B12 deficient while eating high B12 foods

martybyrde

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I just had blood work and B12 was bottom of range despite frequent liver and other high B12 foods. I was offered methyl b12 injections but I wanted to see if there was a better option. Something wrong with my gut if I have low B12 because I eat enough of it.
 
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Mar 10, 2021
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I just had blood work and B12 was bottom of range despite frequent liver and other high B12 foods. I was offered methyl b12 injections but I wanted to see if there was a better option. Something wrong with my gut if I have low B12 because I eat enough of it.


“One of the biggest struggles with diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency is the fact that the lab tests are just not that accurate (7).

And this information doesn't come from me, by the way, it comes from medical research studies. “


“Serum B12 level - This is probably the LEAST accurate of all B12 tests and doctors know this. But even though they know that the serum B12 is inaccurate they still use it and base treatment off of the result. Do NOT fall into this trap. Serum B12 only tells you how much B12 is in the bloodstream but it doesn't say anything about how much is activated and can be used by the body.

Methylmalonic acid - This test is a good test for assessing if your body can utilize the B12 in your bloodstream. If your methylmalonic acid is high then it indicates that your body cannot use B12 and means you might be deficient. But even though this test is better than serum B12 it is still not perfect and does not always guarantee that you have B12 deficiency.

Homocysteine (8) - Homocysteine can be used as a marker of B12 deficiency because as your body uses B12 it breaks down homocysteine into cysteine. If your homocysteine level is HIGH then it means you may not be breaking down enough B12.

MCV (9) - This test stands for mean corpuscular volume and is a test that gives you an idea of how LARGE your red blood cells are. Vitamin B12 deficiency is one of a few things that cause your MCV to go higher which means it can be used as a sensitive marker for B12 deficiency. Unfortunately, it isn't perfect either. Look for an MCV value which is LESS than 90.”


 

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