Eggasperated Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 (edited) After an article in the Times at the weekend I am thinking of putting OH on this (and possibly myself) to see if it helps with memory problems (although this could just be a 'when it suits him to forget' issue ) and also sleep problems. Having looked in Holland and Barrett I am now confused between straight B12 and the combined vitamin tablets, also the dosing seems to range from 25ug to 1000ug. Does anyone take these or have any advice as everything I've read on the Internet has made me even more confused Any advice welcome . Edited August 28, 2013 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 B12 is quite tricky to supplement with as it's a water soluble vitamin - ie anything the body can't immediately use is excreted in the urine. If you're taking a B12 supplement you need to look for one that has a high dose (at least 10 micrograms for a daily supplement) as the body will actually use very, very little of it. It will turn your wee luminous green by the way To be honest, unless you have pernicious anemia (your body cannot process B12) and as long as you are eating a variety of B12 rich foods throughout the day, then you are unlikely to need to supplement with B12. B12 rich foods are anything of animal origin, so meat, fish, dairy and eggs. Also some breakfast cereals are fortified wih B12 and Marmite is a good source too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 Thank you Lavenders, the Times article suggested older people are likely to have problems with using the B12 in food. We also have a largely vegetarian diet, although we eat fish and have found a good source of local meat so are eating this occasionally; so I thought a supplement may be useful. Mind you the luminous green wee is a bit off putting . Might re-read the article and have a think . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 I have to have B12 injections every 12 weeks as my body doesn't absorb it - it is stored in the liver, so they reckoned it would have taken at least 4 years for mine to get as low as it was. I wouldn't suggest over dosing on it without taking a blood test first - as with anything there are dangers of it being too high as well as too low. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 I have to have B12 injections every 12 weeks too I don't have the part of bowel that absorbs it tbh I would have thought if you have a reasonably balanced diet you shouldn't need any supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 B12 is a difficult vitamin to get from a largely vegetarian diet, it comes from mainly animal sources. My FIL has pernicious anaemia and has monthly injections, he was dangerously ill by the time he was diagnosed in his mid thirties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 B12 is a difficult vitamin to get from a largely vegetarian diet, it comes from mainly animal sources. I'd disagree with that. Any vegetarian regularly eating cheese, milk, eggs, yoghurt and fortified foods such as breakfast cereals, Marmite, plant milks etc is unlikely to be deficient. According to my handbook 'Nutrition for Dummies' (yes, I am a vitamin geek ) "Dietary deficiency is rare, and usually only seen in young children following a vegan or macrobiotic diet that excludes fortified breakfast cereals or supplements". Pernicious anaemia is a separate issue, as others have said, linked to body not being able to absorb B12, so not diet related. Anyway, a supplement of 10mcg per day is highly unlikely to do you any harm whatsoever. As I say, anything that your body doesn't use it will simply wee out. You'd need to take a humongous dose to even contemplate it being harmful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Low B12 is more prominent in veggie Asians - however if you are eating some fish and occ meat I would ask for blood test first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Interesting Ali - presumably because much of their protein comes from pulses rather than dairy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 According to the Times: "Over 60s - Vitamin B12 is the one vitamin that is better obtained from supplements than from food. The reason: older people have trouble absorbing vitamin B12 from foods, due to less stomach acid production or the use of medications that interfere with B12 absorption. The form in supplements is much easier to absorb" Well OH falls into that age group, but I am not sure which medicines they are referring to that might affect B12 absorption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 proton pump inhibitors are some of the drugs which can cause a depletion (not sure why) thats drugs like Omeprazole and Lanoprazole - these are the common ones. Yes LB I think its the pulses - many dont eat any animal product eggs, chesse or anything. also can run in families. In my last practice we had a lot of patients on the injection - mostly Asian, some Caucasians not many Afro caribbeans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Oh forgot to say certain gastric bypass surgery patients also need the suppliments - but check with your consultant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 Ok, after further research I have decided to try OH on Coenzyme Q10. This is because he takes a statin which is known for reducing this and there seems to be a known benefit in taking this as a supplement (of course it is more expensive than B12 ). Anyway, decision made - many thanks for all your useful input . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 I'm interested to read this thread. although I am vegetarian I am not too keen on dairy and so the only animal products I eat regularly are a splash of milk in tea or coffee, and our eggs ( about 4 a week) and nor do I eat fortified breakfast cereals or much bread at all. I am not aware of having any of the symptoms, but I may look at supplementing for a few months to see if it makes any difference. Either that or I'll have to eat loads of Marmite on toast.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eggasperated Posted August 28, 2013 Author Share Posted August 28, 2013 Does anyone use, and feel the benefits of, CO-Q10 with statins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 I started using sibu cellular support after seeing a write up on it in Mail on Sunday for a menopausal prob which I wont post on here as there may be males reading it. Its made a huge difference , in fact when I stopped taking symptons came back. beats all the stuff Gp threw at me I can tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Sorry to crash this post - but just wondered whether those of you who were thinking about B12 supplements went ahead and if so, whether you've found them helpful? I had a blood test about 5 years ago which then showed that my ferritin levels were VERY low and B12 lowish - the Dr didn't really offer a follow up and I've just carried on as normal since. However, just recently I've started to get problems with "restless legs" - last night was truly awful - I was in the bath at 2am in an attempt to relieve the restlessness! - so am wondering if B12 and Ferritin are low again? I'm a veggie, but eat marmite by the jar load - have bought some iron stuff (ferroglobin or something) to see if that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlina Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Don't know if you're familiar with Dr John Briffa. I'm a big fan of his work There's something about restless legs here: http://www.drbriffa.com/2005/04/10/restless-legs-syndrome-rls/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Oooh no, haven't heard of him ... off to google your link, thank you ... !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Restless legs - horrible. Depsite moving them about all the time they are no thinner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Before my hysterectomy, I suffered from night cramps in my legs (probably due to anaemia) and found that a bit of seasalt in my nightly mug of Ovaltine helped a lot. Not enough to taste, just a couple of twists of the salt mill used to do it. Not sure if this would help at all with restless legs though, but it might if you are lacking some minerals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
