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Vitamin B12 Recommendation Change

Based on two biomarkers of functional vitamin B12 (cobalamin) status, B12 recommendations formulated more than a half century ago may need to be updated.

February 3, 2012 |
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Vitamin B12 Recommendation Change, 5.0 out of 5 based on 2 ratings

Sources Cited

Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline: A Report of the Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes and its Panel on Folate, Other B Vitamins, and Choline and Subcommittee on Upper Reference Levels of Nutrients, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. ISBN: 0-309-59725-0 (1998).

Darby WJ, Bridgforth EB, Le Brocquy J, Clark SL Jr, De Oliveira JD, Kevany J, Mcganity WJ, Perez C. Vitamin B12 requirement of adult man. Am J Med. 1958 Nov;25(5):726-32.

Bor MV, von Castel-Roberts KM, Kauwell GP, Stabler SP, Allen RH, Maneval DR, Bailey LB, Nexo E. Daily intake of 4 to 7 microg dietary vitamin B-12 is associated with steady concentrations of vitamin B-12-related biomarkers in a healthy young population. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar;91(3):571-7. Epub 2010 Jan 13.

Acknowledgements

Transcript

How much B12 do we need? Well, the recommended dietary allowance is 2.4 micrograms. 2.4 millionths of a gram every day. That number, I was surprised to learn, was based on a study of just seven people, performed so long ago that four were described as, capital "N" "Negroes". Both society and science have moved on a bit since then, and the new numbers were recently published and it appears "4 to 7" is the new 2.4.

How did they come up with that? Well, two reactions B12 facilitates are the metabolism of methylmalonic acid and homocysteine. And so for B12 deficient these two compounds can build up in our bloodstream because there isn't enough B12 to run these reactions. So low levels of MMA and homocysteine can be a sign of good B12 status.

And as you can see, 2.4 micrograms is good in terms of lowering levels of methylmalonic acid levels and homocysteine but 4 appears to be better. These biomarkers of functional B12 status hadn't even been discovered when quote/unquote "Negroes" walked the earth. And once you hit 7 a day, you basically max out, so there's no need to get more, though there appears to be no danger in doing so; you just pee the excess out.

So that's where they got the new 4 to 7 a day recommendation, though as we'll see, we may need to take much more than that to absorb that amount.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is transcript contributed by Bruce A. Hamilton.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

This is the first of a five-part video series on B12, similar to the series I did on vitamin D where I delve into the derivation of my recommendations, found here for B12 and here in general. To put vitamin B12 in context, please check out Vegan B12 Deficiency: Putting It into Perspective. Tomorrow I'll identify the safest sources of B12. If you can't wait until tomorrow for your NutritionFacts.org video-of-the-day fix, please feel free to check out videos on 1000+ other topics.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

    This is the first of a five-part video series on B12, similar to the series I did on vitamin D where I delve into the derivation of my recommendations, found here for B12 and here in general. To put vitamin B12 in context, please check out Vegan B12 Deficiency: Putting It into Perspective. Tomorrow I’ll identify the safest sources of B12. If you can’t wait until tomorrow for your NutritionFacts.org video-of-the-day fix, please feel free to check out videos on 1000+ other topics.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/vjimener/ vjimener

    Hi! Are hemp seeds useful for vegan people? Do they have all the essential amino acids? Thanks

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/toxins/ Toxins

      All whole plant foods contain the 9 essential amino acids, therefore complimentary foods are not required. Protein needs satisfy energy expenditures so if you eat whole plant foods, till your full, your satisfying your protein requirements. this is made clear in the paper Position of the American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian Diets.
      http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/2009_ADA_position_paper.pdf

      Also, check out Dr. Greger’s video on vegan protein status showing that vegans had higher circulating protein levels than omnivores due to reduced inflammation in the liver.
      http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/vegan-protein-status/

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/MacSmiley/ MacSmiley

    Please make all your videos accessible on your YouTube home page by default, Doc. It’s the only way I can see them with my old Palm. And my old Palm is my only access to the web.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/MacSmiley/ MacSmiley

    Thanks.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/elvin/ Elvin

    Dr Greger: I hope you will say something about cyanocobalamin vs. methylcobalamin. In some places (the country where I live is one) the only oral B12 available is methylcobalamin, coming in capsules of 500mcg a hit. And then on the packages it recommends taking (over the course of a day) 1500mcg. Now, is methylcobalamin especially hard to absorb, or what? I only take 500 or 1000mcg a day. Enough?

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

      re: cyanocobalamin (the inexpensive form) vs. methylcobalamin. Vitamin B12 supplements are so cheap to produce that supplement manufacturers try to come with all sorts of fancy ways to “add value” to products so they can make more money. The coral calcium scam is the classic example–how else can you charge $20 for a bottle of chalk? Likewise, unless you’re a smoker, have kidney failure, or base your diet around cassava root, cyanocobalamin should be fine. If it’s unavailable, then I would shoot for about 2,000 mcg a day of methylcobalamin.

      • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/bpcveg/ BPC

        Sorry, maybe I missed something … what if you are a smoker, have kidney failure or base your diet around cassava root — why do these factors affect which form of vitamin B12 you should take?

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=640861216 Gary Yuen

          I have the same question.

      • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/MacSmiley/ MacSmiley

        2000 mcg daily? Are you saying that methylcobalamin is inferior? that it’s less bioavailable, not just more costly than cyanocobalamin?

        Dr Fuhrman’s Gentle Care Formula MVM has only 30 mcg. Do you mean it’s time for him to reformulate?

      • http://poxacuatl.wordpress.com/ Strix

         I’m totally confused now :? So, since I’ve been taking the Methylcobalamin for years now, I should either start taking the cyanocobalmin or take 2,000 — thousand!! — per DAY of the Methylcobalamin??

        I take a 1000 mcg of Methylcobalamin about twice a week.

        Wow. Please advise!

      • http://www.facebook.com/jdmumma JD Mumma

        My research indicates that the reason cyanocobalamin costs less is because it requires less processing than methylcobalamin. As well cyanocobalamin is more stable when exposed to heat and/or light which may also may also lower production and distribution cost.

        “Vitamin B12 is produced industrially by microbial fermentation, using almost exclusively Pseudomonas denitrificans and Propionibacterium species as described in Japanese Patent 03244376, then converting the natural vitamin B12 into the
        cyanocobalamin form by chemical processes including cyanidization followed by extraction and purification steps using organic solvents (as reviewed by Spalla et al., 1989 “Microbial production of vitamin B12″, E.J. Vandamme ed., Elsevier, London, New York, pp. 257-284; Schliwa et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1981, 78, pp. 4329-4333). The chemical conversion step and any subsequent purification steps cause this production process to be expensive, unsafe to the operators and environmentally unfriendly.” Hendrik Louis Bijl http://www.google.com/patents/EP0824152B1

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/bsmithson/ bsmithson

    There are 2 items I am seeing called for in cookbooks, and I’d like to know if they are harmless. One is baking seitan in aluminum foil. Is there any transfer of aluminum into the food? And the other is liquid smoke. I had heard that this was mutogenic. Is that true? If so, could you please give me some idea of the risk? I think it is an ingredient not just in recipes, but also in vegan bacon and ham.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/lindsey/ Lindsey

    I’m a vegan of 4 years (I supplement B12), and I just had my B12 serum levels checked, and they were at 1900 (don’t know the units) where the max end of the normal range is 900. Do you think it is necessary to get my homocysteine and MMA levels checked as well? Or since my serum level is so high, am I probably OK?

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/drdons/ DrDons

      With those values you are fine. No need for testing of homocysteine and MMA levels.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/bpcveg/ BPC

    Dr. Greger: Like you, I was also surprised to learn that the RDA for vitamin B12 is based on an obsolete study. I think that a great future addition to nutritionfacts.org would be a section which provides the latest on RDA recommendations together with sources on which they are based. It would be useful to users of your website to be able to look up any nutrient/supplement (e.g. calcium, vitamin D, etc.) and find the corresponding source information that describes how the RDA was determined. When new studies are published that challenge the RDA, you could then indicate the updates directly on that section. I think that this addition would be a great enhancement to your website.

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/toxins/ Toxins

      I second this idea!

      • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/thea/ Thea

        Yes, a great idea!

        I’ll add my twist: I want a link at the top of the page, right next to “videos, blog, about, …” that takes us directly to Dr. Greger’s latest recommendations (which may or may not relate to RDA) – with links on where those recommendations come from. Right now, if we want a summary of Dr. Greger’s recommendations, we have to hunt for the blog post on it, and I don’t think that post gets updated at these new findings come out.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/thea/ Thea

    Dr. Greger: I have been following your advice about vitamin B-12 by taking a weekly sublinguil (sp?) pill. While the vitamin B12 daily recommendations have changed, have the weekly recommendations also changed?

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/elvin/ Elvin

    Dr Greger: Since then, for one reason or another (non-availibility of cyanocobalamin being one them), there are those that have no choice but to take methylcobalamin, would you be so good from now on as to include methylcobalamin dosage in your Optimum Nutrition Recommendations?

  • Yaron

    Thanks for the video!

    If I’m not mistaken Vitamin B12 was first discovered 60-90 years ago. One can say it is relatively recent. What if there are more vitamins that we are not yet aware of?

    Is it possible that there is another vitamin, call it Vitamin X, that we still haven’t discovered and vegans might need to supplement their diet with? How can we be certain that this is not the case and that we don’t actually harm ourselves somehow following a vegan diet?

    I’m a vegan and actually not worried about it at all. There were many vegans who reached old age. I am asking the question out of curiosity alone…

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