Can Marmite be used to increase B12 intake/supplementation?

notafanofsugar

notafanofsugar

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It says there is Vitamin B12 in Marmite and I have been told I have a B12 deficiency. Is it going to be OK for me to use as a supplement of sorts? I think so but wanted to check!
 
noblehead

noblehead

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Don't you receive Vit B12 injections when your found to be deficient?

Marmite does contain B12 but you'd have to consume a fair amount of it I'd imagine, discuss how to make your levels up with your gp @notafanofsugar
 
Sid Bonkers

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I was found to be B12 deficient at my last blood test results below:

13/05/2016
HbA1c..............................5.5% / 37mmol/mol
Cholesterol.......................4.2 mmol/L
RBC (red blood cells)......4.96 (range 4.32 to 5.66)
and
Vit B12.............................108 pg//ml (range 180 to 1100 pg/ml)

Before seeing my gp i had done some research and some doctors are recommending that B12 shots are no better than a course of 1000ug tablets ( I doubt you could get that from Marmite however much you ate!) and that tablets are cheaper so I went into holland and barrett while i was away on holiday and found that 30 tablets cost over £15 so I decided to wait till i had seen my doctor!!

I told my doctor that I had stopped taking my metformin when given the results over the phone and he has ordered another blood test in mid august and is not concerned yet and will decide what to do after the next blood test.

Long term metforim use can cause a reduction in Vit B12 but dont just assume that because you take metformin you will be deficient, my rbc has always been strong and I had in the past always believed that ones rbc was a good indicator of B12 deficiency but I have been proved wrong. I have been taking metformin for over 7 years since I was diagnosed with T2 reducing down from 4 tablets a day to 2 to just 1 fairly recently.

If you feel you may be deficient then ask your GP for a blood test to show whether you are or not, do not simply assume, I have not been overly tied recently so that was not a good indicator either.
 
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B

bobrobert

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I don't think there are any foods that can provide an optimum amount of a given vitamin if you are found to be deficient so supplementation is a necessary evil?
 
Sid Bonkers

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No offence and with respect @al_leister those tablets are a multivitamin and would be useless to increase a Vit B12 deficiency as I stated in my post above you need a daily dose of 1000mcg to be of any use and those multivitamins contain just 10mcg or u/g so you would need to chomp 100 a day to be of any use!
http://www.convertunits.com/from/mcg/to/ug

Seriously if you think you are deficient go and see your GP dont bother with multivitamins. As for the 1000ug holland and barrett tablets that might be useful, they are going to be FREE on prescription to anyone who is also take other diabetes meds or is over 60 years of age and gets free scripts anyway.
 
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al_leister

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Sid Bonkers said:
No offence and with respect @al_leister those tablets are a multivitamin and would be useless to increase a Vit B12 deficiency as I stated in my post above you need a daily dose of 1000mcg to be of any use and those multivitamins contain just 10mcg or u/g so you would need to chomp 100 a day to be of any use!
http://www.convertunits.com/from/mcg/to/ug

Seriously if you think you are deficient go and see your GP dont bother with multivitamins. As for the 1000ug holland and barrett tablets that might be useful, they are going to be FREE on prescription to anyone who is also take other diabetes meds or is over 60 years of age and gets free scripts anyway.
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That's true, Sid; a lot of chewing. A supplement of 10mcg along with B12 from other sources in a healthy diet may be sufficient for some people. If known to be B12 deficient then a specific B12 supplement would be required and as you say, the cost is quite high.
 
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