Vitamin B-12 is a complex nutrient that helps create red blood cells, manage the health of nerve cells and synthesize the genetic code that's written in your DNA. If you are deficient in B-12, you can suffer from serious complications such as megaloblastic anemia and peripheral neuropathy. The proper dosages for B-12 vary with age and gender. It's important to make sure you're getting the dosage that's right for you.
Infants and Adequate Intake
Up to the age of 14, your need for B-12 increases with age. According to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, there is no established Recommended Dietary Allowance, or RDA, for infants up to 12 months old, as there is not sufficient evidence yet to establish an RDA for this age group. Instead, scientists use Adequate Intake, or AI, a dosage that is assumed to assure nutritional adequacy, when describing dosages for these ages. For infants up to 6 months, the AI for B-12 is 0.4 mcg daily. Between the ages of seven and 12 months, the AI rises to 0.5 mcg.
Children and Recommended Dietary Allowance
The Office of Dietary Supplements explains that Recommended Dietary Allowance, or RDA, is the average dosage of a nutrient that will meet the nutritional requirements of 97 to 98 percent of individuals, if taken on a daily basis. For persons above 12 months of age, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine has established RDAs for vitamin B-12. The RDA of B-12 for children between the ages of 1 and 3 years is 0.9 mcg. Between the ages of 4 and 8 years, the RDA is 1.2 mcg. The dosage increases to 1.8 mcg for children between the ages of 9 and 13 years.
Adults and Recommended Dietary Allowance
For adults the dosage recommended by the IOM is 2.4 mcg of vitamin B-12 per day. Pregnant women have greater nutritional needs, and this includes their need for B-12, which is 2.6 mcg daily. Lactating women have a B-12 RDA of 2.8 mcg daily.
Tolerable Upper Intake Level
The Food and Nutrition Board typically established Tolerable Upper Intake Levels, or ULs, to designate the highest daily dosage of a nutrient that is likely not to cause any adverse effects. The Linus Pauling Institute notes that there is no UL established for B-12, as this vitamin has not been associated with adverse or toxic effects when taken in large dosages.
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