Though vitamin B12 deficiency is not particularly common in the United States, it is still important to make sure your body always has a sufficient amount of this vital nutrient. After all, it plays key roles in the health and development of your brain, the formation of DNA and red blood cells, and the functions of your metabolism (1). Thanks to its importance in the overall health of the body, vitamin B12 may also be able to provide extra benefits. Here are some of the benefits you might expect to see when taking the best B12 liquid supplement.

Increase Your Energy

Perhaps the most well-known of the B12 liquid benefits is its ability to provide energy. Without proper fuel, the cells in your body cannot do what they need to do, leaving you feeling worn out by even the smallest of tasks. Cells obtain this fuel from the food you eat on a daily basis. However, they often need help with the process of turning that food into energy. That’s where vitamin B12 comes in.

Vitamin B12 helps cells by breaking down foods, converting them into the glucose your cells require (2). This essentially provides a metabolism boost that can either help you maintain your energy throughout the day or give you a pick-me-up when you need it. For example, many people experience exhaustion in the middle of the day, leading them to reach for a dose of caffeine in a coffee or an energy drink. However, replacing your afternoon coffee with a B12 supplement may be a more natural way to get the extra energy you need to power through the rest of your day.

Encourage Weight Loss

A question people often ask is “Can B12 deficiency cause weight loss?” While B12 deficiency does not correlate with healthy weight loss, it may cause a loss of appetite due to nausea and other digestive problems (3). This could lead to some indirect weight loss, but you should never use B12 deficiency as a way to encourage weight loss as it is extremely unsafe for your body. On the contrary, you may actually be able to utilize vitamin B12 supplements to encourage weight loss instead.

So how does B12 affect weight loss? What are the vitamin B12 weight loss reviews like? As we mentioned above, B12 plays a major role in your body’s metabolic functions. With the metabolism boost that B12 provides, you may burn calories at a faster rate, leading to a small amount of extra weight loss. When using B12 drops for weight loss though, keep in mind that they most likely will not cause massive weight change. Rather, they might be able to help you maintain your goal weight and keep up your energy levels for workouts.

Where to Get Your Vitamin B12

You should always try to pack your diet full of the nutrients your body needs rather than relying solely on supplements for nutrition. Vitamins and minerals like B12 are present in various types of natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and animal products. Some examples of vitamin B12 foods in particular include meat, fish, milk, cheese, and eggs (4).

However, for some people, it may be difficult to obtain enough vitamin B12 purely from diet alone. This is especially true for vegans and vegetarians who do not consume animal products. In this case, it can be useful either to choose a multivitamin that contains B12 or supplement B12 individually.

While vitamin B12 tablets may be effective for some, you should not rule out a B12 liquid solution. Liquid vitamins generally absorb better than pills and gummy vitamins, ensuring that your body receives the full dosage of the supplement without losing anything to digestion time. Not to mention, many liquid supplements are much more palatable, appealing to those with dysphagia and picky eaters alike. So, is liquid b12 better than pills? You should talk with your doctor to find the perfect solution for you, but we would say yes!

The best liquid B12 supplement should contain a healthy amount of the nutrient that does not exceed the recommended dietary allowance (RDA). Though it is rather difficult to overdose on vitamins, especially water-soluble vitamins like B12 that are not stored inside the body, it is still important to consume them in safe amounts to avoid adverse liquid B12 side effects. The RDAs according to various age groups and demographics for vitamin B12 are as follows (5):

• 0 to 6 months: 0.4 mcg.
• 7 to 12 months: 0.5 mcg.
• 1 to 3 years: 0.9 mcg.
• 4 to 8 years: 1.2 mcg.
• 9 to 13 years: 1.8 mcg.
• 14 years and older: 2.4 mcg.
• Pregnant individuals: 2.6 mcg.
• Lactating individuals: 2.8 mcg.

Resources

1. “Vitamin B12.” Harvard School of Public Health, 2023, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-b12.
2. Morris, Susan York. “Vitamins for Energy: Does B-12 Work?” healthline, 17 September 2018, https://www.healthline.com/health/b12-vitamins-for-energy.
3. Burgess, Lana. “What Are the Symptoms of Vitamin B-12 Deficiency?” Medical News Today, 23 January 2019, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324265.
4. “B Vitamins and Folic Acid.” NHS, 3 August 2020, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b.
5. “Vitamin B12 Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.” National Institutes of Health, 22 December 2022, https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional.