Friday Favorites: The Optimal Vitamin B12 Dosage and Type

At age 50, everyone should start supplementing with B12-fortified foods or supplements regardless of the type of diet they follow. Over age 65, only high-dose daily supplements may suffice. For prevention and treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency, cyanocobalamin in chewable, sublingual, or liquid forms (rather than in a multivitamin) is best under most circumstances. What about concerns regarding B12 and acne, bone fractures, and cancer? I addressed those in my B12 webinar, and the videos are available for download here or on (). I covered a lot: the dosage needed to treat B12 deficiency, how oral is better than injectable, why the cheaper form (cyanocobalamin) is superior to the more expensive form (methylcobalamin), why you can’t just take it in a multivitamin, and why you shouldn’t take it as a pill you swallow (because it needs to mix with that saliva protein). I mentioned my book, How Not to Diet, which you can find out more about here (). You may also be interested in my next book, How to Survive a Pandemic (), available in softcover, audiobook (read by me), and e-book form. New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at and someone on the team will try to answer it. Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgements for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics. Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution! -Michael Greger, MD FACLM Captions for this video are available in several languages; you can find yours in the video settings. View important information about our translated resources: • Subscribe: • Donate: • Podcast : • Books: • Shop: • Facebook: • Twitter: • Instagram: