Hello:

After reading multiple posts about B12 I understand that it is best to take 5000mcg of the Methyl type daily...and to take it on an empty stomach so it will be absorbed.

My question is if B12 supplements are being given to someone that wants to eat breakfast as soon as they wake up in the morning...then how long after they eat breakfast should someone wait to give them their B12 so that it can still be absorbed.

Any information is appreciated.

Lisa

We have our sublingual B12 bottle on our dresser in the bedroom and take it under the tongue as soon as we get out of bed.
It is dissolved/absorbed/swallowed by the time we get done with bathroom stuff and ready for coffee/breakfast.
Would that work?

[ When you place B12 sublingual tablets under your tongue, it is absorbed very quickly by the numerous blood vessels in that part of the mouth.]
http://www.sublingualvitaminb12.com/

Thank you for the reply.

My situation is that when the person wakes up they usually go to the bathroom and then immediately eat breakfast. So usually they are eating breakfast about 10 or 15 minutes after they wake up. So if they took the B12 as soon as they woke up then it would only be about 15 minutes after taking it that they would be eating. So it would seem that it would cause problems for the absorption.

Then you can wait during the day.... 3 to 4 hours after eating...and try it before the next meal. (no snacks before). And wait about an hour. Take with a little water--like 4 ounces or so.

Food present in the intestine, will block absorption. You can take it during the day, but just time it so there is less food around likely. Fiber in the food is the worst factor. But volume is also a big factor. Food binds and holds the B12 away from the lining of the intestine and prevents passive absorption.

Sublingual use is really not efficient. I wouldn't count on it. People with intact intrinsic factor in the stomach do better, with absorption too. But that is very difficult to predict.
The B12 molecule is huge and water soluble, which are 2 chemical factors going against mouth absorption. Also the mouth is a very small area and many drugs just don't pass thru the membranes of the mouth easily. It can take a LONG time and daily use then tends to cause mouth irritation. Most of the B12 is dissolved in the saliva and is swallowed.

Welcome lisacoll.

Thank you for the reply mrsD.

Since B12 is a safe supplement to use, would increasing the dosage (mg) help to have more absorption even if food was present in the intestines?


Lisa

Not really.... The studies were done up to 1mg a day...orally.

The max absorption from that was 13mcg measured. It is thought that increasing the dose is only going to lead to minor improvements. The author suggested a "ceiling" absorption factor because of how this graph worked out. Maybe 5mg would yield up to 20mcg is my guess.

Here is the table showing:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...able/T1/#TF1-4
you might have to go there more than once...as PubMed is a bit touchy to link to today.

We are talking minute here....very tiny amounts of a difficult to absorb molecule. The studies on drugs in microgram quantities also show food impairs them. Hence thyroid and digoxin medications get a pharmacy sticker now, to take on an empty stomach.

You just have to accept the science on this. We are lucky someone did this study so that we can understand it better. Instead of people taking B12 and failing because of the food factor, when in fact it can work orally saving you the invasive and more expensive injections.