Vitamin B12 Benefits

While vitamin C is widely recognized as an essential nutrient that helps boost your immune system, and vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin” for supporting your bones, there’s one vitamin that doesn’t receive as much promotion but is just as important to your body.

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that helps keep your body running smoothly and supports good health. It’s one of a group of eight B vitamins (known as the B-complex) that convert the food you eat into energy and help your body’s cells grow and develop.

Vitamin B12 is vital because it does a lot to make sure your body functions properly. The Mayo Clinic reports that it also has several benefits. For example, vitamin B12:

• Supports metabolism throughout your body.

• Keeps your nervous system running smoothly.

• Contributes to the production of DNA, the genetic material in all of our cells.

To get a good idea of your vitamin B12 levels, it’s best to have a blood test done by a doctor. Usually, the first thing the doctor will do is check your serum vitamin B12. If your results are unclear, your doctor may order additional tests.

Getting B12 From Food and Supplements

Although your body stores vitamin B12 mostly in the liver, your body cannot produce the essential nutrient on its own. However, you can get a sufficient amount of vitamin B12 by consuming specific foods or taking supplements.

Bonnie Taub-Dix, a nutrition consultant in New York City, podcast host, and author of Read It Before You Eat It: Taking You from Label to Table, says she encourages getting vitamin B12 through food.

“You can consume vitamin B12 through eggs, dairy, fish and meat, or through fortified foods such as some plant-based milks, cereals or nutritional yeast,” Taub-Dix told Good Housekeeping.

Nondairy milks, poultry, shellfish, and meat substitutes are also fortified with B12, which is also known as cobalamin because it contains the element cobalt.

For your body to absorb vitamin B12 from the food you eat, the Cleveland Clinic explains that the hydrochloric acid in your stomach removes the vitamin from the food. Then, vitamin B12 binds to the protein produced by your stomach, called “intrinsic factor.” Your digestive system can then absorb B12.

Problems may occur if your body cannot properly digest foods containing vitamin B12. For instance, older adults who produce fewer digestive enzymes and people with certain medical conditions, such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease, may have trouble absorbing vitamin B12.

Also, you may not be able to adequately absorb the vitamin if you’ve had gastrointestinal surgery, such as gastric bypass surgery, or if you consume excessive alcohol.

The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements says men and women age 19 and older need 2.4 mcg of vitamin B12 per day. If you’re pregnant, you require 2.6 mcg daily, and if you’re breastfeeding, you should increase your intake to 2.8 mcg.

The Best Time To Take Vitamin B12

The best time to take vitamin B12 is whenever it fits into your daily schedule. Some people prefer taking it in the morning because they say it boosts their energy. However, few studies support these claims for individuals with normal vitamin B12 levels. But if you prefer to take supplements in the morning, nutritionists recommend taking it first thing in the morning before eating anything.

Since your body can’t produce vitamin B12, taking it consistently is important.

“B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, which means it’s best to take it with a full glass of water on an empty stomach,” Taub-Dix told Good Housekeeping.

“Forms of B12 that are chewable or sublingual (under-the-tongue) may enhance absorption.”

What is Vitamin B12 Deficiency Anemia?

Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia occurs when your body doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells because it isn’t getting enough of the vitamin from your food or isn’t absorbing it properly.

Having seriously low vitamin B12 levels isn’t common in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, people on a vegetarian or vegan diet may have low vitamin B12 levels because plant foods don’t have vitamin B12.

Just as B12 helps to produce red blood cells, a deficiency of this vitamin can cause a low red blood cell count, also known as anemia. But you can also have a vitamin B12 deficiency without experiencing anemia.

Similarly, you can have a vitamin B12 deficiency and develop symptoms, or not have any symptoms at all. Some of the signs and symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency to watch out for include:

Physical symptoms:

Neurological symptoms:

Psychological symptoms:

The long-term use of over-the-counter medications used to treat heartburn and prescription medications used to treat seizures, cancer, gout, and cholesterol may also reduce vitamin B12 levels in your body. Also, metformin, a prescription medication that treats prediabetes and diabetes, can lower vitamin B12 levels in your blood by blocking its absorption in the small intestine.

How is a Vitamin B12 Deficiency Treated?

Healthcare providers have several options for treating a vitamin B12 deficiency, including oral medication, injections, and nasal spray or nasal gel. There’s also cyanocobalamin, a man-made form of B12.

The treatment you need for a vitamin B12 deficiency depends on what’s causing it. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of getting your levels back to normal, but in other cases, you might need long-term B12 therapy. Either way, your healthcare provider will discuss the most appropriate treatment with you.

There are some things you can do to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency, such as managing any digestive diseases and limiting your alcohol intake since too much alcohol can damage your digestive system and make it harder for your body to get enough vitamin B12.

If your doctor suggests them, it might be worth incorporating them into your daily routine. Taub-Dix recommends placing your supplements next to your toothbrush to make them a part of your morning routine.

Story Links:
https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/essential-vitamin-b12-available-many-forms
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-b12/art-20363663
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22831-vitamin-b12-deficiency
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/a71628102/best-time-vitamin-b12/#what-is-the-best-time-to-take-vitamin-b12