Skip to main content You are hereVitamins » Vitamin B12 Meet the staff of the Micronutrient Information Center. If you value this website, please help by donating to the MIC. The Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center provides scientific information on the health aspects of dietary factors and supplements, food, and beverages for the general public. The information is made available with the understanding that the author and publisher are not providing medical, psychological, or nutritional counseling services on this site. The information should not be used in place of a consultation with a competent health care or nutrition professional. The information on dietary factors and supplements, food, and beverages contained on this website does not cover all possible uses, actions, precautions, side effects, and interactions. It is not intended as nutritional or medical advice for individual problems. Liability for individual actions or omissions based upon the contents of this site is expressly disclaimed.
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AVAILABILITYFor General Sale (APVMA 51345)WARNINGSExport Slaughter Interval (Horses): NilA deficiency in vitamin B12 requires supplementation to treat symptoms and return blood serum levels to normal. The two options for treating a B12 deficiency are taking oral supplements in pill form or receiving injections of B12 directly into the muscle. If you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, you can develop neurological symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms or anemia. Some of these symptoms, particularly neurological symptoms, can become irreversible if the deficiency persists over a long time. Elderly people, people with pernicious anemia, strict vegetarians and breastfed babies of vegetarian women are at a higher risk for a vitamin B12 deficiency and might need B12 shots or pills. People with a vitamin B12 deficiency who receive the intramuscular shot generally begin with a dosage of 100 to 1,000 mcg every day or every other day. After one or two weeks, the frequency is stretched to once a month to once every three months.
Oral doses of vitamin B12 begin with a daily pill containing 1,000 to 2,000 mcg taken for one or two weeks. The maintenance dose is 1,000 mcg taken every day for the rest of your life. A B12 shot can be administered by your doctor during an office visit. A doctor or nurse also can show you how to administer the injection yourself so that you can do it at home using prescribed vitamin B12. Oral doses of this nutrient can be purchased over the counter and taken at home, although you should consult a physician before attempting to treat a vitamin B12 deficiency with oral supplements. Some people find the B12 shot uncomfortable or painful, so prefer taking a daily pill. While vitamin B12 injections are safe and inexpensive, the cost to have them done by a doctor can significantly add to the cost. Because vitamin B12 absorption by the gut is less effective than a shot directly into muscle, a higher dose is often needed when taken orally. Over-the-counter pills in high enough doses for treatment might be difficult to find, so you might need to take three or more pills to make up your necessary daily dose.
Many physicians are unaware that oral vitamin B12 is an effective substitute for B12 injections in the treatment of deficiencies, according to American Family Physician. No matter which method of treatment is used, follow-up visits to the doctor will be necessary. At these visits, the doctor will measure blood serum levels of B12 and determine whether the current dosage is appropriate. Gain 2 pounds per week Gain 1.5 pounds per week Gain 1 pound per week Gain 0.5 pound per week Maintain my current weight Lose 0.5 pound per week Lose 1 pound per week Lose 1.5 pounds per week Lose 2 pounds per week How to Give B12 IM Injections How Safe Is a B12 Shot? The Best Places to Give Vitamin B12 Injections What Are the Benefits of Vitamin B Injections? Vitamin B6 & B12 Injections What Is the Difference Between an Injection of B12 and Taking It Under Your Tongue? How to Take Vitamin B12 Orally Problems With the Vitamin B12 Shot
The Side Effects of Vitamin B12 Lipotropic Injections Taking B6 & B12 to Lose Weight How Often Can You Inject B12? Are Vitamin B-12 Pills Good for Weight Loss? How to Determine the Dosage of B12 for Weight Loss Sublingual Vitamin B12 vs. Injectable B12 The Best Way to Take Vitamin B12 Supplements How to Take Vitamin B-12 at Night How Fast Will B-12 Work? Are Vitamin C Injections Better Than Oral Supplements? What Is Sublingual B12? What Is the Normal Intramuscular Dose of Vitamin B12?Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) is an oxygen carrier; it decreases blood cholesterol; Vitamin B12 is essential in humans for healthy nerve tissues. Its deficiency is associated with heart palpitations. check your overall health status identify any nutritional deficiencies have a doctor review your case (optional) The term "Vitamin B12" refers to a group of cobalamin compounds, of which the most frequently used is cyanocobalamin.
All vitamin B12 found in nature is made by microorganisms (bacteria essentially), and none is found in sterile plants. In the early to mid 1800s, an unrecognized vitamin B12 deficiency was referred to as pernicious anemia because it was almost always fatal. It was not until 1948, though, that researchers finally isolated the active principle in liver now called vitamin B12. The isolation used a charcoal filter that added the stabilizing effects of cyanide, thus cyanocobalamin is one of the major stable forms used today for supplementation purposes. Food Sources of Vitamin B12. Those who don't like taking supplements can eat fortified foods, including fortified soy milks and rice milks, breakfast cereals, fake meats, sea weeds, one type of nutritional yeast (Red Star Brand Vegetarian Support Formula) and so on. The main thing to remember if you rely exclusively on fortified foods is that you have to eat them at least twice each day. Some people prefer this method because it is the most natural.
For example, one might have some B12-fortified cereal or soy milk for breakfast, and for supper also a serving of something with B12 in it, like another cup of fortified soymilk or a teaspoon of B12-fortified nutritional yeast. The best sources of B12 are animal-derived: liver, meat, salt-water fish, oysters, milk, eggs, aged cheese such as Roquefort, and fortified brewer's yeast. Vitamin B12 occurs naturally in the soil and on the surface of unwashed fruits and vegetables. Those on an animal-free diet may wish to eat unwashed, organic produce whenever possible. There is debate over the reliability of non-animal sources of Vitamin B12. It was found that people on vegan diets had lower levels of serum B12 levels than the general population. In particular, infants breast-fed or fed a macrobiotic diet directly are at a great risk of developing B12 deficiency. Non-animal sources which claim to have significant amounts of B12 such as tempeh, micro-algaes (spirulina, chlorella), miso, tamari, and sea vegetables (nori, arame, kombu, wakame) have been found to have negligible amounts, or B12 analogues that show up on lab tests, but don't have the activity of real B12.
It should be noted that there are different techniques for measuring the B12 content of foods. Furthermore, the B12 content in fermented foods, such as tempeh, may be different due to varying production techniques. In Indonesia, traditionally-produced tempeh is loaded with B12-producing bacteria which grow on the molds commonly growing on the food. In the U.S., however, large scale production and improved sanitation decreases the mold and bacteria and the subsequent B12 content of the food. The most reliable non-animal, but natural, source of B12 seems to be fortified brewers yeast. Like most of the vitamins, B12 is required as a cofactor for various enzymes. Every DNA-synthesizing cell requires vitamin B12. It facilitates the cyclic metabolism of folic acid, which is essential for thymidine (one of the four DNA bases) synthesis. It also transfers a methyl group from methylfolate, helping to convert homocysteine to methionine. Because plants have no appreciable amounts of B12, vegetarians are often at risk of slowly developing vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin B12 is an excellent energy booster. It plays an important role in the burning of fats and carbohydrates to produce energy, as well as in the formation of healthy red blood cells, and the maintenance of the myelin sheaths that protect our nerves. For these reasons, a B12 deficiency can cause symptoms ranging from mild fatigue to severe exhaustion to peripheral neuropathy. There appears to be some confusion among practitioners of natural medicine about whether oral, sublingual or intramuscular administration is preferable for patients requiring vitamin B12 therapy. Blood levels of B12 indicate that sublingual B12 becomes available as early as 15 minutes after administration and are still elevated at 24 hours, suggesting that a once-daily dose of 2,000-4,000mcg would be an effective preventive measure. – Presentation at the 43rd Annual Meeting, American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, 1987] A year's supply of 1,000mcg vitamin B12 tablets costs under $20, which is less than the cost of going to the doctor's office for injections.
On the other hand, patients who are likely to be noncompliant with oral therapy should be seen regularly by a doctor and treated with intramuscular injections. The current US RDA for vitamin B12 is 6mcg, but less for children and more for nursing and pregnant women. For those suspected of having low B12 levels, 2,000mcg once a day for two weeks sublingually should replenish stores. Those with problems absorbing B12 should continue taking their B12 sublingually. When vitamin B12 is being used for its pharmacological effects, as in the treatment of fatigue, Bell's palsy, diabetic neuropathy, subdeltoid bursitis, or asthma, intramuscular injections appear to be preferable to oral administration. Although there is little published research in this area, clinical observations suggest that orally administered vitamin B12 is not particularly effective against these conditions. It appears that very high serum concentrations are usually needed for vitamin B12 to exert its pharmacological effects, and that these serum concentrations can be achieved only with IM administration.