It is always important to take note of dosage because ingestion of beyond what is reasonably safe can do harm. Despite the many complexities of this vitamin, Vitamin B12 dosage is a breeze having no “Tolerable Upper Intake Level” (UL) because the risk of toxicity is quite negligible.
As expected, vitamin B12 dosage can be influenced by certain factors such as age, the medical condition of the person and the vitamin B12 form that is being administered. How are these factors suppose affect vitamin B12 dosage?
1. Everyone needs vitamin B12 because it plays a vital role in cell metabolism. Newborn to 3 years old only need less than 1 mcg. The demand for vitamin B12 increase as an individual gets older because it becomes harder to absorb due to digestive problems. These conditions make absorption of the vitamin B12 from food or oral supplements difficult.
2. Prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency due to its poor absorption in the digestive tract will necessitate an increase in the dosage. Malabsorption syndrome is often caused by any of these: pernicious anemia; gastro-intestinal pathology, dysfunction or surgery; presence of bacteria and parasites ; folic acid deficiency; and dysfunctional pancreas.
3. The oral form of vitamin B12 are usually administered in high vitamin B12 dosage considering that only a small percentage of it gets into the bloodstream. The standard practice is to administer vitamin B12 in injection form in treating pernicious anemia and chronic fatigue for more speedy effects and recovery. Such mode will result in a fast availability of the vitamin in the bloodstream. In a therapy, it is also common to start with injections. Once, there is already a buildup in the liver, oral therapy may be done. On the other hand, there is still no clear explanation as to how a vitamin B12 skin patch can have the vitamin absorbed.
Slackness in buying and use of non-prescription vitamin B12 is attributed to its relative safety even ij higher concentration; yet people must still remain wary in its use. One must remember to stick to the vitamin B12 dosage prescribed by the doctor most especially if it is being used as a therapy for a deficiency. A physician’s opinion can always make the treatment more safe.