You may experience a variety of symptoms with menopause, including depression, hot flashes and lack of energy. The B vitamins are often used to combat depression and fatigue. Your body needs vitamin B-12 for proper neurological function, DNA synthesis and red blood cell formation. Several conditions associated with menopause and aging may reduce your body's ability to absorb vitamin B-12, making supplementation advisable. However, always consult a doctor before trying a new supplement.
Supplementing
A vitamin B-complex supplement that contains 50 to 100 mcg of vitamin B-12 during menopause is recommended by Shari Lieberman, author of "Get Off the Menopause Roller Coaster." The B vitamins need to be taken together to work effectively. As a group, B vitamins help alleviate emotional symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Along with depression, poor memory and confusion, other signs of vitamin B-12 deficiency include anemia, weakness, fatigue, constipation, a sore mouth and tongue, and numbness or tingling in your hands and feet. Lieberman also recommends 50 to 100 mcg of vitamins B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-6 and 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid during menopause.
Menopause and Hypothyroidism
If you suffer from hypothyroidism during menopause, you may not be able to absorb enough vitamin B-12 through your diet alone, putting you at risk for symptoms of B-12 deficiency, notes Mary J. Shomon, author of "The Menopause Thyroid Solution." In women, hypothyroidism occurs most often when entering menopause. This factor leads some experts to recommend doses of 1000 to 5000 mg of vitamin B-12 a day. Sometimes this is done via injection, because your body's ability to absorb vitamin B-12 in supplement form is limited. For example, about 10 mcg from a 500-mcg oral supplement is likely to be absorbed if you are healthy. That's why deficiency is typically treated with vitamin B-12 injections. While there is no established upper limit for vitamin B-12, always take amounts of vitamin B-12 that are higher than the regular recommended daily allowance of 2.4 mcg under the supervision of a doctor.
Heart Disease Risk
Cardiovascular disease risk doubles post-menopause. One risk factor for heart disease is having higher blood levels of homocysteine, which can damage the lining of your arteries. Vitamin B-12, along with folate and vitamin B-6, influence plasma homocysteine. However, deficiency in these vitamins does not appear to be a factor in the elevated levels of homocysteine in post-menopausal women, says P.G. Masse, lead author for a 2005 study published in "The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging." Nonetheless, supplementing with vitamin B-12 and folic acid can help lower homocysteine levels, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements.
Expert Insight
Your risk of vitamin B-12 deficiency increases as you age. In fact, up to 30 percent of older adults suffer from atrophic gastritis in which stomach secretion of hydrochloric acid decreases. This causes decreased absorption of vitamin B-12 from food and makes supplementation necessary. That's why, after age 50, it's a good idea to get most of your vitamin B-12 from supplements or from fortified foods, notes the Office of Dietary Supplements.
References
- "The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging"; Elevation of Plasma Homocysteine in Natural Menopause Cannot Be Explained by a Lack of Vitamin Coenzyme Availability: Relevance to the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease; P.G. Masse, et al.; 2005
- FamilyDoctor.org; Homocysteine; July 2010
- "Get Off the Menopause Roller Coaster"; Shari Lieberman; 2000
- "The Menopause Thyroid Solution"; Mary J. Shomon; 2009
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin B12
- Columbia University Medical Center Department of Surgery: New York Thyroid Center: Thyroid Disease in Women
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