B 12

I am not sure what triggered my current B12 interest and inquiry. Almost a year ago a coworker had asked me about B12 as she started to get injections and consume Nutritional Yeast. I stuck with my usual supplement response – that under most circumstances they are not necessary. The very best way to get nutrients and to have then absorbed- is to eat them in foods. (my friend is young and impressionable)



Said friend had brought this up to me because she knew I was a vegetarian and that B12 deficiency sometimes occurred in persons who did not eat meat. I told her that my dairy products, seafood, cereal and meat substitutes had me covered.

I must have heard or seen an ad in the last week that suggested feeling fatigued and having tingling hands or feet was a sign of B12 deficiency. I have been tired and my hands and feet are often cold. Still, I have not been sleeping so well (school stress perhaps :)) which may be why I am TIRED and being cold is not the same as tingling. Whatever it was, it caught my attention and forget that I had looked into it (food wise) when my friend asked.


It was enough to have me consider buying a supplement which I would not do blindly which led me to get out my nutrition text book and take it from there. In the first section I read, it was noted that a deficiency would be more likely in a lean person because B12 is stored in fat – huh.


Though it is true that some persons that do not eat meat will have a deficiency the condition is actually quite rare. The section on supplementation for athletes also downplayed deficiency and reiterated the benefit of getting nutrients from foods – naturally or fortified. For my diet, I see that cereal is fortified with B12 and tuna fish is a good source as is Morning Star Crumbles. The article I read mentioned dairy products as a source, but the nutrient database of the USDA did not have them as high sources. I searched on line and learned that some milks are fortified and others are not. The brand of skim milk in my fridge does not have B12.

I considered a supplement and read about them in my text book and on Wikipedia. I felt that Wikipedia was a better source than a webpage trying to sell me a product! It appears that one does not have to get injections for the B12 to absorb and that oral administration – pills – is just as potent as the shot. There are skin patches and under the tongue varieties as well, but research does not support an increase in efficacy or absorption.

I was still undecided when I was shopping today. I did look more closely at labels. In the milk aisle I saw that a brand of milk that costs a dollar more than the one I usually buy DOES have a good amount of B12 and since I have a cup of milk a day – I bought it. Seems cheaper that a bottle of pills because I already use it.


So there you have it – my thoughts on B12. Next time I have blood work – I will check to be sure.