Social media is scattered with content about vitamin B12 — the benefits, signs of deficiency and how to increase your intake. TikTok videos about B12 have attracted millions of viewers.
But here’s the problem: There are a lot of clashing opinions regarding the trendy vitamin.
It is true that vitamin B12 is essential to health, but most of us can get it through diet. If you are concerned about deficiency, there are several symptoms that point to a need to increase vitamin B12 intake — supplements are most beneficial if you are experiencing a true deficiency.
“Vitamin B12 is an important nutrient that helps your body keep your nerve cells and blood cells healthy. It also helps your body make DNA, the genetic material in all of your cells. Your body does not make vitamin B12 on its own, so you have to consume food and drinks that have vitamin B12 in order to get it,” per Cleveland Clinic.
“Vitamin B12 deficiency happens when your body is either not getting enough or not absorbing enough vitamin B12 from the food that you eat that it needs to function properly. ... Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause physical, neurological and psychological problems if it is not treated.”
Here are foods with B12, symptoms of a B12 deficiency and a guide to those most at risk of B12 deficiency.
Foods with high levels of vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is found in foods from an animal source such as fish, meat, eggs and dairy products, per the National Institutes of Health.
“Plants don’t make vitamin B12,” per Harvard Health “The only foods that deliver it are meat, eggs, poultry, dairy products, and other foods from animals. Strict vegetarians and vegans are at high risk for developing a B12 deficiency if they don’t eat grains that have been fortified with the vitamin or take a vitamin supplement.”
If you are vegetarian, eggs, cheese, fortified foods like cereal, nutritional yeast and shiitake mushrooms are all non-meat sources of B12.
According the National Institutes of Health, here are common dietary sources of vitamin B12:
- Seafood.
- Red meat.
- Poultry.
- Fortified cereal.
- Nutritional yeast.
- Greek yogurt.
- Cheese.
- Eggs.
- Nori.
Who is at risk of a vitamin B12 deficiency?
Most U.S. residents are at risk of a vitamin B12 deficiency, according to Kaiser Permanente Medicine. But some people are at higher risk of suffering from a vitamin B12 deficiency.
“Some people don’t consume enough vitamin B12 to meet their needs, while others can’t absorb enough, no matter how much they take in. As a result, vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively common, especially among older people,” per Harvard Health. “There are many causes for vitamin B12 deficiency. Surprisingly, two of them are practices often undertaken to improve health: a vegetarian diet and weight-loss surgery.”
Those at high risk of a vitamin B12 deficiency include:
- Vegans and vegetarians.
- Individuals diagnosed with pernicious anemia.
- People receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
- Those who regularly drink alcohol.
- Pregnant women.
- Adults over 65.
- Individuals with digestive or autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s.
- People who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery.
- Those from northern European descent.
Signs of a B12 deficiency
About 6% of U.S. adults under 60 suffer from a vitamin B12 deficiency. In U.S. adults over 60, around 20% are deficient in B12, per the National Institutes of Health.
“Vitamin B12 deficiency can be slow to develop, causing symptoms to appear gradually and intensify over time,” per Harvard Health. “It can also come on relatively quickly. Given the array of symptoms a vitamin B12 deficiency can cause, the condition can be overlooked or confused with something else.”
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, common symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency include:
- General fatigue, low energy.
- Weak muscles.
- Trouble walking.
- Numb or tingling extremities.
- Decreased appetite.
- Irritability.
- Nausea.
- Diarrhea.
- Weight loss.
- Tender tongue.
- Fast heart rate.
Treating a B12 deficiency with supplements
Most people can get enough B12 through their diet. If you are deficient, incorporating more vitamin B12-rich foods into your diet is typically enough to maintain healthy B12 levels, per Harvard Health. If you have a true B12 deficiency, speak to a physician about taking supplements or receiving weekly B12 shots.
“A serious vitamin B12 deficiency can be corrected two ways: weekly shots of vitamin B12 or daily high-dose B12 pills. A mild B12 deficiency can be corrected with a standard multivitamin,” according to Harvard Health.