When vitamins come to mind, many envision salads filled with leafy greens or other healthy, nutrient-rich foods. Others might think of cartoon-shaped chewable tablets or the numerous options in the supplement aisle. But what about injections? Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is a water-soluble vitamin crucial for producing red blood cells and DNA. It is also important for healthy brain function and maintaining high energy levels. If you have a low vitamin B12 level, a boost in the form of injections or pills can significantly improve your health and overall well-being. However, if your B12 level is normal, don’t be misled by claims that they will magically help you lose weight or provide boundless energy.
What are Vitamin B12 Injections?
Vitamin B12 shots are injected into your muscle or deeply under your skin, usually in areas like your upper arm or thigh. Initially, you may need them daily or every other day. As your B12 level increases, the frequency of injections will decrease. Depending on the cause of your low B12 level, you might only need vitamin B12 injections until your level returns to normal, although some individuals require them long-term. Your healthcare provider will make recommendations based on your B12 level, age, diet, and overall health.
The Benefits of Vitamin B12 Injections
Getting vitamin B12 injections to raise your B12 level to where it should be often improves symptoms like:
- Blurred vision
- Depression
- Difficulty walking
- Dizziness
- Fatigue and generalized weakness
- Irritability
- Loss of appetite
- Numbness and/or tingling
- Memory trouble
Untreated vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to severe problems, including irreversible neurological (nervous system) damage.
How to Know if You Need Vitamin B12 Shots
Vitamin B12 shots can often reverse symptoms of a low vitamin B12 level. However, the issue is that you might not know your B12 levels are low to begin with. Because B12 levels aren’t checked during routine blood work, a deficiency can go undetected for years. Additionally, the symptoms of low B12 can be subtle or mistaken for symptoms of other conditions.
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Low vitamin B12 levels are more common among those who:
- Are over age 65
- Keep a strict vegan or vegetarian diet
- Have had weight loss surgery
- Have a gastrointestinal condition like gastritis or Crohn’s disease
- Take certain types of medications, including heartburn medicine.
If you’re experiencing troubling symptoms or believe you’re at high risk for a deficiency, discuss these concerns with a healthcare provider who may decide that you should be tested.
Vitamin B12 and Weight Loss: Is There a Connection?
If you have low B12 and are battling fatigue and/or depression, raising your B12 level back to normal can ease these symptoms and help you feel more energetic. This could ultimately lead you to lose some weight. However, B12 shots themselves aren’t directly associated with weight loss. If your B12 levels are normal, getting B12 injections isn’t going to do anything. Studies show that high vitamin B12 levels may be associated with a lower risk of having obesity, but that doesn’t mean that getting vitamin B12 shots will help you lose weight. If your B12 level is normal, there is little evidence to support that they actually work for these purposes.
Vitamin B12 Injections and Energy Levels
Some people pursue vitamin B12 shots because they believe that doing so will increase their energy levels. If you have low B12, this is likely true. But if you don’t have low B12, don’t count on it. Taking additional B12 hasn’t been found to be of benefit.
Other Sources of Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 injections are not the only way to get vitamin B12. Most people can get enough vitamin B12 through diet alone. It’s found in lots of common foods, like:
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- Beef
- Clams
- Dairy milk and fortified plant milks
- Eggs (especially yolks)
- Fortified cereals
- Nutritional yeast
- Organ meats (namely liver and kidneys)
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Yogurt
If you’re found to have low B12, your healthcare provider may first try over-the-counter supplementation, like a dissolvable B12 capsule or tablet or a B12 nasal spray. But if they don’t get your B12 level where it needs to be, injections may be the next step. As people age, they sometimes have trouble absorbing vitamin B12, even when taking pills by mouth. That’s when we think about vitamin B12 via injection.
Advanced Approaches: Lipoden B12 Injections
Some clinics offer vitamin B12/lipoden B12 injections. Lipotropic injections contain fat-burning compounds that reduce the amount of fat in your body. They also help remove toxins and increase your energy levels. The injections are highly effective when combined with diet and exercise. A lipoden injection contains vitamins and compounds, including:
- L-carnitine - helps turn fat into energy
- Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) - helps build muscle and reduce workout fatigue
- Methionine - helps your body block toxic substances
- Choline - helps your liver function and metabolize fat
- Inositol - helps break down fat compounds
- Betaine - helps reduce the workload on your liver
Combining these ingredients with B12 can lead to effective weight loss and other benefits. Under medical supervision and with a recommended dose of injections 1-2 times a week, individuals may experience fat burning, increased metabolism, and an energy boost.
The Science Behind Weight Loss Injections
Injectable medications are a popular weight loss method, mimicking the action of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1). Primarily used for type 2 diabetes, they have shown remarkable weight loss results in obese patients. These injections reduce appetite and increase feelings of fullness, making it easier to eat less and lose weight. They are administered as an injection under the skin once a week. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021 found that certain injectable medications led to significant weight loss in adults with obesity. Participants who took these injections lost more weight compared to those who took a placebo.
Combining B12 injections with GLP-1 receptor agonists can enhance weight loss efforts due to:
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- Boosted Energy Levels: B12 injections boost energy, making it easier to stay active, engage in regular workouts, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- Improved Metabolic Outcomes: Research highlights the role of B12 in energy metabolism. When combined with weight loss medication, B12 injections can enhance metabolic outcomes, leading to more effective weight loss.
- Synergistic Weight Loss Effects: Studies show that combining B12 injections with GLP-1 receptor agonists can lead to synergistic effects, making the combined treatment more effective than either treatment alone.
What to Look for in a Weight Loss Clinic
When choosing a weight loss clinic, look for one that offers personalized treatment plans and has a team of experienced weight loss professionals. Ensure they offer B12 injections and have experience with weight loss injections. Before starting any treatment, it is important to ask questions and ensure you understand the medical weight loss process. Ask about the potential side effects of weight loss injections, how long you will need to take the medications, and what kind of results you can expect. Look for reviews and testimonials from other patients to get an idea of what to expect at the weight loss center. This can help you choose a reputable clinic and ensure you get the best possible care.
Risks and Side Effects of B12 Shots
Although some people claim vitamin B12 shots can help with weight loss, experts do not recommend them for this purpose. They can cause side effects and, in some cases, allergic reactions. While B12 shots are necessary for some people who cannot absorb the vitamin in other ways, they have some risks and side effects.
In rare situations, B12 shots can cause allergic reactions, including:
- Itching
- Rash
- Anaphylaxis (a life-threatening condition that can cause a fast heartbeat and difficulty breathing)
Other side effects that can occur include:
- Shortness of breath, fast weight gain, and swelling
- Congestive heart failure (the inability of the heart to adequately pump blood)
- Pulmonary edema (the buildup of fluid in the lungs)
- Peripheral vascular thrombosis (the obstruction of a vein with a blood clot)
- Hypokalemia (low potassium levels that can cause irregular heartbeats and muscle weakness)
- Fever
- Tingling, numbness, and joint pains
- Swollen tongue
- Polycythemia (an increase in the red blood cell mass)
Additionally, B12 may interact with certain medications.
Alternative Forms of Vitamin B12
Although often used as a catchall term, there are actually several different forms of vitamin B12 depending on subtle differences in their chemical structures. Most precisely, vitamin B12 is the cobalamin molecule, which can have various other groups attached, giving the resulting analogs different functions in the human body. Methylcobalamin, adenosylcobalamin, and hydroxocobalamin are naturally-occurring forms of vitamin B12, while cyanocobalamin is synthetic. Cyanocobalamin is the synthetic analog of vitamin B12 that was developed to increase the shelf-life of vitamin B12, as the two naturally-occurring forms undergo photolytic degradation. In the serum, it is converted into hydroxocobalamin and then into the two active forms of B12, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. Since it is metabolized into both forms of B12, a cyanocobalamin injection provides the body with both forms, making it more suitable when the body has a deficiency of both. Similar to cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin is converted into the two active forms of vitamin b12. Hydroxocobalamin is a natural form of vitamin B12 and is only available via prescription injection, which must be performed by a medical professional. In contrast to other forms, it usually requires a diagnosis of a vitamin B12 deficiency or cyanide poisoning. This form is converted into the two other naturally-occurring forms of vitamin B12, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. Methylcobalamin is one of the two active forms of vitamin B12 and helps animals use CO2 as their carbon source to produce acetyl-CoA, and it also has a higher retention rate than other forms. Adenosylcobalamin is the other active form of vitamin B12 that participates in carbohydrate, fat, and amino acid metabolism. If a patient has a deficiency of only one of these two forms of vitamin B12, an injection containing only one of these forms may be necessary.
Dietary Sources of Vitamin B12
B12 shots are not necessary for weight loss. For most people, a balanced diet provides the necessary nutrients for wellness, including vitamin B12. Some food sources of the vitamin include:
- Milk and milk products
- Fish
- Red meat
- Eggs
- Poultry
However, a person with B12 deficiency may not be able to absorb enough of the vitamin from their diet. When this occurs, they may need supplements or B12 shots.
Metformin and B12
Metformin (Fortamet, Riomet, others) is a drug that may be used as part of a weight-loss tool for people with type 2 diabetes. Low vitamin B-12 levels in your body can be a side effect of this drug.
Recommendations
People with obesity or those who are concerned about their weight can contact a doctor. They can provide recommendations on how to achieve a moderate weight in a healthy, sustainable manner. Additionally, individuals interested in B12 should consult their doctor before taking an oral supplement. If they think they may have a B12 deficiency, a blood test can determine this.