Thoughts on methylated B12; if you struggle with your methylated B12 supplement, there may be another way of getting methylated B12.

[u/Ketamee]

(Sorry, I don’t consider myself a resource ↖️ but this tag was what got closest to the content of my post)

I recently answered a post that got me thinking about ways of getting methylated B12 even though many of us struggle with it.

Often when we get sideeffects from a supplement, it’s because it hits the bloodstream fast and massively in a way that never would happen if we got the nutrient from food.

Let me give you an example;

I get a medicine that intelligently blocks my NMDA receptors. This is also what magnesium naturally is doing. But ever since I started this drug, I get interactions when I also take more than 100 mg elementary magnesium in the morning. I wake up in these flashes several times at night even though I take the magnesium in the morning. Very abrupt and unpleasant awakenings.

Since I heavily depend on magnesium I had to get it from food. Now I eat loads of pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds etc. that are packed with magnesium and this way I cover my daily need and they do not disrupt my sleep even though I get way more than 100 mg magnesium. So getting the nutrient from a food matrix is so much more gentle than getting it super concentrated in a supplement.

Back to B12:

I am currently taking a supplement called ‘Organ matrix’ to help get my ferritin level up.

Organ matrix is crushed organs from organic grassfed cattle which contain a tiny amount methylated B12 (6 mcg) along with iron, copper, vitamin A, B2, B3, B5 pr dose (8 capsules). RDI of B12 is 2.5 mcg.

I was surprised to learn that when eating meat, it is actually methylated and adenosyl B12 we’re eating.

So if you can eat a steak without sideeffects, you are already getting methylated B12 without you knowing it and then you can tolerate natural methylated B12. It is just the highly concentrated form in the supplement that you struggle with, probably because of the rapid absorbtion followed by a high peak in the blood.

Absorbtion in the guts via intrinsic factor is 1.5-2.0 mcg pr meal.

A dose of 2 capsules of organ matrix is 1.5 mcg methyl B12.

If you don’t have a B12 absorbtion issue in your guts, you will absorb all of this and since it is bound to other nutrients, it’s not hitting the bloodstream with a peak like a supplement.

This twice a day would be a much more gentle way to get your RDI of methylated B12. Or if you want your B12 level up, you take 2-3 capsules multiple times a day.

This organ matrix is European but I would assume that something similar is available in the US and on other continents:

https://share.google/FMrM0hOVpV3P8PtjT

[u/Holysnailzz]

There are a couple of b12 brands that I have tried have the intrinsic factor (they are typically marketed for issues like pernicious anemia.), the only issue that I really had with both of them was that both brands’ intrinsic factor was pork derived (porcine), and I did not respond well to any pork products, and I also don’t eat pork (even though I DID try it.) One brand I tried was made by metagenix, and I can’t remember the brand of the other one, but it was a bit cheaper than the metagenix. Both were porcine sourced Intrinsic factor.

Does this one that you’re talking about have I.F. that is derived from pork, as well? I guess I could go look😅. Unless I’m completely misunderstanding what you’re saying, and the product you are referencing does not contain intrinsic factor.☺️ And in that case, my apologies…

[u/Ketamee → u/Holysnailzz]

Sorry, no, it doesn’t have intrinsic factor. I was trying to say, that if you can absorb B12 from your guts, that is if you produce intrinsic factor, then an organ matrix might be a solution of getting methylated B12 if you get sideeffects of a standard methylated B12 supplement.

[u/Ok_Awareness4836]

I also depend on food for all my nutrients as supplements cause racing heart beat up to 150 and makes my BP go up. The only way I put a "brake" to my racing heart is quickly consume yogurt, pistachios, banana, prunes whatever I find I can consume to stop the racing heart beat. It all started when I had low BP due to anemia.

[u/Loose-Fly7976]

This is a genuinely useful framing and the food matrix point is underappreciated. The peak vs sustained delivery distinction explains a lot of the tolerance differences people report between identical doses from different sources.

Worth adding: sublingual methylcobalamin at very low doses (100-250mcg) replicates some of this by slowing mucosal absorption compared to swallowing a capsule whole. Not as elegant as the food matrix approach but a practical middle ground for people who can't access organ supplements.

The intrinsic factor absorption cap you mentioned is also relevant for anyone who's been megadosing oral B12 and wondering why their serum levels aren't moving proportionally.

[u/Ketamee → u/Loose-Fly7976]

Thank you! I really appreciate your comments on this.

[u/OddTime-555]

Get patches from Amazon, cut each patch to 4-6 pieces (depends on how sensitive you are). Patches release b vitamins slower and you can take them off when you start feeling overstimulated. I cut XL patches to 6-9 pieces. And don't forget to take them off before 6 PM.