Recomendation of multivitamin without B-12

Maya

Hello!

I was wondering if someone can recommend a multivitamin brand (good one) without vitamin B-12.

Thanks in advance!

Maya

hobo

Why do you want to exclude B12 from a multivitamin?
Are you taking B12 supplements already?

Maya

Hi!

I would like to exclude it because I have been taking a multivitamin Naturello 1-a-day (which contains about 400% RDI) for about a year, plus dissecated beef liver pills
(about 800%RDI) for the last couple of months and in my blood test from a week ago my vitamin B-12 level was at the very high level of normal, about 860ng/mL

So I was thinking that for some time I should take a multivitamin without it, to lower it a bit.

Thank you!

Susan_RD_101

@Maya

It may be difficult to find a mv that doesn't contain B12. Because there is no upper limit and our bodies only absorb a small amount at a time, most manufacturers add it to the mix .

While you wait for your B12 levels to drop, you could review ~ 1 month of dietary intake to see which nutrients are missing in your diet and just supplement those.

Kind regards,

hobo

Hi Maya,
The B12 doses you have been taking do not sound very high.

Watch these videos from Dr Greger first:
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/vitamin-b12-recommendation-change/
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/cheapest-source-of-vitamin-b12/
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/daily-source-of-vitamin-b12/

Dr Greger says the B12 RDA is 4-7mcg RDA updated from 2.4mcg RDA.

The Naturelo 1-a-day for Women tablet contains 15mcg of B12.
https://www.naturelo.org/product/one-daily-multivitamin-for-women/

We can absorb 1.5-2.0mcg of B12 directly through receptors every few hours and 1% of the remaining B12 is absorbed by diffusion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12#Absorption_and_distribution

How much B12 could be absorbed from 15mcg and 30mcg B12 tablets?
For 15mcg, at most 2mcg (directly) + 0.01 * 13mcg (by diffusion) = 2.13mcg.
For 30mcg, at most 2mcg (directly) + 0.01 * 28mcg (by diffusion) = 2.28mcg.
These do not cover your RDA so you would need B12 from other foods.

For some context, compare to the following doses.

Dr Greger's recommended daily dose is 250mcg. He also says not to worry about taking higher doses since the excess passes out in urine. Wikipedia also says "Excess B12 beyond the blood's binding capacity is typically excreted in urine.".

People with B12 deficiency can take daily oral doses of 1000mcg or 2000mcg.
https://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c2305/rapid-responses
http://www.b12-vitamin.com/body-store/

If you are a non-vegetarian you will also be getting B12 from your regular foods.

You can read about B12 overdose ("it's almost impossible") here:
http://www.b12-vitamin.com/overdose/

Regarding high B12 blood levels, I don't know about this, but located these pages, in case you haven't read them.
http://www.b12-vitamin.com/blood-levels/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12#Elevated_serum_B12_as_disease_marker

Maya

Hi Susan and Hobo,

Thank you very much for replying and posting this interesting info!

Thanks to the message from Hobo, I understood that there are several measuring units for the B 12 in a blood test, and after checking, I saw that mine is in fact within the normal range (860pg/mg, and the upper limit is 950 here in Spain).

So I suppose I can continue taking Naturelo without being afraid of overdose. Besides, thanks to Hobo's detailed info and great explanation, I see that in fact overdosing is practically impossible.

Thanks again, you helped me a lot!

Cheers from Madrid!

Maya

backyarder1

B12 and some other vitamins give me insomnia. There is no question in my mind that they do this. So I would definitely love a multi that doesn't have B12

Maya

The same happens to me with B12, I try to take it in the morning to avoid it

Any recommendations for a good multi without B12?

backyarder1

If I could find one with a low enough level of B12 I could probably take it in the morning. They all have 1000s% of the RDA

Maya

I saw one now in Amazon

Seeking Health / Optimal Start

backyarder1

I saw that one. It looks like it has extra things in it like ashwaganda and CoQ10., doesn't it? Some ingredients like that lower my BP too much. I already have low BP and have to be careful what I take.

Maya

Maybe, take a multimineral without vitamins, and take some vitamins separately, if needed?

backyarder1

I just went ahead and took the multi-gummy I have been taking. I don't really think it has the right kind of B's for me so I don't really know if it is better than nothing. I sure love how cronometer helps us see how much we are getting of everything form our food, etc.

Maya

Yes, totally agree with you

I just ordered multimineral from Now Foods, no B (no vitamins, in fact)

backyarder1

Thanks. I'll check it out. I am taking Vitafusion supercharged multi for women. Its probably not the greatest choice. That's why I'm looking for another.

Maya

Thank you too:)

I just wanted to stop taking multivitamins for a while because my B12 and B6 come out high un the tests, especially the B6

backyarder1

That's weird. My B12 always comes out super high. And I'm still confused on which kind I should take. B6 is supposed to help with depression so I was going to try it but I'm so sensitive to everything its hard to try ANYTHING. Also hard to get well when I'm not really great.

Maya

I read that B6 accumulates and has a half-life 30 or more days so it is easy to overdose if supplementing every day

The high B12 is also common when taking multivit every day

I will try the multimineral and will update about my B6 level later

ShaunaLeigh

B Vitamins make me itch terribly. My grandmother had the same problem. Not sure which vitamin is causing the problem.

backyarder1

Interesting that you said that. I just started taking B complex again and a few nights ago I woke up with both feet itching like crazy. Not sure if those two things are related. Maybe its the niacin because niacin can have weird side effects.

Susan_RD_101

It's likely the B3 or niacin! This can cause facial flushing and redness at high doses (and likely, itching). I'd consider taking a low-dose B complex or just supplement with the B vitamins needed in your diet (leaving out B3).

Beany

Hi

I'm also looking for vits without B12 as the home kits from medicheck to monitor kidney and liver function require 2 weeks without b12 prior to taking the test.

But the reason U signed up to this forum was to tell those struggling to sleep on B12 that some people produce higher amounts of histamine than others. These types are normally allergic to bee stings, run hotter than average so have longer fingers and toes (straight up no kidding), are generally lean people. B12 and folic acid increases histamine production so high histamine shouldn't take b12 and particulatly folic acid supplements. It would account for itchy skin reactions. Also if not controlled it can create anxiety and obsessive behaviour and lead to addictions. No broccoli for these types! It's called Histadelia. Normally goes unnoticed because doctors don't get enough nutritional training.

Hope this helps change your lives for the better. xx

Beany

typo.... the reason I signed up (not U!)

Maya

Thanks for sharing this!
The informeaiton is very interesting!
In fact I was recently researching precisely this issue because I notice some itching on my legs, especially after drinking red wine or tea, and I had no idea it might be related to my taking B12 + folate supplement: I have been teaking those in order to lower homocysteine, (beside a multivitamin), but I will follow your advise and stop it for some period to check if the itching disappears.
I was also taking quercetin lately, and i was not sure if it might be the quercetin

Thanks again!

Beany

Also search undermethylation.

backyarder1

Thanks so much for that info Beany. Itching and insomnia are two of my huge problems. They both keep me up at night. Maya, I'm not sure if Quercetin is high in histamine but I'm almost positive it is high in salicylates or one of the other things that can cause both itching and insomnia.

Maya

Thanks backyarder1!

Your comment is very interesting, I just checked and saw that quercetin may easily be the cause of my itching legs. Additionally I have been eating a lot of tofu and other soy products lately, and I had drastically reduced animal protein (in fact, for this reason I was taking the B12+folate supplement), and this hinders the sulphete production and methylation process, as it seems...

https://www.nutritionist-resource.org.uk/memberarticles/why-do-i-react-to-histamine-sulphites-and-salicylate

Thanks again!

backyarder1

Maya, I learn so much from facebook groups. There is one for histamine and salicylate issues. I pretty much KNEW about the histamine issue but only recently learned more about salicylates. I was eating a LOT of vegetables and then learned that most of the ones I was eating were either high HIST or high SALS. Its all so frustrating!

Maya

Yes, absolutely frustrating...the more I take interest in healthy nutrition and read about different approaches, the less I know what is good to eat and supplement and what not!

Beany

You're welcome backyarder1 and Maya. I hope it helps your issues. It is indeed a minefield. Sulphur, thiol, methylation are possibly my issues. Can't do onions, eggs, crucifers, dried fruit unless organic etc etc. Drives me nuts lol.

Wish you both well. x

backyarder1

Beany, I am going to do the MRT test to see if some of the foods I eat regularly show up as problematic. I do eat eggs and nuts.