intake stands at 2.4 mcg for adult women, although pregnant women need a bit more -- 2.6 mcg. If you are breast-feeding, you require even more: 2.8 mcg per day. While most women get the amounts they need through the foods in their meal plans, if you are over 50 years old, you may need a supplement -- the University of Maryland Medical Center reports that 10 to 30 percent of older adults do not absorb vitamin B-12 efficiently, making a supplement necessary.
Breast Cancer Prevention
More than 40,000 women die from breast cancer each year in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but vitamin B-12 may play a role in prevention of this type of cancer. A study published in the November 2006 issue of "Cancer Causes and Control" indicates that adequate folate intake is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer; vitamin B-12 makes folate more effective in your body. Research on the benefits of vitamin B-12 for breast cancer is inconclusive, however. A study in the 2009 "Nutrition and Cancer" journal claims no correlation between vitamin B-12, folate and breast cancer, and research in the January 2007 "Journal of the National Cancer Institute" notes an impact on breast cancer risk only among alcoholic women.
Heart Disease Prevention
MedlinePlus lists heart disease as the condition that kills the most American women each year. Getting enough vitamin B-12 in your diet may help reduce your risk of heart disease due to this vitamin's impact on homocysteine, an amino acid. The University of Maryland Medical Center indicates that vitamin B-12 controls homocysteine levels, and women with high homocysteine levels have more risk of stroke and coronary artery disease. Evidence featured in the June 2011 issue of "Coronary Artery Disease" indicates that long-term therapy involving vitamin B-12 and folate positively influences coronary blood flow, which may also improve heart function in women.
Dietary Sources of Vitamin B-12
You can only get vitamin B-12 from animal sources and vitamin supplements, making it important for vegan women -- those who do not consume any animal products -- to get their B-12 in supplement form. If you are not vegan, look to dairy products such as cheese and yogurt as well as eggs to increase your intake of this vitamin. It is also available in seafood, pork, beef and organ meats.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin B-12 (Cobolamin); June 2009
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Breast Cancer Statistics; November 2010
- "Cancer Causes and Control"; Folate, Vitamin B12 and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in a Prospective Study of French Women; M. Lajous, et al.; November 2006
- "Nutrition and Cancer"; Dietary Intake of Folate, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Genetic Polymorphism of Related Enzymes, and Risk of Breast Cancer: a Case-Control Study in Japan; E. Ma, et al.; 2009
- "Journal of the National Cancer Institute"; Folate and Risk of Breast Cancer; S.C. Larsson, et al.; January 2007
- MedlinePlus: Heart Disease in Women
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