Supplement question: spray or pill?

[SadieKate]

NOW Foods, a popular brand that you should be able to find at any natural food store, has a chewable B-12. That's the only one I found that isn't combined with folic acid.

Huh, that initially sounds nasty considering the normal smell of a B supplement but I did read it. Maybe I can manage that . . . Chef Bubba can give it to me as my breakfast fruit serving.

This brings to mind that some vitamins and minerals need to be in the presence of certain other ones to be readily absorbed.

Dang this is complicated. Figuring out custom gearing is a whole lot easier -- and sometimes cheaper!

[OakLeaf]

considering the normal smell of a B supplement

I'm pretty sure the smell is from the B-2. B-12 should be odorless IIRC.

But it's beyond me how people like the taste of Red Bull and the like... with that very strong vitamin pill flavor. I guess with enough vodka, when you're 17, anything tastes great.

[SadieKate]

Thanks. Just thinking about burping Vit B was making me a little green.

[ridenread]

If you are low in B12 because of pernicious anemia then injectable B12 is the best way to go. There are also sublingual B12 supplements. They dissolve under your tongue rather than moving through your digestive system. They have a mildly sweet taste and not a strong vitamen smell or taste.

I have been doing the injections for almost 12 years

[lo123]

Getting the vitamins is the important part. So, whatever works for you is the way I'd go.

My GP prescribed B12 shots for low B12 after the sublingual pills didn't cut it (though they really aren't that bad--sweetish like ridenread said). I took the pills and my levels just never got up to normal. The shot's not that bad, and I give it to myself.

I'm also low in Vitamin D (per a specialist's tests), so I take 2000 IU Vitamin D a day. I take the D in 2 separate doses with breakfast and dinner. Definitely take it (and any other pill vitamins) with food. If I don't eat with it, I'll get a little green.

[KnottedYet]

Vitamin B12: I take sublingual B12 from "Source Naturals." It doesn't have folic acid in it, has no real flavor other than mild sweetness, and is methylcobalamin rather than cyanocobalamin. (which I seem to absorb better and kicks my neuropathy out faster) If I'm in a hurry I chew them up, hoping my messed up gut will absorb the B12 as well as my mouth tissues would have. http://www.sourcenaturals.com/products/GP1217/ I pay $8 for 60 of the 16,670%DV pills.

Vitamin D: I get 3,000 IU daily of vitamin D-3 from "21st Century Healthcare". They have no flavor (chalky and bland) and are quite soft, so chewing them is no problem. They are awkward to swallow because they are not slippery, so I'd rather chew them. Add a bit of juice or fruit in your mouth and they are even easier. Mmmm, fruit leather and vitamin D.... tasty! http://www.21stcenturyvitamins.com/p...=418&c=2&sc=10 I pay $4 for 110 of the 1,000 IU pills.

I'm not sure that a spray B12 would be of greater benefit than a sublingual B12. With sublingual you might be bathing the mouth tissues in B12 a bit longer. (the Source Naturals takes FOREVER to dissolve) Though, since you don't have celiac disease your absorption pattern might be different.

If you are willing to chew B12 and D, the stuff I'm taking might be more acceptable than the ones you try to swallow whole. Maybe cheaper than sprays, too.

Oh, and I was told to take my B12 with some calcium to help absorption.

[SadieKate]

Thanks, all! I wasn't ignoring you, but I was waiting for my doc to return with the results of the additional tests. Fortunately, nothing else showed up. I'm just on the low side of norm for B12 and D.

Interesting info here though some of it made my eyes roll back . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12

Knott, I'll look into your links. Thanks for providing. Chewables would probably be easier to "swallow" given my anathema to vitamins. A friend sent me a bottle of Dr. Mercola's B-12 Spray so I may be doing that self study thing also.