B12 Dosage for Seniors: How Much Is Enough?

  • By Performance Lab
  • 4 minute read
B12 Dosage for Seniors: How Much Is Enough?

Vitamin B12 is essential for red blood cell production, energy formation, and cognitive health, but many people don’t consume enough through diet. That’s why vitamin B12 supplements can offer benefits, especially for seniors. Studies show around 500 mcg daily is sufficient, but the exact dose depends on factors like age, sex, health status, and medical history.

For many people, aging means that taking care of your body requires special care—your needs change from when you were younger.

A big part of that care means eating well and exercising regularly, but it also means providing your body with essential nutrients that may be lacking from the diet in sufficient amounts.

Because aging increases the risk of certain conditions, meeting your intake requirements for essential vitamins and minerals is vital.

Maintaining healthy vitamin B12 levels plays a big part in keeping you healthy and active well into retirement years and beyond.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of vitamin B12 for seniors, the signs and symptoms of a B12 deficiency, and how much vitamin B12 you need to maintain levels.

Health Benefits Of Vitamin B12 For Seniors

As with the other B vitamin, vitamin B12, also called cobalamin, plays an integral role in several important physiological functions.

It’s essential for converting glucose from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via the Krebs cycle, which serves as the building block for all other biological processes, as ATP is the most important energy molecule 1.

On top of that, vitamin B12 is also essential for:

1. Blood cell formation

Without sufficient B12, the body cannot form new red blood cells. Erythroblasts, also known as immature red blood cells, require folate and vitamin B12 for proliferation during their differentiation phase. A deficiency of either vitamin can inhibit the proper formation of RBCs, leading to anemia 2.

Healthy red blood cells are small and plump, whereas vitamin B12-deficient red blood cells are large and oval-shaped. The irregularity interferes with their ability to move from the bone marrow into the bloodstream, resulting in megaloblastic anemia 3.

2. Bone health

Bone health becomes an area for concern with seniors, and while vitamin D, magnesium, and calcium are the go-to bone nutrients, B12 is also necessary.

Due to its involvement in homocysteine levels, studies suggest that vitamin B12 may protect bone health and reduce the risk of osteoporosis or hip fractures 4.

The mechanisms behind B12 and bone physiology aren’t completely clear. Still, research shows that B12 directly affects osteoblast proliferation and formation, and a B12 deficiency can increase osteoclast activity, potentially through its impact on increasing methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine levels 5.

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3. Heart health

Heart health is a concern for most people, but it becomes especially pertinent for seniors as the risk of cardiovascular events increases with age.

High blood levels of homocysteine, a toxic amino acid, have been implicated as a significant risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases, as it has adverse effects on vascular endothelium and smooth muscle cells, which can impair arterial structure and function 6.

Because B12 is required for homocysteine metabolism, research shows that adequate intake of B12 can reduce homocysteine, thereby decreasing your risk of heart disease and stroke 7.

How Much Vitamin B12 Should Seniors Take?

Seniors are more to have a vitamin B12 deficiency, and it’s suggested that up to 20% of adults over 60 are deficient, or at least low, in vitamin B12 8, 9.

For your body to absorb B12, it requires stomach acid and a protein called intrinsic factor (IF); the production of both decreases with age, which can interfere with vitamin B12. Stomach acid is required to free or access B12 from food, while IF binds to B12 and facilitates its absorption.

Because there’s a higher risk of malabsorption of B12 in older adults, the National Academy of Medicine recommends that adults over 50 consume most of their B12 through supplements or fortified foods, where the nutrient is easier to access and absorb 10.

A 2013 study published in The Journal of Nutrition looked at the efficacy of B12 supplementation on levels in 100 older adults and found that 500 mcg for 8 weeks normalized vitamin B12 levels in 90% of participants 11.

However, higher doses of up to 1,000 mcg may be required to normalize levels in some people.

So, how much B12 should seniors take?

Recent studies suggest that, along with a diet high in B12-rich foods, 500 micrograms of B12 via supplementation can help seniors maintain healthy vitamin B12 levels 12.

For people struggling with a deficiency, a B12 supplement can help to reverse the signs and symptoms, some of which include:

  • Fatigue
  • Pale skin
  • Headaches
  • Migraines
  • Mood changes

Although a vitamin B12 deficiency is more common in older adults, most often, it’s also caused by insufficient dietary intake. But because your body is less efficient at producing stomach acid and enzymes needed to metabolize and convert B12 into usable forms, diet may not be the sole contributor.

That’s why having a good multivitamin in your supplement stack—regardless of age—is a great way to maintain vitamin and mineral levels and avoid a deficiency.

Whether you’re 25 or 65, Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi is specifically formulated to fill in nutrient gaps in your diet with the most advanced and bioavailable nutrient forms.

All NutriGenesis vitamins and minerals are complexed with cofactors that enhance absorption and bioactivities to maximize B12 bioavailability regardless of age.

References

  1. Fehling C, Nilsson B, Jägerstad M. Effect of vitamin B12 deficiency on energy-rich phosphates, glycolytic and citric acid cycle metabolites and associated amino acids in rat cerebral cortex. J Neurochem. 1979;32(3):1115-1117.
  2. Koury MJ, Ponka P. New insights into erythropoiesis: the roles of folate, vitamin B12, and iron. Annu Rev Nutr. 2004;24:105-131.
  3. Hariz A, Bhattacharya PT. Megaloblastic Anemia. . In: StatPearls . Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537254/
  4. Dai Z, Koh WP. B-vitamins and bone health--a review of the current evidence. Nutrients. 2015;7(5):3322-3346.
  5. Vaes BL, Lute C, Blom HJ, et al. Vitamin B(12) deficiency stimulates osteoclastogenesis via increased homocysteine and methylmalonic acid. Calcif Tissue Int. 2009;84(5):413-422.
  6. Ganguly P, Alam SF. Role of homocysteine in the development of cardiovascular disease. Nutr J. 2015;14:6.
  7. Markišić M, Pavlović AM, Pavlović DM. The Impact of Homocysteine, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin D Levels on Functional Outcome after First-Ever Ischaemic Stroke. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:5489057.
  8. Stover PJ. Vitamin B12 and older adults. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010;13(1):24-27.
  9. Allen LH. How common is vitamin B-12 deficiency?. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;89(2):693S-6S.
  10. Institute of Medicine (US) Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes and its Panel on Folate, Other B Vitamins, and Choline. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1998. 9, Vitamin B12. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK114302/
  11. Hill MH, Flatley JE, Barker ME, et al. A vitamin B-12 supplement of 500 μg/d for eight weeks does not normalize urinary methylmalonic acid or other biomarkers of vitamin B-12 status in elderly people with moderately poor vitamin B-12 status. J Nutr. 2013;143(2):142-147.
  12. Park S, Johnson MA. What is an adequate dose of oral vitamin B12 in older people with poor vitamin B12 status?. Nutr Rev. 2006;64(8):373-378.