Getting enough B12?

It's not a good idea to fixate on one vitamin or supplement, because these things interact with each other. But an article about Vitamin B12 caught my eye.

Apparently a deficiency is rare: about 1 in 1,000 Americans. For the elderly it goes up, however: about 15% of elderly people.

"B12 deficiency is much more common than the textbooks and journal articles say it is," says Alan Pocinki, an internist in Washington D.C.

Here are some things to consider.

Symptoms of low B12 include anemia, depression, dementia, confusion, loss of appetite and balance problems. Long-term deficiency can bring severe anemia, nerve damage and neurological changes that may be irreversible.

The deficiency rate is much higher among people who don't eat meat or dairy products, people with absorption problems, people taking acid-blocking medications and those with Type 2 diabetes who take the drug Metformin.

Several studies have shown that some symptoms of B12 deficiency, particularly early problems with cognitive function, can be apparent even when patients' blood levels are still in the normal range.

A high level of folic acid can mask symptoms of B12 deficiency, and many people are getting more folic acid than they realize. Since 1996, all enriched flour must contain folic acid to reduce the risk of neural-tube defects.

A good thing to discuss with your doctor. More on B12 at Wikipedia, including a list of sources in food. The top five are:

Panfried beef liver
Simmered turkey giblets
Braunschweiger pork liver sausage
Raw pacific oysters
Cooked Alaska king crab
Raw clams

How much of these do you eat?