Femix Relief Motion sickness

Vitamin B12- 10 μg

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in old age and may not be easy to recognize. People with vitamin B12 deficiency are at risk for nerve damage, anemia and degeneration of the spinal cord. Even relatively mild deficiency can affect brain functions and the nervous system, and the nerve damage may develop into permanent debilitation if left untreated.
Folate and vitamin B12 deficiency have the same hematologic symptom, megaloblastic anemia, which disappears after supplementation with large amounts of folic acid (that could be reached thanks to mandatory food fortification with folic acid), particularly in the elderly. Folic acid supplementation may activate synthesis of purine and pyrimidine through a specific pathway correcting anemia, although vitamin B12 is still absent; on the contrary nerve and cognitive deterioration related to vitamin B12 deficiency may continue unchecked.(9)

Quatrefolic® supplementation does not activate purine and pyrimidine synthesis and, if vitamin B12 is absent, 5 MTHF remains“metabolically trapped”. This situation produces a “pseudo folate deficiency” because although the cells have adequate levels of folate, it is trapped as 5-MTHF form allowing doctors to diagnostic vitamin B12 deficiency (19,20,21).

Sources of vitamin B12 in the diet
Vitamin B12 is synthesised by bacteria and found in animal products (eg, meat, eggs, milk and milk products). Plant sources, such as seaweed and spirulina, often contain vitamin B12 analogues, which have not been shown to have vitamin B12 activity in the human body. These vitamin B12 analogues may even increase the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency through competition. Bacteria in the human intestine synthesise B12, but the bioavailability of this B12 is uncertain (Martens et al 2002).

People at risk of vitaminB12 deficiency

Iodine – 150 μg

Iodine deficiency affects growth and development and reproductive function. Mild to moderate iodine deficiency during pregnancy adversely affects both maternal and infant thyroid function and has implications for the mental development of the infant (Zimmermann and Delange 2004). Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy is associated with abortions, stillbirth, congenital abnormalities, increased perinatal and infant mortality, psychomotor, speech and hearing defects, dwarfism, spastic diplegia, cretinism and mental retardation. In infants, children and adults, iodine deficiency leads to goitre, hypothyroidism and impaired mental and physical development (Hetzel et al 1990).

Sources of iodine in the diet
The Total Diet Survey estimated that the main sources of iodine for New Zealand women aged 25 years and over are dairy foods (34 percent), chicken, eggs, fish, meat (28 percent), takeaways (12 percent), and grains (11 percent) (Vannoort and Thomson 2005).

Vitamin D-20 μg

The vitamin D status of a pregnant woman directly affects the vitamin D status and health of the child, especially bone mineralization [25–27] . Vitamin D is obtained from the diet and is also synthesized in the skin during exposure to sunlight.
An adequate time spent outdoors can help to provide a sufficient supply of vitamin D. Regarding light skin types, it is sufficient to expose the face and arms to sunlight for 5–10 min without sun protection around midday. Sunburn should be avoided. The German Nutrition Society recommends a daily vitamin D supplement of 20 μg (800 IU) for pregnant women who do not synthesize sufficient vitamin D because of lack of or insufficient exposure to sunlight [2] . The average intake of vitamin D through the diet is around 2–4 μg daily [12] . This amount is not enough to reach desirable serum concentrations of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol of at least 50 nmol/l through the endogenous synthesis of vitamin D in winter, and in summer in case of limited sunlight exposure. Pregnant women who rarely spend time in the sunlight, cover their skin or use sunscreen lotions, as well as women with darker skin types should supplement their diet with vitamin D to reach a desirable serum concentration.