Calcium and vitamin B12 are essential for several biological processes in the body - muscle function, nerve transmission, bone health, brain development, and more - and getting enough of them through diet is essential to maintain health.
Although widely available in many food sources, most people don't get enough of either. If you aren't keen on being deficient, supplementing is the alternative.
But when it comes to popping back your pills, can you take them together, or should they be separated? In this article, we're clearing the air and giving you what you want to know about taking calcium and B12 together.
Let's get started.
The Basics Of Calcium
"Drink milk for strong bones." It's probably what you've heard since you were a kid. Why? Because calcium is one of the essential minerals for bone health. And while there is truth to that, it's not the only mineral, and it's not calcium's only role.
Calcium may only account for about 1-2% of total body weight, but its essential role in mineralized tissue, which accounts for over 99% of human body weight, makes it a mineral we must get enough of.
Most of the calcium found in the body is in bones, which plays a structural role as a component of hydroxyapatite 1. Calcium requirements vary based on age, with specific populations requiring higher intakes, especially in later years when bone strength declines.
As you likely know, calcium is required for the growth and development of the skeleton, where it provides strength and support to the tissues. All other calcium is found in the blood, extracellular fluids, muscles, and other tissues, where it plays a role in 1:
- Muscle contraction
- Vascular contraction and vasodilation
- Nerve transmission
- Glandular secretions
But what most people don't know about calcium is that it requires sufficient amounts of vitamin D and magnesium for absorption, which means that you won't reap the full benefits of a high-calcium diet if you're low in either 2.
What You Need To Know About Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 isn't typically a nutrient that gets much attention. Sure, it's critical to the production of red blood cells, but beyond that, people think little about it. That is until now.
Like all other essential vitamins and minerals, sufficient vitamin B12 is vital for overall health and well-being. And because it can't be synthesized in the body and is found primarily in animal-based foods, it has to come through diet or supplementation, especially if you're on a plant-based diet.
Apart from hematopoiesis, vitamin B12 is needed for DNA synthesis, brain development, nervous system function, and, yes, even bone health. While bone health isn't a conventional role for B12, it's no less important than calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and other bone-building essentials.
Some evidence suggests that through its involvement in homocysteine metabolism, vitamin B12 may protect bone health and reduce the risk of osteoporosis or hip fractures 3.
The exact links between how B12 and bone health are connected aren't clear, but other studies show that B12 directly influences osteoblast proliferation and formation; a deficiency of vitamin B12 leads to increased osteoclastic activity, potentially through its effect on methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine levels 4.
To show you what we mean, a 2005 study published in the Journal of Bone Mineral Density found that adults deficient in vitamin B12 had lower than average bone mineral density 5.
Getting enough B12 from the few plant-based sources can be challenging for anyone who doesn't consume animal products, especially when sufficient absorption relies on adequate amounts of a protein called intrinsic factor—as such, opting for the supplementation route can sometimes be safer than relying on food-only sources.
Can You Take Calcium And Vitamin B12 Together?
There's a lot of jabber floating around about specific supplements that should and shouldn't be taken together to avoid absorption issues - vitamin B12 and calcium are not two of those.
Calcium and vitamin B12 are both required for bone health and depend on one another for optimal absorption; low calcium levels may interfere with vitamin B12 absorption and vice versa.
This is because the B12-intrinsic factor complex required for the absorption of B12 by ileal cell surface receptors is a process dependent on calcium availability 6.
A study published in Diabetes Care found that patients taking Metformin had a 10-30% reduced rate of B12 absorption due to Metformin's effect on calcium-dependent membrane action, and supplementation with oral calcium reduced low B12 levels.
There's little research available on the direct effects of calcium on vitamin B12 absorption and vice versa. Still, any available information suggests there's no need to be concerned about taking them together.
How To Get Enough Calcium And Vitamin B12
If you're worried about meeting your body's needs for calcium and vitamin B12, taking a look at your diet is the best place to start---but also add in a good multivitamin like Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi is a good idea to ensure you're meeting your intake needs.
NutriGenesis Multi is an ultramodern multivitamin designed to optimize performance by filling nutritional gaps left by the diet.
With nature-identical nutrients complexed with cofactors to boost absorption, there's no need to worry about not getting enough and not absorbing enough. With Multi, your bases are covered for all-around optimal performance.
References
- Flynn A. The role of dietary calcium in bone health. Proc Nutr Soc. 2003;62(4):851-858.
- Lips P. Interaction between vitamin D and calcium. Scand J Clin Lab Invest Suppl. 2012;243:60-64. doi:10.3109/00365513.2012.681960
- Dai Z, Koh WP. B-vitamins and bone health--a review of the current evidence. 2015;7(5):3322-3346.
- 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.
- Tucker KL, Hannan MT, Qiao N, et al. Low plasma vitamin B12 is associated with lower BMD: the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. J Bone Miner Res. 2005;20(1):152-158.
- Bauman WA, Shaw S, Jayatilleke E, Spungen AM, Herbert V. Increased calcium intake reverses vitamin B12 malabsorption induced by metformin. Diabetes Care. 2000;23(9):1227-1231.
