Vitamin B12 Is a Power Nutrient. Here's How to Know If You're Getting Enough.
OUT OF THE 13 vitamins our bodies need, eight of them are part of the B vitamin subgroup, or the B vitamin complex. All eight are vital to the functionality of our bodies, but some are more talked about than the others. You've probably heard of a few of them, like vitamins B6 and B9. There's one that's gaining some traction as of late—B12.
Vitamin B12 is also known as cobalamin—a name gathered from its contents of the element cobalt. It is a vital nutrient that plays a big role in our cognitive and cardiovascular health, among other things. It's a water-soluble vitamin found in several animal products—it dissolves in water upon entering the body.
While most Americans are getting sufficient amounts of B12, not having enough can cause some serious health complications including fatigue, weakness, and nerve complications. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, it's estimated that nearly 15 percent of the general population has a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Ahead, experts provide a lowdown on the nutrient and how much you need to stay healthy.
What is Vitamin B12?
Vitamin B12 is a multi-faceted nutrient.
Vitamin B12 is good for your brain and may help improve memory. But it also helps your red blood cells and nerves function, as well as assisting in the production of DNA, says Brian St. Pierre, R.D., C.S.C.S., director of performance nutrition at Precision Nutrition.
Running a vitamin B12 deficit puts you in danger of fatigue, anemia, muscle weakness, and even symptoms of depression. But don’t let supplement companies try to sell you on a megadose of vitamin B12. (They will, if you let them.)
The National Institutes of Health recommends that the average man consume a mere 2.4 micrograms a day, which is actually the lowest daily recommended dose of any vitamin.
“Vitamin B12 requirements are low because we can store up to 2,500 micrograms in the liver,” says Ryan D. Andrews, R.D., C.S.C.S., principal nutritionist at Precision Nutrition.
So target just that amount each day: 2.4 micrograms a day.
Granted, B12 is tough to track unless you use an app that tallies milligrams and micrograms of specific vitamins and minerals. (Don’t, because that’s a little extra.)
Most meat-eating men consume about 5 micrograms of B12 daily and pee out what they don’t need. But if you’re vegan, you have a GI condition, or you’re 60-plus, you’re at a greater risk of deficiency.
What Foods Contain Vitamin B12?
If you eat animal products, aim for four palm-sized portions a day, says St. Pierre. Beef, chicken, pork, eggs, and seafood are good sources—in fact, just two small mussels provide a day’s worth of vitamin B12—but so are Greek yogurt and cottage cheese.
If you’re vegan or restricting your meat consumption, turn to fortified cereals, nondairy milk, or nutritional yeast, a vegan standby that has a cheesy taste and contains 100 percent of your daily dose of B12 in just one tablespoon, says Dana Hunnes, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., an adjunct professor at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Wait, what's "fortified cereal?" It's basically most boxed cereals. Food manufacturers have added minerals and vitamins, including B12, to products like cereal (fortifying them) for almost 100 years.
Yes, sugary cereals are fortified, too. No, that doesn’t make them healthy.
What Are Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency?
Deficiency isn't common, but can produce some scary side effects when it does happen. Lack of vitamin B12 can cause megaloblastic anemia—a condition characterized by larger than normal red blood cells in a smaller than normal amount. This causes fatigue, paleness in the skin, nerve problems, and memory loss.
Pernicious anemia, or Addison's anemia, is an autoimmune disease which decreases red blood cell count, caused by the body's inability to properly absorb vitamin B12. It can cause diarrhea, pale skin, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, swollen and red tongue and bleeding gums.
Other symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency include memory loss, fatigue and weakness, nerve damage causing numbness and tingling in the arms and legs, dementia, depression, and seizures.
Should You Take a Vitamin B12 Supplement?
Only if you can’t get enough B12 from real foods and you’re deficient. (A blood test is the only way to know.)
If that’s you, find a supplement with a USP, Informed- Choice, or NSF International Certified for Sport seal, signifying it’s third-party tested. Talk to your doctor about the best kind and dosage to take. You don’t need a megadose—Hunnes recommends a supplement of no more than 500 micrograms, and even then your body will absorb only as much as it requires.
A version of this article originally appeared in the November 2020 issue of Men's Health.
You Might Also Like
