| Reader, Big Food loves to brag about how they fortify food products like cereal and milk. They say it's because they care about your health.
Don't believe it for a minute. They simply want to manipulate you into spending more money on their fake foods by including synthetic nutrients.  Supermarket shelves are full of "fortified cereals" that contain synthetic vitamin B12. | But these fake vitamins don't work like the real thing. You see, the "vitamins" they use in their products are made from the cheapest ingredients on the market.
These tend to be synthetic versions of the vitamins they list on the label. Then they blast them into a tiny little pellet and coat it with chemicals.
Your body can't absorb most of what's in them, so it eliminates them. So you're not getting any real health benefits.
You end up just throwing money away without getting results.
Here's how I know these chemical copies disguised as vitamins don't do any good…
I measure the blood vitamin levels of most people who come to my clinic. When I get the results back, I have to tell them that they're practically malnourished – even the most health-conscious of my patients.
Especially when it comes to vitamin B12, which is vital to every aspect of your overall health — especially as you age.
First of all, your body's ability to absorb vitamin B diminishes as you get older. So you may need vitamin B supplements, even shots, if you are deficient. A straightforward blood test can determine your vitamin B levels.
As you age, your digestive track no longer produces a protein called gastric "intrinsic factor." This protein binds to vitamin B12 so that your body can absorb it.
If you are deficient in vitamin B12, you may experience: - Memory loss and cognitive decline
- Fatigue, weakness, and lack of energy
- Trouble walking and balance problems
- Numbness or tingling in your hands, legs or feet
- Depression
- Nerve damage
- Headaches
- Autoimmune disorders
- Anemia
- Incontinence
- Vision loss
B12 works with the seven other members of the B vitamin family to support your metabolism. It also helps regulate nerve transmissions and maintain the health of your nervous system and spinal cord.
It also helps synthesize DNA, regenerate bone marrow, and renew the lining of your gut and respiratory system.
When you don't get enough B12, your body can't get energy out of your food. It also can't form healthy red blood cells.
B12 also protects your telomeres. You may have heard me talk about telomeres many times before.
Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of your chromosomes. Every time your cells divide, your telomeres get shorter — and that means you are dramatically increasing your risk of contracting the chronic diseases of aging.
In one study from the National Institutes of Health, doctors looked at telomere length in 586 people.1 Over 10 years, people taking vitamin B12 supplements had telomeres on average 6% longer than those who didn't take B12.
In fact, their cells were acting more than 10 years younger. And that means lots more energy.
Most nutritionists say you only need 2.4 micrograms (mcg) of B12 daily. That's way too low. I recommend at least 100 mcg per day. But I advise my patients to take as much as 5,000 mcg daily. 3 Easy Ways To Get More Natural Vitamin B12 There are easy ways to get more B12 into your body. Here's what I tell my patients: - Get more from your food. B12 is produced in the gut of animals. Grass-fed liver and beef, wild-caught salmon, tuna, and trout, clams, and pastured eggs are my go-to food sources.
But today, getting the nutrition you need from just your food is hard.
- Then add in a supplement. Big Agra's diminished food quality makes it almost impossible to get what you need from food sources alone. So you'll need to supplement. But the most common B-12 supplement may not help you much. Called cyanocobalamin, it's a synthetic, man-made form.
Your body excretes this artificial form of B-12 three times faster than natural B-12.2 So it may be gone before your body has a chance to use it.
That's why I tell my patients to supplement with the natural form of B-12, methylcobalamin.
You can take B12 in a capsule, lozenge, or spray. I prefer a spray because the capillaries and small blood vessels in your mouth quickly absorb the mist. They deliver B12 directly to your circulatory system, tissues, and cells.
- Get IV B12 therapy. At the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine, I offer intravenous B12 therapy. It's the fastest and most efficient way to boost B12 levels for a shot of quick energy.
It's also a great option if you have trouble absorbing B12. It bypasses the gut and goes directly into the bloodstream.
To Your Good Health, 
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References: - Qun Xu et al, "Multivitamin use and telomere length in women." Am J Clin Nutr. 2009; 89(6): 1857–1863.
- Zugravu C, et al. "Efficacy of supplementation with methylcobalamin and cyancobalamin in maintaining the level of serum holotranscobalamin in a group of plant-based diet (vegan) adults." Exp Ther Med. 2021 Sep; 22(3): 993.
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