OD on B12?
 

Can you overdose (OD) on vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin)? I was @ wally world today, stumbled upon an energy drink mix. Some flavors of it, called vitaminhydrate, has over 100,000% of Daily Value of B12. How much is too much? fwiw, I did not buy it.

Per Mr Google.

No, you cannot overdose on B12

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, meaning it dissolves in water and is quickly absorbed by the body. ... Even in high doses, your body can only absorb a fraction of B12 supplements.

Or if you'd like a more credible source, this is from the Mayo Clinic.

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.

With the water soluble vitamins, you can't overdose, but you can make the contents of your urine very expensive.

I have to give myself shots of B12 as my stomach doesn't absorb it. You can't overdose on it. But realize that not all the other stuff in those energy drinks are as innocuous as the cyanocobalamin.

The cyano part is cyanide that is used to bind to the cobalamin or cobalt part. But don't worry, it's way to low a dose to ever be an issue. Though I use hydroxocobalamin now instead of cyanocobalamin.

I use a B12 by Twinlab which is sublingual. I would think that would work for you.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00012TQO8

It is weird, shopping for B12. Most of the offerings are even more ridiculous overdoses than the above. Must be cheap to make

Probably sub-lingual would work. However it's more expensive. Injectable plus the required needles is much less expensive.

Though a dozen or so years ago there was a shortage of injectable B12 and I played around with sublingual. It seemed to take a lot of it to give me the same benefit. That time is when I also started using hydroxocobalamin instead of cyanocobalamin as I could get hydroxocobalamin in larger vials for less money. At one point during the shortage they were only making cyanocobalamin in 1 dose 1 ml vials and charging almost as much as what I pay for a 30 ml vial of hydroxocobalamin. Before then, I was buying 10 ml vials of cyanocobalamin for less than $6 on my own. Insurance doesn't pay anything.

Before I was determined to have pernicious anemia, I use to crave liver and onions for meals. Liver having a maga-dose of B12 in it. Presumably when you get a mega-dose of anything some is going to get into your system whether your body normally absorbs it or not. So I think that's why the craving for liver. My body knew it could get what it needed from it. As soon as I started taking B12 shots, I lost my craving for liver and onions.

Before my celiac disease was diagnosed, I developed significant B-12 deficiencies owing to lack of absorption (it's known as pernicious anemia). I was given injections with tremendous amounts of B-12. Boy, it felt great to get over the fatigue of that anemia. And as others have said, you can't overdose on it.

But even people with healthy guts absorb only a fraction of many types of vitamin supplements. I take regular supplements anyway (multivitamin, B-12 and D, which is another for which I previously had deficiencies), just to keep topping up the tank, but it's far better to get these things from a varied and balanced diet.

Now, vitamin A poisoning, that's a real thing

Yesterday I was looking at the B12 supplements in a drugs store. They were selling pills containing 100,000 times the RDA, and the label recommended taking one per day. Why would we need to take that much B12?! You can read some information about B12 on Canada Drugs

Because you will absorb only a tiny fraction of it. VItamin pills can be a highly inefficient way to get nutrients. Better to get it in your food, if you can.

If you are eating correctly, you shouldn't need any B12 supplements.

Is B12 the vitamin that makes you smart?

Try it and we'll let you know if it works. :p

I wouldn't want to know!

Interesting.. what were the symptoms of your B12 deficiency ?

The actual medical term for it is "pernicious anemia" and the most obvious symptoms were fatigue and brain fog.

Thank you. Looking forward to trying that B12 supplemantation out.

If you are eating correctly AND IF you do not have major problems with absorption, as is common for people with celiac disease and or other intestinal disorders (Crohn's, colitis, etc.)

This would be an incorrect statement.

The body on a non vegetarian diet (and no absorption issue) has years of B12 storage already. You are just peeing out the excess (most of it). B12 deficiency is not common..esp the worst form, subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord..old name.

Waste of money.

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Vi...hProfessional/

Unless you're old. Over 60 in California, population measured marginal depletion of B12 was 20%, deficiency was 6%.

Multivitamins are cheap.