B12 For Toddlers

[sballati]

Our 18-month-old is on 90% solid foods, and we are looking for a reliable source of vitamin B12.

We live overseas, and there are no products, such as soy milk, that are fortified with B12. We have some B12 drops that dissolve in the mouth but they provide a whopping 500mcg with each tablet -- way too much and way too expensive for anyone at one time.

Our solution has been to dissolve a tablet in our sons three-day supply of tea once a week or so. However, we are concerned that the B12 may be losing its properties as it sits in the liquid.

Does anyone know if the B12 survives and if it is still absorbable?

[Erin Pavlina]

The reason that supplements contain so much of the B12 is that not all of it is expected to be absorbed.

Can you get access to nutritional yeast?

Perhaps you could find a liquid multivitamin with B12 in it.

[firegypsy]

We use Sea Silver with mineral which is a liquid supplement that is vegan, gluten free, and has b-12. It tastes great (kind of cran-blueberry) We love it!

[sballati]

Fortified foods and supplements are very rare here and I have never seen a nutritional yeast product, but I will keep my eyes open on my next visits to the natural food and kanpo (chinese medicine) shops. We actually don't like to rely on supplements at all, but of course have to make an exception for B12.

Erin, I know the B12 absorption rate is low but even my wife's prenatal vitamin supplement has only 8mcg to meet the 2mcg or so daily recommended intake amount. At that rate, 500mcg at one shot would either yield about 100mcg or just 2mcg with the excess just passing through (which would make the tablets ridiculously expensive).

It was the liquid drops that gave me the idea to dilute the 500mcg dissolvable tablet. My concern is that the water itself or the amount of time the B12 sits in the drink could destroy the integrity of the vitamin. Any insights?

[Erin Pavlina]

No, the reason different vitamins have different amounts in them is based on the medium and dilution and all that chemistry stuff.

I think we had a question on that in the Ask the Dietician section. Go to www.vegfamily.com/dietician for info.

[Sergio_B]

Originally posted by Erin Pavlina

Can you get access to nutritional yeast?

But does nutritional yeast have enouhg B12 for baby? And how much time can you keep it without wasting B12?