15. 03. 2020. Vitamin B Complex Recommendations For Older People | ConsumerLab.

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What B-vitamin complex do you recommend for older people?
Question:
What B-vitamin complex do you recommend for older people?

Answer:
To get the best B vitamin complex, you need to focus on two things: getting the specific B vitamins you're
most likely to need, and not taking potentially harmful amounts of any them. In ConsumerLab.com's
latest B Vitamin Supplements Review, we identify our current Top Pick, which accomplishes these
goals, is inexpensive, and has been shown in our independent tests to provide its listed ingredients and
properly break apart to release those ingredients.

Although you need a laboratory to know what's truly in a supplement and if it's made properly, you can
use the following information to judge B-complexes:

What you absolutely want:

B-12: The B vitamin older people are most likely to need is vitamin B-12 because absorption of B-12 from
foods can decrease with age, while B-12 from supplements is easier to absorb. The recommended intake
of B-12 is quite small — just 2.4 mcg per day. While B-12 is quite safe and there is no established upper
intake limit, people with diabetes or kidney disease should stay under 1,000 mcg or 1 mg per day.

Pyridoxine (B-6): Althogh it's easy to get enough B-6 from your diet, mild deficiency is common,
particularly in the elderly and children. You need 1.3 mg (under age 51), 1.7 mg (men 51+), and 1.5 mg
(women 51+). However, there is an upper tolerable intake limit of 100 mg, which some B-complexes
exceed and you should avoid.

What to watch out for:

Other B vitamins you should get from a B-complex but have upper limits are:

Folate (B-9): You need 400 mcg daily. The upper limit is 1,000 mcg, but be aware that synthetic forms
count as 170% of the listed amount. This means that a supplement with more than 588 mcg of folic acid
or methylfolate, exceeds the tolerable daily intake limit. In addition, most Americans and Canadians get
enough folate from their diet because of fortification of enriched flour with folic acid. Stick with a product
that provides no more than 400 mcg from folic acid or other synthetic folate.

Niacin (B-3): You need 16 mg (men) or 14 mg (women): Many B-complexes exceed the upper tolerable
intake limit which is 35 mg.

Other B-vitamins:
It is rare to be deficient in the other B vitamins if you are relatively well-nourished, but it's fine to get the
daily requirements from a B-complex and no upper limits have been established for these. They, and their
daily requirements, are: thiamin (B1): 1.2 mg (men) and 1.1 mg (women); riboflavin (B-2): 1.3 mg (men),
1.1 mg (women); pantothenic acid (B-5): 5 mg, and biotin (B-7): 30 mcg.

More information about each of these B vitamins, their different forms, what they do, and potential
concerns are found in the B Vitamin Supplements Review.

Learn More About Vitamin B Complex

Is it better to get vitamins from foods or supplements, and are natural vitamins better than

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15. 03. 2020. Vitamin B Complex Recommendations For Older People | ConsumerLab.com

synthetic vitamins? >>

I take omeprazole (Prilosec), a proton pump inhibitor, to reduce stomach acid. Are there
supplements I should avoid, or be taking, due to this drug? >>

Can taking too much vitamin B-6 be dangerous? The label on my multivitamin states it contains
2000% of the Daily Value! >>

Can taking too much vitamin B-12 be dangerous? The label on my B-complex states it contains
50,000% of the Daily Value! >>

I have been having neurological symptoms, and a blood test showed I have toxic levels of vitamin
B-6. My multivitamin contains 75 mg of B-6, but this is below the upper limit of 100 mg per day.
Could my vitamin contain more than it lists? >>

I read on your website that some B-12 vitamins can cause diarrhea due to added sugar substitutes
like sorbitol. I have had diarrhea and never thought it could be caused by my vitamin B-12
supplement, until I read your article and stopped taking the supplement. My diarrhea stopped
immediately. Can you help me find a brand of B-12 that doesn't contain sorbitol or sugar
substitutes that could cause this problem? >>

See other recent and popular questions >>

COMMENTS Add Comment

Olivia13959 April 26, 2017

Are organic wheat flours (white and whole wheat) fortified with folic acid?
Comment on Post

ConsumerLab.com April 27, 2017

Good question. Organic or not, whole wheat flours are not fortified with folic acid, other B
vitamins, or iron but whole wheat naturally contains these -- albeit at lower levels than fortified
flours. Flours which have been "enriched"(typically white and and unbleached flours) have had
nutrients removed and, to some extent, added back, and it is only these "enriched" flours that
get fortified, i.e., nutrients are added at levels which were not there before. What you'll get from
whole wheat flour and not from fortified enriched flour is more fiber and other complex
carbohydrates. "Organic" unbleached flour is not necessarily enriched or fortified. Check the
"INGREDIENTS" listing on flours to see what nutrients have been added.
Comment on Post

This CL Answer initially posted on 4/26/2017. Last updated 7/25/2017.

ConsumerLab.com members may submit questions to CLAnswers@ConsumerLab.com. We read all

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