How much do y'all know about vitamin B12?

[Deja Q]

My blood tests had shown that my B12 level is in the OK range, but it is close to the lower level.

My homocysteine level is a tad high (possible cause: B12 deficiency)

My Methylmalonic acid level is a wee bit low (possible cause: B12 deficiency)

I read this cool website: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitaminb12.asp

I had no idea that breakfast cereal was that much fortified. Good grief, if eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, whose marshmallows disturbingly don't go soft in milk, will help, then so be it...

No flotx though. Overprices B12 supplement is pure fleecing by the FDA's favorite pimp.

[Florida_Geek]

1. A 74 yo friend's wife gets to needle him one a month

with a shot of B-12. He says that without it he just wants to nap all the time.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. B12 is not stored in your body, it's water soluable so you pee it out

daily..the best way to get it is with a supplement

[RagingInMiami]

3. You can also buy Methyl B12, aka known as methylcobalamin

Which is a much more intense dose of B12. They sell it in sublingual tablets. It's suppose to be good for brain cells and nerve tissue.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. My brother the doctor told me that

B12 helps the blood carry oxygen to the brain. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause symptoms similar to dementia, and this is something that vegans have to watch out for, since B12 is the one vitamin that is found only in animal products.

[HuskiesHowls]

5. Well, it definitely helped my hangovers

when I was drinking. I also don't get as many colds, and they aren't as bad as they used to be. I do know too that it seems I get depressed more easily if I'm not taking it daily.

I take 500 mcg of it daily, and 800 mcg of Folic Acid, along with a multivitamin. After the doctor told me at my last physical that they were good for avoiding heart problems I did some research and found that they help with the formation of red blood cells, assist in the reproduction of the cell's DNA (possibly lowering my risk of cancer) and are important in maintaining central nervous system health.

I guess I'll just keep on taking it!!!

[SheilaT]

6. Oddly enough

eating a balanced diet that consists of a variety of fresh foods tends to give you all the appropriate nutrition you need.

Am I the only person in North America who doesn't take some kind of supplements? Am I the only middle-aged woman not on hormone replacement therapy?

I'm the healthiest person I know, but there's probably no correlation.

[Deja Q]

12. Ah yes. But unlike you, not all of us are immortal. Some of us get ill.

If your body starts rejecting B12 (which happens to virtually all adults by the time they get into their 50s). I'll be sure to reply in the same level of smugness you just had. :evilgrin:

[SheilaT]

13. I know I'm not immortal.

But I have a healthy skepticism about the claim that living a normal lifespan represents disease and that everyone needs supplements.

I keep on wondering which is the cause and which is the effect: taking vitamin supplements because you think you have a deficiency, or developing a deficiency which requires vitamin supplements.

I get into arguments with physician friends all the time about this.

Actually the thing that has me most incensed is the lack of universal health care for everyone. I know I'm lucky/have good genetics/have managed a fairly health life style but I know the luck could give out/I might have a genetic time bomb ready to go off/could learn something I've been doing isn't all that healthy after all.

[Kenneth ken]

7. I know brewers yeast

contains all the B vitamins, including B-12, so it's a good supplement for veggies (like me) to take. :)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

8. That's what I used when I was vegan.

I was always told it was one of the best sources of B vitamins.

[Baja Margie]

9. Ummm

Go with a B12 that is sublinginal did I spell that right? Take it every day, sometimes I even go to the pharmacia and get a B12 shot.

[Jesus H. Christ]

10. I'm familiar with Woodward.

Helluva piece of work.

[Squatch]

11. Great hangover remedy.

B-complex replenishes B vitamin in your body, or so I've heard. Take one before a night of drinking...seems to work for me