Most red meat eaters get more than enough B-12, and the addition of dessicated liver tabs provides all the B-12 the body can use. Cooked beef liver is probably even better. Taking supplemental B-12 is a waste of time and money, unless a blood test shows you are deficient. Period.
Vitamin B12 treatment normalizes metabolic markers but has limited clinical effect: a randomized placebo-controlled study.
Hvas AM, Ellegaard J, Nexo E.
Department of Hematology, AAS, Aarhus University Hospital, Tage Hansens Gade 2, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
am.hvas@dadlnet.dk
BACKGROUND: The clinical significance of increased plasma methylmalonic acid (P-MMA) is unclear. We assessed the efficacy of vitamin B12 treatment in reducing P-MMA and plasma total homocysteine compared with the clinical benefits of treatment. METHODS: We studied 140 individuals with mildly to modestly increased P-MMA (0.40-2.00 micromol/L), not previously treated with vitamin B12, in a randomized, placebo-controlled study. A detailed medical history was obtained, and laboratory tests as well as an objective neurologic disability score were performed at baseline and 3 months after the start of intervention. RESULTS: P-MMA (P <0.001) or plasma total homocysteine (P <0.001) decreased in the treatment group vs the placebo group, but no significant difference was found in the change of blood hemoglobin (P = 0.18) and mean cell volume (P = 0.71). Changes in symptom scores did not differ between the groups for symptoms of anemia (P = 0.63), neurologic symptoms (P = 0.21), gastroenterologic symptoms (P = 0.32), or the Neurological Disability Score (P = 0.85). CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with vitamin B12 reduces P-MMA and plasma total homocysteine, but individuals with a mild to modest increase in P-MMA may have only limited clinical benefit from vitamin B12 treatment, at least in the short term.
