Hi there! I'm a new member and very confused. I'm 60 and my B 12 serum level is 49. I'm in a foreign country and it's hard to find an english-speaking doctor. My GP is struggling. I have some questions, please.

If B 12 is water-soluble, how is it stored in the liver?
Are our natural sources of Vitamin B 12 becoming deficient?
What are inactive B12 analogues and are they a problem?
Are commercially produced B 12 supplements actually analogues?
(‘A significant percentage of the activity in 'B-12 enriched' foods are inactive analogs’ and some multivitamin preparations containing vitamins B1, B3, C, and E, and copper and iron contain inactive B12 analogues’.)
Are bacterial colonies in the stomach that produce analogues of vitamin B-12, which can accelerate or promote B-12 deficiency, increasing?
Are we excreting too much B 12 for some reason? Has our recycling system broken down?
_____________________________________

Vitamin B 12 Analogues: some notes
The few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs. An analog is a substance that blocks the uptake of true B12, so your body's need for the nutrient actually increases.
I find out Methylcobalamin, the supplement I am taking, is a vitamin B12 analog, and yet this is the supplement which is most highly recommended.
The origin of cobalamin (vitamin B12) analogues in animal chows and animal and human blood and tissues is unknown.
The most commonly used supplement, cyanocobalamin, is rather unstable and may form cobalamin analogues that interfere with normal cobalamin metabolism and transport.
Changes in cobalamin metabolism are associated with the altered methionine auxotrophy of high growth autonomous human melanoma cells.
It is thought vitamin B12 may exert a direct influence on melatonin. ‘Your skin produces vitamin D when it is exposed to proper levels of ultraviolet light. Melatonin in the skin blocks UV light, so people with dark skin need more exposure than light-skinned individuals’. Problems with B 12 and D are associated with Fibromylagia. People with MS tend to be lower in B12 and vitamin D.

Does the current widespread Vitamin D deficiency have anything to with these bio-unavailable analogues of B 12? My D is well down, @ 18, when it should be 50. My B 12 is 49.

It appears humans can only access Vitamin B 12 by eating other creatures: humans can’t source it directly from nature or make it themselves. At the risk of sounding a complete fool, creatures differ considerably from each other: surely the digestive processes of fish, insects and sheep are not the same. At what stage in the food-chain do we find edible creatures with Vitamin B 12 that is bio-available to humans? And if there is no commonality amongst them, what is the first creature in the chain? And are there 2 different food chains, land-based and sea-based? I am wholly confused.

Sorry to sound so silly. I am REALLY confused.