Sublingual Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is one of the eight different B vitamins and an essential nutrient. Its primary function is to help provide the building blocks for the creation and maintenance of cells and the replication of DNA. However, it also plays an important role in a number of other functions as well such as the metabolizing of fatty acids, the production of energy and maintaining proper brain chemistry. Taking supplementary Vitamin B12 – more than is needed for basic functions – can help provide additional energy and is commonly held to help with weight loss and fighting depression among other things.

Vitamin B12 is produced naturally by bacteria, but the bacteria responsible do not live in human beings, therefore this vitamin has to be obtained elsewhere. Most people get the basic amount of B12 that they need through the consumption of various animal products including meat, seafood, eggs, and assorted dairy products. However, today many common products like milk and cereals are artificially fortified with additional Vitamin B12 as well. This, coupled with the fact that Vitamin B12 is stored in the liver, means that very few healthy people encounter deficiency problems and frequently when there is a deficiency it is caused by the body’s inability to absorb the vitamin as opposed to the lack of it in the first place.

Vitamin B12 is a particularly complex molecule and has an equally complex absorption process in the human body. Naturally, Vitamin B12 is acquired through food, but unlike many other vitamins, the absorption process actually begins in the mouth and continues through the entire digestive process. When a person has a problem that prevents them from absorbing Vitamin B12 through the digestive process, it can be administered through b12 injections and in other ways that allow the vitamin to go immediately into the blood stream. One of these alternative methods of taking sublingual vitamin b12 through a tablet that is held under the tongue and is largely absorbed there.

Research Behing Sublingual B12 Vitamins

All said, research does not back the contention that the method of taking Vitamin B12 differs significantly, except when it is directly injected into muscle tissue. Otherwise there is no statistically significant difference in the body’s ability to absorb Vitamin B12 regardless of how it is administered. A comprehensive study was conducted in 2003 comparing the results of taking Vitamin B12 – in the form of cobalamin – orally and sublingually showed that both methods of delivery were equally effective. The detailed results of this study were published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and are considered authoritative.  The general effectiveness of both orally and sublingual Vitamin B12 are believed to be the results of the large doses – usually of about 500 micrograms – as opposed to the delivery.

Advantages of Sublingual Vitamin B12

That being said, there is one very specific advantage to taking sublingual Vitamin B12, namely that virtually none is wasted through a lack of digestion. This is the same reason that many people choose to take a regular b12 shot.  In general, the body always excretes excess Vitamin B12 through the colon, but there are two different reasons why this may occur. The first is that the body already has all of the Vitamin B12 that it needs and it simply passes the excess. The second reason is that the digestive process can fail to completely break down tightly condensed tablets in the stomach, which means the vitamin is excreted even if the body was still technically capable of absorbing more of it. Taking sublingual b12 vitamins completely eliminates this second possibility since there is no physical tablet that has to be broken down in the stomach and intestines.

People with gastrointestinal problems, or those with impaired parietal cell function, may benefit directly by taking sublingual b12 vitamins. Other people may prefer to do so simply because it eliminates any chance of accidently wasting Vitamin b12 that the body was willing and able to absorb.