When people think about how to protect their bone health, calcium is typically the first thing that pops into their minds. But vitamin B12? Well, not so much. However, it may be time to think about this important B vitamin when it comes to preserving your bones.

Vitamin B12 and Bone Studies

Two studies in particular point to a substantial relationship between vitamin B12 and bone health. Epidemiologist Katherine Tucker at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston conducted one of the studies using data from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. She and her colleagues evaluated vitamin B12 blood levels and bone health indicators gathered from 2,576 men and women who ranged in age from 30 to 87 years.

Tucker discovered a link between a deficiency of vitamin B12 and the development of osteoporosis in both men and women and published the findings in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. The research team discovered that in both men and women who had levels of vitamin B12 lower than 148 picomoles per liter (pM/L), their risk of osteoporosis was greater than those who had higher levels of the vitamin. Individuals who had B12 levels lower than 148 pM/L also had significantly lower average bone mineral density than those with higher vitamin B12 levels.

In another study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), studied 83 women older than 64 who had participated in the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. Dr. Katie Stone, who led the UCSF study, and her colleagues evaluated serum samples and hip bone mineral density in the subjects during two- and six-year follow-up examinations.

The researchers found that the women who had the lowest levels of vitamin B12 experienced significantly more rapid bone loss in their hip than women who had higher levels of vitamin B12.

Getting Enough Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is found primarily in animal products, including shellfish, meat, eggs, and dairy foods. It has long been known that this vitamin plays an essential role in the production of red blood cells and in maintaining a healthy nervous system. The vitamin also is involved in the processing of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, and has a repair role with DNA.

An adult needs only 2.4 micrograms per day of vitamin B12. One cup of low-fat yogurt provides more than half of that requirement, while 4 ounces of baked salmon gives you more than 2.4 micrograms. Among people older than 50, however, about 30 percent no longer have the ability to efficiently absorb vitamin B12 from their food because they lack sufficient hydrochloric acid. This stomach acid helps release vitamin B12 from the protein in food and makes it available to the body.

Another complication to consider is that popular medications such as proton pump inhibitors (e.g., Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid) and peptic ulcer drugs (e.g., Tagamet, Zantac), all interfere with B12 absorption. The diabetes drug metformin also affects bone health, because it hinders calcium metabolism and vitamin B12 absoprtion requires calcium.

If the results of these studies are correct, anyone who is concerned about the health of their bones—and that should be everyone!—needs to think about their intake of vitamin B12 to prevent bone loss and the development of osteoporosis. If you do not think you are getting a sufficient amount of vitamin B12 from your diet, especially if you are a vegetarian/vegan, are older than 50, or have some type of malabsorption condition, then you may want to take a sublingual (under the tongue) vitamin B12 supplement, which is the form best absorbed by the body.

Mr. JoMo

References

Stone KL et al. Low serum vitamin B-12 levels are associated with increased hip bone loss in older women: a prospective study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2004 Mar; 89(3): 1217-21

Tucker KL et al. Low plasma vitamin B12 is associated with lower BMD: the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. J Bone Miner Res 2005 Jan; 20(1): 152-58