B12 Study

[MoKayD]

I don't really understand what this study is showing so I thought I'd post it here and see what smarter members make of it examine.com/summaries/study...

[helvella]

From what I can see, it is difficult to make anything of it!

If the fermented foods are of uncertain composition, with both varying percentages in different foods and varying amounts of the foods being consumed by individuals, I'm niot convinced there is anything useful to be understood.

There again, I might be missing the point entirely.

[MoKayD in reply to helvella]

It didn't make sense to me.

[Technoid]

If they are talking about the same Romanian trial mentioned on the veganhealth site:

"A cross-sectional study from Romania found that vegans supplementing with cyanocobalamin had higher levels of holotranscobalamin than those supplementing with methylcobalamin (150 pmol/l and 78.5 pmol/l, respectively; p-value=0.030; Zugrav et al, 2021). However, those taking methylcobalamin supplemented less and the amounts varied."

from veganhealth.org/vitamin-b12...

The study : spandidos-publications.com/...

Then it doesnt seem possible to draw conclusions from this since the group taking methylcobalamin supplemented less.

Methylcobalamin and Adenosylcobalamin are UV sensitive and are quickly degraded to hydroxocobalamin when exposed to UV light. But Hydroxocobalamin is still pretty good stuff that keeps most of us well....so *shrug*.

It is true that Cyanocobalamin is the most studied from so there is the most evidence that it is capable of correcting deficiency. But I dont think this means we can assume that the natural forms are any less (or more) effective, at least until we get some further research results that look into that.

Describing Cyanocobalamin as a "synthetic substitute" is throwing unjustified shade on Cyanocobalamin not just as being synthetic but as being a substitute for the "real thing". In fact all forms of B12 in injections and tablets are synthetically produced. Cyanocobalamin, contrary to common belief, is actually found in foods also, although it is not the predominant form:

"1. The forms of vitamin B12 were determined in foods, most of which had been prepared for consumption. 2. Five forms were detected: adenosylcobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, methylcobalamin, cyanocobalamin and sulphitocobalamin. Adenosylcobalamin and hydroxocobalamin were the predominant forms."

from cambridge.org/core/journals...

[Technoid in reply to Technoid]

On the fermented stuff the examine article reads

"compared to a control group who consumed only natural sources of vitamin B12 (mostly fermented foods). ".

From the study itself we can read that the control group is:

"vegans who supplement with products identified as ‘natural’ and about which they read/think are rich in B12 (algae, kombucha, borscht, yeast)"

Although it has no real bearing on the Methyl vs Cyano supplemention, it should be clear that other than fortified nutritional yeast none of these sources supply significant human bioactive B12. Describing them as "natural sources of vitamin B12" is inaccurate and misleading as in fact it is only the "unnatural" form of fortified nutritional yeast that would actually have any significant human-usable B12.

A most annoying article LOL.

[MoKayD in reply to Technoid]

Thank you for explaining this. My interpretation was completely wrong.

[Technoid in reply to MoKayD]

This letter from a GP describes a case where high dose oral methylcobalamin was effective but high dose oral hydroxocobalamin was not : bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g52... .

This isnt to say that methyl is always better but just that it cannot be assumed that one form is inherently better than another - it really depends on the individuals response.

Some (like yourself MoKayD) cannot tolerate methyl, some have allergic reactions to either cyano or hydroxo, Forum member Clivealive does well on Cyanocobalamin and not Hydroxocobalamin, so I think its best to just use what works best for the individual.

Although all forms will be converted to the base cobalamin molecule before being used in the body, tolerability of the particular forms may vary and as the case above shows, some forms can sometimes be more effective than others for reasons that are not really clear because of how little we understand about the complex processes B12 is involved with.