You need vitamin B-12 for your nervous system to function properly and for your body to synthesize DNA and make red blood cells, so it's important to consume the right amounts of it regularly. But the National Institutes of Health reports that many people are at risk of suffering from a vitamin B-12 deficiency. You can avoid being one of them if you make sure to get the vitamin B-12 dosage you need.
Recommended Amounts of Vitamin B-12
Every day, the amount of vitamin B-12 you should aim to get is 2.4mcg if you're age 14 or older, but if you're pregnant, try to get 2.6mcg, and if you're breastfeeding, aim for 2.8mcg, says MayoClinic.com. Although recommended daily amounts of vitamin B-12 haven't been established for kids, the adequate intake amounts are 0.4mcg for babies from birth to age 6 months, 0.5mcg for babies ages 7 to 12 months, 0.9mcg for kids ages 1 to 3, 1.2mcg for kids ages 4 to 8, and 1.8mcg for kids ages 9 to 13, MayoClinic.com says.
Sources of Vitamin B-12
You can get vitamin B-12 from animal-based foods, such as eggs, poultry, fish, meats, milk, cheese and yogurt, the National Institutes of Health says, but you usually won't find vitamin B-12 in plant-based foods. So if you're a vegan, you can eat breakfast cereals that have been fortified with vitamin B-12, the National Institutes of Health recommends. MayoClinic.com says that you can consume a full day's supply of vitamin B-12 by eating 1 cup of raisin bran cereal with 1 cup of milk, or 1 hard-boiled egg plus 1 cup of yogurt, or just by eating 1 chicken breast. Vitamin B-12 is also available in supplement form --- either as part of a daily multivitamin or together with other B-complex vitamins --- and also as a prescription medication your doctor can give you by injection or as a gel to treat vitamin B-12 deficiency, says the National Institutes of Health.
Groups Prone to Vitamin B-12 Deficiencies
If you're suffering from a vitamin B-12 deficiency, it's important to diagnose and treat your condition quickly to prevent irreversible neurological damage that may occur, along with symptoms like anemia, weakness, fatigue and weight loss, the National Institutes of Health says. Certain groups of people are more prone to vitamin B-12 deficiencies than the general population, including vegetarians and vegans who don't eat many animal-based foods containing vitamin B-12, elderly people and people with gastrointestinal disorders whose bodies can't absorb vitamin B-12 well, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Cautions
MayoClinic.com cautions that you shouldn't take supplemental vitamin B-12 if you're undergoing angioplasty to have a cardiac stent inserted, since vitamin B-12 may render that treatment ineffective. Also, the National Institutes of Health warns that vitamin B-12 can interact with certain medications, such as proton pump inhibitors used to treat acid reflux and ulcers, the antibiotic chloramphenicol and the diabetes drug metformin.
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