With that in mind, let's go back to our initial question: how much vitamin B12 should a person over 65 take? Recent reports suggest that, along with a B12-rich diet, consuming 500 micrograms of B12 in the form of a supplement may help individuals over 65 maintain healthy vitamin B12 levels [2].
Ideal Vitamin B12 Dosage for Seniors
In some cases, high doses of 500 to 1000 micrograms per day might be necessary to reverse B12 deficiency. Again, talk to your doctor. To figure out the proper dosage for you, you can also take a look at the dosage guidelines on your individual supplement package.
Dosages for Older People
Around this age, you should be getting around 2.4 micrograms of B12 a day.
While the recommended daily amount of vitamin B-12 for adults is 2.4 micrograms, higher doses have been found to be safe. Your body absorbs only as much as it needs, and any excess passes through your urine. High doses of vitamin B-12, such as those used to treat a deficiency, might cause: Headache.
A serum vitamin B12 level between 200 pg/mL and 900 pg/mL is considered normal, but a threshold of 300 to 350 pg/mL is recognized as a marker for a desirable status in the elderly.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is often missed because the symptoms – fatigue, anemia, neuropathy, memory problems, or walking difficulties – are quite common in older adults, and can easily be caused by something else.
People with vitamin B12 deficiency can have neurological symptoms and/or damage without anemia (lack of red blood cells). General physical symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can include: Feeling very tired or weak. Experiencing nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
Anticonvulsants -- include phenytoin (Dilantin), phenobarbital, primidone (Mysoline) Chemotherapy medications -- particularly methotrexate. Colchicine -- used to treat gout. Bile acid sequestrants -- used to lower cholesterol; include colestipol (Colestid), cholestyramine (Questran), and colsevelam (Welchol)
It may take a few weeks before your vitamin B12 levels and symptoms (such as extreme tiredness or lack of energy) start to improve. If you have hydroxocobalamin injections to boost your vitamin B12 levels at the start of treatment, the cyanocobalamin tablets may start to work within a few days.
You may feel tired and weak. High amounts of vitamin B12 can also cause you to feel like your hands and feet are tingling. Some studies suggest that taking 25 mcg or more per day might increase your risk of bone fractures. Vitamin B12 injections should only be used to treat severe deficiencies.
Vitamin B-12 is a water-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in the health of older adults. Vitamin B-12 is involved in making DNA, red blood cell formation, and proper nerve function1. While more research is needed, low vitamin B-12 levels have also been linked to increased bone fracture risk2.
Bananas are a cheap, healthy, and nutrient-dense fruit that can easily become a part of every individual's diet. It is one of the best fruits rich in vitamin B12.
The recommended daily amount for B12 is 2.4 mcg for adults. Pregnant and lactating women need higher amounts [1]. There is no upper intake limit for vitamin B12 because there is no known toxicity [2].
A serum B12 above 300 pg/mL is interpreted as normal. Patients with B12 levels between 200 and 300 pg/mL are considered borderline, and further enzymatic testing may be helpful in diagnosis. Patients with B12 levels below 200 pg/mL are considered deficient.
Disturbed or blurred vision can also occur as a result of a Vitamin B12 deficiency. This happens when the deficiency causes damage to the optic nerve that leads to your eyes. The nervous signal that travels from the eye to the brain is disturbed due to this damage, leading to impaired vision.
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.
Vitamin B12 plays a critical role in the production of dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters that help regulate your mood. When you don't get enough B12 in your diet, or your body doesn't process it correctly, it can lead to mental health symptoms, such as depression, irritability, or anxiety.
Some combinations should be avoided, even if they aren't inherently problematic. For example, although it's safe to take vitamin D with vitamin B12, it's not advisable, says Virgilio Sanchez, MD, a board certified family medicine physician at Conviva Care Center in Miami, Florida.
The findings from this research suggest that vitamin B12 and folic acid may have the potential to positively impact liver health, specifically when it comes to individuals with fatty liver disease. These particular nutrients, in the form of supplements, may even hold the possibility of reversing fatty liver disease.
B12 (also known as cobalamin) is essential for keeping your brain and nerves healthy and for making DNA and red blood cells. B12 also helps lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid linked (in high levels) to dementia, heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis.
Several commercially available test kits allow you to collect a sample for vitamin B12 testing at home. Some kits test only your vitamin B12 level. Others test B12 in combination with other vitamins, and there are at-home micronutrient test kits that include B12 in the panel.
Stage 1 is decreased levels of vitamin B12 in the blood. Stage 2 is low concentration of vitamin B12 in the cell and metabolic abnormalities. Stage 3 is increased levels of homocysteine and MMA and decreased DNA synthesis resulting in neuropsychiatric symptoms. Stage 4 is macrocytic anemia.