Vitamin B12

It is important to know what your body needs to be healthy. One thing vegans need to be aware of is how important B12 is for their bodies. For the two in half years of being vegan I haven't taken a B12 vitamins. Though it was on my mind I never really took any action until I recently finished a book called "Vegan Freak Being Vegan In A Non-Vegan World Version 2.0: Revised, Expanded and Updated" by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres. (A great book for new vegans) Page 164 is where they talk about the importance of B12.
Where does B12 come from
"This is the one vitamin that is nearly impossible to get in a vegan diet without supplements or fortified foods. In and of itself it is vegan, because it is produced by bacteria. The problem is that these bacteria are mostly found in animal guts (and thus the vitamin is present in animal products) and sometimes in soil, depending on how the soil is treated" Says Bob and Jenna Torres. They go on to say "...you can't rely on dirt as a vitamin source".
Some food sources Vitamin B12 is found is, claims the New York Times, is:

• Eggs
• Fortified foods such as soy milk
• Meat
• Milk and milk products
• Organ meats (liver and kidney)
• Poultry
• Shellfish

The New York Times goes on to say that "the body absorbs animal sources of vitamin B12 much better than plant sources. Non-animal sources of vitamin B12 vary in their amount of B12"
Purpose of B12
"Vitamin B12...is important for metabolism. It helps in the formation of red blood cells and in maintenance of the central nervous system".
B12 Deficiency
Low Levels of B12 can cause

• Anemia
• Loss of balance
• Numbness or tingling in the arms and legs
• Weakness
• Memory Loss
• Increased risk of stroke or heart attack
• Depression

Ways to get B12
You can get B12 by:

• Injection
• Nasal Gel
• Patches
• Tablets that dissolve under the tongue
• Multivitamin Pill Form

Nature's Bounty dis-solvable tablets  is what I ended up buying to help prevent B-12 deficiency.  It doesn't tastes bad with the cherry flavor. I haven't tried any other brands but I personally like this one thus far.

Here is an interesting little quiz to see how much you know about B-12 Deficiency 

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/vitamin-b12-rm-quiz

References
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/nutrition/vitamin-b12/overview.html

http://www.b12deficiency.org/

"Vegan Freak Being Vegan In A Non-Vegan World Version 2.0: Revised, Expanded and Updated" by Bob Torres and Jenna Torres pg. 164