Vitamin b12 is an essential nutrient that your body needs for overall good health and longevity. A recent study has shown a link between vitamin B12 deficiency and chronic inflammation. Vitamin B12 deficiency is the root cause of many diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Vitamin B12 deficiency, inflammation, aging, and disease
A recent Spanish study, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, examined the effects of vitamin B12 on two inflammatory markers in humans and mice. Results showed that the more vitamin B12 an individual has, the lower their inflammatory markers. Researchers noted this could have direct clinical relevance and open doors to therapeutic strategies for disease prevention, since chronic inflammation is associated with a wide range of diseases.
Another study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) reported a link between micronutrient deficiencies and the gut. Results showed that deficiencies in crucial micronutrients such as vitamin B12 can make the gut more conducive to developing antibiotic resistance, which is a major global health concern.
Why is Vitamin B12 so important?
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), “vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient with roles in various physiological processes” It’s critical for overall health and longevity.
“It keeps the blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells. It also helps prevent megaloblastic anemia, a condition that makes people weak and tired, accelerates tissue repair, and protects the bones.”
Vitamin B12 is a nutrient that helps keep your body’s blood and nerve cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. Vitamin B12 also helps prevent megaloblastic anemia, a blood condition that makes people tired and weak.
How much do you need?
The amount of vitamin B12 you require each day depends on your age. Average daily recommended amounts for different ages are listed below in micrograms (mcg).
| Life Stage | Recommended Amount |
|---|---|
| Birth to 6 months | 0.4 mcg |
| Infants 7–12 months | 0.5 mcg |
| Children 1–3 years | 0.9 mcg |
| Children 4–8 years | 1.2 mcg |
| Children 9–13 years | 1.8 mcg |
| Teens 14–18 years | 2.4 mcg |
| Adults | 2.4 mcg |
| Pregnant teens and women | 2.6 mcg |
| Breastfeeding teens and women | 2.8 mcg |
What happens to your body if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency?
If you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, you may feel tired or weak. These are symptoms of megaloblastic anemia, which is a hallmark of vitamin B12 deficiency. You might also have pale skin, heart palpitations, loss of appetite, weight loss, and infertility. Your hands and feet might become numb or tingly, a sign of nerve problems.
Other symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include issues with balance, depression, confusion, dementia, poor memory, and soreness in the mouth and tongue.
In infants, signs of a vitamin B12 deficiency include failure to thrive, delays in reaching typical developmental milestones, and megaloblastic anemia.
Vitamin B12 deficiency can damage the nervous system, even in people who don’t have megaloblastic anemia. This is why it’s important to treat a deficiency as soon as possible.
Importantly, your body stores 1,000 to 2,000 times as much vitamin B12 as you’d typically eat in a day. This means the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can take several years to appear.
Can you get enough from food?
Vitamin B12 is found in a wide variety of animal foods. Plant foods have no vitamin B12 unless they are fortified. You can get recommended amounts of vitamin B12 by eating a variety of foods, including the following:
- Fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and other dairy products contain vitamin B12.
- Clams, oysters, and beef liver are some of the best sources of vitamin B12.
- Some breakfast cereals, nutritional yeasts, and other food products are fortified with vitamin B12.
To find out if food has added vitamin B12, check out the FDA’s Nutrition Facts label
.
How do you know you are deficient?
Most people can get enough vitamin B12 from the foods they eat. However, some people have trouble absorbing vitamin B12 from food. The body absorbs vitamin B12 from food in a two-step process. First, hydrochloric acid in the stomach separates vitamin B12 from the protein that it’s attached to. Second, the freed vitamin B12 then combines with a protein made by the stomach, called intrinsic factor, and the body absorbs them together.
Vitamin B12 in dietary supplements isn’t attached to protein and doesn’t require the first step. However, B12 in supplements does need to be combined with intrinsic factors to be absorbed.
People with pernicious anemia, an autoimmune disease, can’t make intrinsic factor. As a result, they have trouble absorbing vitamin B12 from foods and dietary supplements.
Vitamin B12 deficiency affects between 3% and 43% of older adults. Your doctor can test your vitamin B12 level to see if you have a deficiency.
Deficiency includes symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, vision problems and constipation, and if left untreated can lead to debilitating conditions such as neurological disorders and nerve damage.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is more common than you think
Nutritionist Vanessa Ascencao says that “a vitamin B12 deficiency is common in approximately 15 – 28% of people and autoimmune conditions such as diabetes and Crohn’s, certain medications, strict vegetarian diets, and aging can increase the risk.”
“It is important to support the foundations of health like nutrition, movement, stress management and sleep to ensure optimal health and to reduce the risk of illness and disease,” she adds.
Consumer Fact Sheet List published by NIH in the UK
- Certain groups of people may not get enough vitamin B12 or have trouble absorbing it.
- Many older adults don’t have enough hydrochloric acid in their stomach to absorb the vitamin B12 that’s naturally present in food. People over 50 should get most of their vitamin B12 from fortified foods or dietary supplements because, in most cases, their bodies can absorb vitamin B12 from these sources.
- Those with an autoimmune disease called atrophic gastritis might not absorb enough vitamin B12 because they make too little hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor in their stomach.
- People with pernicious anemia do not make the intrinsic factor needed to absorb vitamin B12. As a result, they have trouble absorbing vitamin B12 from foods and dietary supplements. Doctors usually treat pernicious anemia with vitamin B12 shots, although very high doses of vitamin B12 given by mouth might also be effective.
- People who have had some type of stomach or intestinal surgery (for example, to lose weight or to remove part or all of the stomach) might not make enough hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor to absorb vitamin B12.
- Individuals with disorders of the stomach and small intestine, such as celiac disease or Crohn’s disease, might not absorb enough vitamin B12.
- People who eat little or no animal foods, such as vegetarians and vegans, might not get enough vitamin B12 from their diets. Only animal foods have vitamin B12 naturally.
- When pregnant women and women who breastfeed their babies are strict vegetarians or vegans, their babies might also not get enough vitamin B12.
What kind of vitamin B12 dietary supplements are available?
Doctors can prescribe vitamin B12 as an injectable shot. They usually use this method to treat a serious vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin B12 is also available by prescription as a nasal gel that’s sprayed into the nose.
Vitamin B12 is available in multivitamin/mineral supplements, in B-complex supplements, and in supplements containing only vitamin B12. It is typically in a form called cyanocobalamin. Other common forms are adenosylcobalamin, methylcobalamin, and hydroxycobalamin.
You can also buy activated vitamin B12 spray. Activated B12 Spray helps prevent vitamin B12 deficiency and maintains vitamin B12 levels within the normal range of the body.
It also comes in a form that dissolves under your tongue (called sublingual vitamin B12).
The amount of vitamin B12 in supplements varies widely. Some provide doses of vitamin B12 that are much higher than recommended amounts, such as 500 mcg or 1,000 mcg, but your body absorbs only a small percentage of it.
People consider these doses and supplements safe.
Check out the Supplement Facts label
According to Ascencao, “it is important to eat a balanced diet with whole fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats. Exclude processed food and sugar, stop smoking, exercise daily, manage stress and keep a good sleep schedule.” Like most vitamins, choose good quality supplements with proven absorption and bioavailability.
End note
While Vitamin B12 has not been shown to cause any harm, even at high doses, it’s essential to check if you need to check whether your body needs additional support.
