Vitamin B12

[kopend]

what food are best for boosting your b12 - my g/f has a b12 count of 91

where it was 371 a year ago

p.s what should it be in a healthy female ???

[Old_Geezer]

Excuse my ignorance but how do you measure how much of a particular vitamin someone has ? I figure there are recommended amounts for all sorts of things but I'm surprised there is an issue about how much B12 you have.

[Bathsheba]

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003705.htm

hope this helps.

[Bathsheba]

@kopend.....sorry, it doesn't answer your question re foods,....that could be Googled quite easily,...I don't have time just now.

[Old_Geezer]

Ah, that's today's new thing learnt then :-)

[whirlyhurly]

I have been taking a B12 capsule each day, as iron tablets make me constipated. I know that eating liver is encouraged (ugh).

[Kathyan]

I was tested for B12 deficiency a few years ago and my count was 77, less than half the normal average. I have an injection every three months now and will for the rest of my life. With your gf having only 91 she needs to go to see her doctor.

[Dizmo]

I'd probably just suggest that she switches her breakfast for eggs. Obviously I don't know if your G/F is a Vegan, whether she's allergic or simple doesn't like eggs. I'm a real picky eater so I tend to have a deficiency in nearly all the vitamins. Hypokalemia is one of many (I don't like bananas). There's nothing wrong with taking vitamins but you shouldn't really be substituting them for food. Given my medical condition I'm forced to take B1, B12, K, Mg... the list is endless. Good luck to your G/F, I'm sure she'll find something she likes eating that will get her B12 levels up. It may also be worth going over her diet and how it has changed since she was testing a year ago - if it hasn't then it could be due to a medical reason or simply just a change of lifestyle.

[chelle7272]

Liver, red meat, oily fish like mackarel, and dairy foods.
Some cereals have it added too.

healthy levels are shown in the link Bathsheba posted, should be over 200.

[dinki]

After many years of complaining of tiredness all the time, which at the time was thought to be part of an ongoing illness I was tested and was told all about B23 deficiency. It is serious and effects the way your blood is pumped around the body my doctor put me on treatment immediately, I have an injection every 12 weeks and always know when it is due. The difference it makes is amazing. If you have the problem eating the right food although good for you will not make any difference as most people with this complaint do not ingest and keep the vitamin. Please encourage her to get medical treatment.

[Bathsheba]

Have a scroll down to Related Questions below....there's lots of helpful advice there
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