Читать книгу Safe Food: What to eat and drink in pregnancy - Rosie Dodds - Страница 44

There are many B group vitamins. Eating a balanced diet will give us plenty of all of them – except perhaps for folic acid and vitamin B₁₂.

Vitamin B₁₂ (or ‘cobalamin’) is needed, like folic acid, for the production of new cells – especially new red blood cells. It also contributes to a healthy nervous system and is involved in the making of fatty acids. Vitamin B₁₂ is therefore particularly important during pregnancy.

Vitamin B₁₂ is found naturally only in foods that come from animals – meat, fish, eggs, milk and so on. It is also added to some breakfast cereals during their manufacture. It is very rare for women who eat animal foods to be deficient in vitamin B₁₂.

Women who do not eat meat will probably still get enough vitamin B₁₂ from other animal foods, but women who do not eat any animal produce at all (a vegan diet) can become short of vitamin B₁₂. If you follow a vegan (or near vegan) diet, it is a good idea to eat plenty of fortified foods, and consider a B₁₂ supplement. Ask your family doctor or a pharmacist to recommend a suitable supplement.