How many mg of b12 should i take?

“Oh boy, another day to be alive and pretend we know what we’re doing. Today’s mission: finding the right dose of B12 for my body. Why bother? Well, let’s just say I want to avoid developing a third arm.”

What is Vitamin B12?

“Before diving into doses, let’s get acquainted with our star of the day – vitamin B12. This little guy is responsible for many things in your body like creating red blood cells or ensuring your nervous system functions properly.
Without adequate amounts of this bad boy, you may experience symptoms such as lethargy, tingling sensation, or even memory loss.
Wouldn’t that be fun?”

The Daily Dose

“Now that we’ve established how important it is to have sufficient levels of vitamin B12 coursing through our veins ,let’s talk about the recommended daily intake(DRI).
For an average adult (men & women), the National Institutes of Health recommends:
– 2.4 micrograms per Day.

Done! That was quick.”

“But wait, isn’t this article called ‘how many mg’ not ‘micrograms’? Yes! yes it is.
1mg = 1000 micrograms
So if you wanna take this VitB game up a notch and use MG reasoning ,then there are options available..”

Pill Form

“You can buy supplements in different forms within the market like gummy bears (yum) or intramuscular shots(nope).
But since chewy tablets won’t help us answer today’s question : read on..
One popular form factor would be dissolvable pills/tablets.”

Dosage(milligrams) Frequency
500mcg(=0.5MG) Daily
1000mcg(=1MG) Daily/alternate days

“After some online digging,this seems to be the average B12 intake for people who are opting for pill-like medication.”

“These dosages shouldn’t be taken as gospel,though. You might have different needs based on supplement you’ll choose or your health status.
Consulting your healthcare professional with blood tests/medical history is a wise call here”

Vegan Struggles: Meeting The Needs

“Oh yeah, my vegan friends, what about us?”
“Veganism might make it hard acquiring enough Vitamin B12 cause they’re primarily found in animal products like meat,eggs etc”
“This means we may need to rely on supplements fortification of non-plants(B-12) alternative sources (soy milks,nutritional yeast etc). But how much do we take? “

Break It Down For Me

Dosage(micrograms) Frequency
25 – 100 mcg per day per oral tablets / gummies Daily
1 microgram per week sublingual(under tongue) lozenge Weekly

“If daily usage can go up until 500mcg ,why just stick to 25-100mcg?
Well this lower doses will help guarantee that any other sources consumed through food would get stacked onto that initial dosage,making overdose unlikely happen,in turn ensuring healthy levels.

The weekly intake is only if you’re taking sublingual vitamins which tend to absorb into bloodstream more quickly & efficiently than regular pills.This not being common knowledge means low availability .

MegaDose Woes

“As I was going down this Vit-B rabbit hole I stumbled across something called ‘mega dose’.. uhh whaa?”

“A Megadose refers to technically harmless amounts markedly above threshold ranges considered sufficient/DRI
This form of overdosing could lead too an array of symptoms ranging from :nausea, headaches,tremors,blood clumping and even coma
Mega dosing is considered ineffective. In fact, just avoiding oral doses higher than 2000mcg will help you dodge any VitB12 toxicity”

But Why Does It Happen?

“Well turns out the reason for that partial blockage can be found in one word: “Absorbtion”.
Your body has its own way of absorbing/extracting this vitamin from food like Proteins/liver,making them readily available.
But with synthetic supplements ,the rate tends to vary..
For instance”

Dosage(mcg) Absorption Rate
10 mcg 18%
500 mcg 3.2%

“So what does all this mean? One comes to know additional B-12 isn’t automatically better absorption-wise – which often leads people trying mega dosages thinking it would absorb faster allowing quicker results.”

Final Thoughts

“Do not take more Vitamin B-12 than prescribed amounts””It’s understandable wanting a supplement intake but when it comes to your health stepping forward cautiously far outweighs racing ahead blindly!”

“But hey,you’ve now learned enough about B12 that I’d bet you could write up an entire article on it.
Maybe sitting around taking vitamins wasn’t such a boring venture after all !”

Random Posts