| " I've been taking a multivitamin because senior citizens need more vitamin B12 than younger people. I heard that I should take B12 separately, because the multivitamin doesn't contain enough. I find that hard to believe; the amount of B12 meets U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance standards. " " B12, also called cobalamin, is safe even at very high doses. Did you know it contains the mineral cobalt? You can get B12 from your diet by eating fish, dairy products, eggs, beef, pork and organ meats such as liver. Vegetarians will need supplementation to stay healthy. The U.S. RDA isn't enough to replenish you if you are deficient. " "Seniors don't absorb B12 from their GI tract as well as younger folks do. A B12 deficiency may cause fatigue, pale skin, diarrhea, weight loss, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, loss of balance, confusion, memory loss, sores in the mouth, depression and mood swings. " "The scary part is that a B12 deficiency can "look" like any number of psychiatric and neurological conditions, so it's important to rule out a deficiency before you wind up on all sorts of drugs or have multiple surgeries. " "Also, B12 is important in preventing heart disease, because it (along with folic acid) helps reduce inflammatory chemicals like homocysteine. See why I like it so much? Your physician's office can run a blood
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