Question Is 'B12 in purified water' supplement effective?

E

Emma

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Hello,

I'm hoping someone can clear this up for me. I've just bought Metabolics Vitamin B12 liquid supplement. I like it because it states that it's only ingredients are 'purified water and cyanocobalamin'. Ive been struggling to find a suitable b12 supplement for a while, i have problems with my throat and can't swallow tablets or capsules and i also need to avoid sugar wherever i can so this seemed perfect for me, however i have just read this article: Vitamin B12 Drops and Sprays | Dr. Schweikart which states that "Vitamin B12 cannot be simply dissolved in water, because the shelf life would become too short. All vitamin B12 drops and sprays therefore also contain other additives besides water." Does anyone know if there's any truth in this? Since this metabolics supplement doesn't mention containing additives does that mean its shelf life is so short it is ineffective?
 
Hard to say for someone who isn't a medical professional. However, small amounts of B12 (cyanocobalamin) is routinely added to plant milks which contain a lot of water, but there are no specific additives to improve the vitamin shelf-life. No one to my knowledge has ever come out and said that the B12 in fortified plant milks has a very short shelf-life. Cyanocobalamin is also the form of B12 that is the most stable and has the longest shelf-life.

That said, I'd prefer to get essential vitamins from somewhere a bit more reputable than some random vitamin pusher company. (I've never heard of Metabolics before ...)

There are chewable tablets with B12, but I guess they tend to contain a little bit of sugar. It's very little, though. Would that really be a problem for you?

You also have the option of B12 injections, of course ...
 
That water sounds expensive where the sublinguals are cheap, most don't contain sweeteners of any kind
 
Thank you both for your replies.

I think I'm going to just stick with my current multivitamin from the vegan society, as like you've said Indian Summer it's maybe better getting essential vitamins from somewhere more reputable.
 
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I suppose you could grind up the tablets and put them in food to avoid swallowing. I'm guessing that works? Or maybe that's what you already do and you were just looking for something less hassle.