Here's the very valuable Chris Kessler on B12:

B12 deficiency: a silent epidemic with serious consequences



Read the whole article; it's really an revelation to me.

I'm interested because my husband is taking methylated B's as part of his treatment, and I mistakenly got some regular B12. So I started taking it, in the spirit of "can't hurt" and I was amazed at the vividness of my dreams, and the wonderful feeling my brain had when I woke up.

So call me a believer, and I urge YOU to give it a try. Dirt cheap and can't hurt!

I read somewhere that diabetics tend to be low in B vitamins in general, so I started taking a B-Complex. I can't say I've had any interesting dreams and I'm still not a morning person, but I do feel that I have more energy - once I fully wake up.

Getting tested is not dirt cheap.

If taking a vitamin means we don't measure the deficiency and look for the cause, yes it can hurt. Throwing drugs at symptoms, without looking at causes, well, you know ...

I meant treating it is dirt cheap.

We in the US now have insurance-covered checkups; we can request it as part of the checkup. OR

B12 is something best absorbed from red meat. So many people avoid that. If you do take a B12 supplement, get the kind that melts under your tongue and be sure to get the methylcobalamin type. Unless bound to the meat, your digestive tract will not absorb it - or so I've read anyway.

Bob

I thought this was interesting. Why would Paleo eaters be deficient? Are there that many people with gut issues, low stomach acid, anemia, and alcohol and nitrous oxide use?

why the absorption of B12 is complex for whoever's on paleo diet?

Anyone else care to share their experience with b12 supplementation?

Supplementing B12 is pretty harmless. You just pee out what you don't use.

I supplemented with a B complex, and all I got was yellow pee.

I remember my parents going to get B-12 shots and they swore by it even though they ate beef every day.

Recently my daughter's friend started a diet managed by a doctor and he too gives b-12 shots to his patients, so when I found a new type of lab that will do any blood test and also gives b-12 shots I began going every couple of months. It's called anylabtestnow.com
In between I take a multiple B vitamin every few days.
I think it helps boost my energy...

You could get an inexpensive blood test to check your B12 levels.

I thought that I would resurrect this this thread because there is so much important info. regarding B-12.

I got tested about 3-4 years ago and they found me low normal and my dr put me on it. I was shocked because I've been a big meat-eater my whole life.

That dr was ahead of her time because since then I've yet to find a dr that realizes low normal isn't good. But she said if you have any kind of stomach issues at all (known or unknown) it can disturb your ability to use the B12 in food. She also said to use only methylcobalamin and only sublingual because if there's an issue in your gut, it doesn't do much good to swallow a pill.

At that time, mine was 285 which labs say is in the "normal" range, but she said it shouldn't be below 400.

I definitely see a difference in energy level and cognitive ability. Its hard to be objective about these though.

I've read that even if you don't have an issue in your gut, only methylcobalamin and only sublingual because methylcobalamin is the better form and the stomach acid destroys the B12 in the pills because it isn't bound to the meat (or whatever).

Bob