Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12
KIMBERLY SMITH
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
It is involved in the metabolismof everycellof the human body, especially
SOURCES
Food
Clams, cooked, 3 ounces
Liver, beef, cooked, 3 ounces
Breakfast cereals, fortified with 100% of the
DV for vitamin B12, 1 serving
Trout, rainbow, wild, cooked, 3 ounces
Salmon, sockeye, cooked, 3 ounces
Trout, rainbow, farmed, cooked, 3 ounces
Tuna fish, light, canned in water, 3 ounces
Cheeseburger, double patty and bun, 1
sandwich
Haddock, cooked, 3 ounces
Micrograms
(mcg)
per serving
84.1
Percent DV*
1,402
70.7
1,178
6.0
100
5.4
90
4.8
80
3.5
58
2.5
42
2.1
35
1.8
30
SOURCES
Food
Breakfast cereals, fortified with
25% of the DV for vitamin B12, 1
serving
Beef, top sirloin, broiled, 3
ounces
Milk, low-fat, 1 cup
Yogurt, fruit, low-fat, 8 ounces
Cheese, Swiss, 1 ounce
Ham, cured, roasted, 3 ounces
Egg, whole, hard boiled, 1 large
Chicken, breast meat, roasted, 3
ounces
Micrograms (mcg)
per serving
1.5
Percent DV*
25
1.4
23
1.2
1.1
0.9
0.6
0.6
0.3
18
18
15
10
10
5
SOURCES
B12 can also be supplied by dietary supplements.
In dietary supplements, vitamin B12 is usually present as cyanocobalamin, a form that the
as tablets or lozenges.
Vitamin B12 is also available as a prescription medication in a gel formulation applied
RECOMMENDED INTAKE
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Vitamin B12
Age
06 months*
Male
0.4 mcg
Female
0.4 mcg
Pregnancy
Lactation
712 months*
0.5 mcg
0.5 mcg
13 years
0.9 mcg
0.9 mcg
48 years
1.2 mcg
1.2 mcg
913 years
1.8 mcg
1.8 mcg
14+ years
2.4 mcg
2.4 mcg
2.6 mcg
2.8 mcg
ABSORPTION MECHANISM
Dietary vitamin B12 is normally bound to proteins in food and is provided by food
ABSORPTION
Vitamin B12 then enters the blood bound to another binding
INTRINSIC FACTOR
Intrinsic factor is one of the most important glycoprotein in the
human body.
It has only one primary function that is essential for good health.
Produced by the parietal cells of the stomach as well as the salivary
glands, intrinsic factor has a brief, but very important life.
Intrinsic factor is key for supporting energy,metabolism, and mental
health by working with one nutrient; vitamin B12.
Intrinsic factor binds to B12 when it reaches the stomach following
exposure to gastric juices.
The absence of intrinsic factor leads to a condition called pernicious
anemia, or the inability to initiate intrinsic factor and B12
absorption.
PERNICIOUS ANEMIA
MALABSORPTION
A common cause of B12 deficiency is malabsorption due to a number of gastrointestinal
conditions:
Atrophic gastritis, which increases with age, impairs the production of acid and
enzymes needed to break down food and also the production of intrinsic factor.
Malabsorption would also occur withpancreatic insufficiencyand any surgery which
potential risk factor, and these are some of the most widely prescribed and used drugs in
the elderly population.
Finally, in truepernicious anemiawhere there is an autoimmune component, there are
three different types of antibodies that could be the cause. Those which bind to the
intrinsic factor-vitamin B12 complex preventing uptake, antibodies which bind to intrinsic
factor itself preventing binding with vitamin B12, and antibodies to gastric parietal cells
preventing the production of intrinsic factor.
DEFICIENCY
The human body stores several years' worth of vitamin B12 in the liver, so low
Decreases in vitamin B12 levels are more common in the elderly, HIV-infected
The elderly
Alcoholics
Individuals with atrophic gastritis
People with pernicious anemia
People with gastrointestinal disorders
People who have had gastrointestinal surgery
Vegetarians, Vegans
Infants with Vegetarian/Vegan mothers
DRUG INTERACTION
gut, preventing its absorption. In people with bacterial overgrowth of the small bowel,
antibiotics such asmetronidazole(Flagyl) can actually improve vitamin B 12status.