Vitamin B12 (also known as cobalamin) is a water-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in maintenance of red blood cell production, maintaining a healthy nervous system and enabling another B-vitamin, folate, to function optimally (O’Leary & Samman, 2010). Good sources of vitamin B12 include animal-based food products such as meat, milk, cheese, eggs and fish, inclusion of these foods in your daily diet should provide you with the recommended daily amount of 1.5-2.5µg. Vegetarians and especially vegans will need to incorporate fortified foods such as breakfast cereals and Marmite, over-50s may also benefit from increasing their dietary intake as when we age the chemical process that enables absorption becomes less efficient . Supplementation is another option although trying to obtain via diet is always preferable, look for formulations which contain 2.5µg as a minimum and 2000µg as a maximum. Vitamin B12 deficiency is common especially amongst vegetarians, vegans and the elderly and can lead to megaloblastic (pernicious) anaemia, neurological problems and mood disorders (Hanna et al., 2009), it’s worth getting your levels checked and making adjustments if necessary, as symptoms can be subtle. Individuals with pernicious anaemia lack a vital protein called ‘intrinsic factor’ produced by the stomach lining which enables the absorption of vitamin B12, treatment for this entails regular vitamin B12 injections (Lahner & Annibale, 2009).
It is important to point out that vitamin B12 levels tend to decrease during menopause, studies have shown that menopausal women have significantly lower levels compared to pre-menopausal women (Wiacek et al., 2013), one study reported 46.7% of post-menopausal women had below adequate levels (Bor et al., 2006). This decline could have a negative impact on cardiovascular health and insulin resistance, it is worth monitoring and potentially supplementing to try to maintain overall health.
References
Bor, M. V., Lydeking-Olsen, E., Møller, J., & Nexø, E. (2006). A daily intake of approximately 6 microg vitamin B-12 appears to saturate all the vitamin B-12-related variables in Danish postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr, 83(1), 52-58. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/83.1.52
Hanna, S., Lachover, L., & Rajarethinam, R. P. (2009). Vitamin b₁₂ deficiency and depression in the elderly: review and case report. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry, 11(5), 269-270. https://doi.org/10.4088/PCC.08l00707
Lahner, E., & Annibale, B. (2009). Pernicious anemia: new insights from a gastroenterological point of view. World J Gastroenterol, 15(41), 5121-5128. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.15.5121
O’Leary, F., & Samman, S. (2010). Vitamin B12 in health and disease. Nutrients, 2(3), 299-316. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu2030299
Wiacek, M., Zubrzycki, I. Z., Bojke, O., & Kim, H. J. (2013). Menopause and age-driven changes in blood level of fat- and water-soluble vitamins. Climacteric, 16(6), 689-699. https://doi.org/10.3109/13697137.2012.742504
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