Where Does My Body Get B-12?

Until recently there were few options:

• Diet

B-12 is naturally found in animal foods including fish, milk and milk products, eggs, meat, and poultry. But, your ability to absorb the B vitamins from food decreases as you age because the production of acids that release the B-12 from protein decreases with aging. Other factors—reliance on acid suppressing agents, gastric disorders or surgery, certain prescription medications, dysfunction of intrinsic factor, etc.—can also interfere with your body’s ability to absorb B-12.

• Oral tablets

While there are many B vitamin tablets available on the market, B-12 is very poorly absorbed into the body by oral means. Blood levels of B-12 increase only slightly after passing through the digestive system.

• B-12 injections

Doctors have relied on B-12 shots for years to treat serious B-12 deficiencies. While most of the vitamin B-12 from large intramuscular doses is lost in the urine, injections have still traditionally been the best method of treatment. The shots, however, can be embarrassing, difficult to provide for some patients who are elderly or living alone, painful, and expensive if provided by a health care professional.

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