Vitamin B12 Dosage

What's The Corrct Dosage of Vitamin B12?

We need the right vitamin B12 dosage in order to be healthy and to be able to function properly. However, our body does not produce it naturally so we have to take it from outside sources. Rich sources of this nutrient include animal foods, such as meat products, beef liver, poultry, fish and dairy products. We can also get it from vitamin B12 supplements.

These are available in many forms and include include pills, tablets, capsules and sublingual B12. For people who have trouble in absorbing this vitamin, they can use vitamin B12 patches and, in extreme cases vitamin B12 injections.

If you are an average person, you should have sufficient B12 reserves. This reserve may last for 5 years or so. But as you advance in age, your ability to absorb vitamin B12 is lessened. Certain medical conditions can also affect the ability of your body to absorb this nutrient. Thus, vitamin B12 supplements are often necessary for the maintenance of good health.

Recommended Daily Allowance of Vitamin B12
For healthy individuals, the following are the recommended daily vitamin B12 amounts:

From the above, you can see that your normal requirement of vitamin B12 is not that much. However, once health problems set in, absorption of even these small amounts can become difficult to achieve. You can determine if you are lacking in this nutrient by taking a B12 test, but if you are experiencing lapses in memory, are easily fatigued or irritable, then there is a chance that you are deficient. Deficiency is easily corrected by taking vitamin B12 supplements, as long as treatment is started before permanent damage is done 

But there are certain medical conditions that can’t be easily corrected by taking oral vitamin B12 supplements. The elderly are among those who can be deficient in B12, because at this age, most of them have gastro-intestinal disorders that make it difficult to absorb.

Special Vitamin B12 Dosage
In the past, it was thought that vitamin B12 injections were the only way to correct deficiencies caused by low intrinsic factor, a condition prevalent in older people. But now, it is known that oral supplementation can also be effective, although in much higher dosages. Recent research shows that only a small percentage of B12 is absorbed from the tablet form, so the procedure followed by medical practitioners is to initially treat vitamin B12 deficiency with injections in order to build up reserves, and then follow it up with oral supplementation.

The typical dosage of vitamin B12 injections is 1 to 2 mg daily when treating nutritional deficiencies and other neurological disorders. This is considered a large dose. However, most physicians prescribe injections of 1 mg. once every two days and a completion period of 10 doses. The maintenance dosage is 1 mg. once a month. The injections are administered intramuscularly or under the skin.

These vitamin B12 injections are administered for patients who have pernicious anemia where they are not able to absorb the B12 in tablet form. It is done to increase the patient’s energy levels immediately. The B12 injections will also help in the formation of red blood cells and induce the proper functioning of the nervous and cardiovascular system.

What Is The Correct Dosage Of Vitamin B12?
The right dosage of vitamin B12 will depend on several factors:

• The form of vitamin B12 supplements you take
• The reason why you are taking the supplement, and
• Your specific medical condition

It is always a good and safe practice to seek the advice and approval of your medical provider before taking any kind of supplement, especially if you are have certain medical conditions.

General Recommendations
People who are over 50 should get their daily RDA of vitamin B12 through supplements such as pills, capsules, tablets and foods fortified with vitamin B12. Generally, this age group has difficulty in absorbing B12 from the food they eat, but they may be able to assimilate it from some supplements. Vitamin B12 is really essential to our health but we only need a small amount of it for our basic needs. In addition, your liver stores excess amounts, so you can often stay healthy for several years, even if you're not getting any B12.