Vitamin B12 is a crucial nutrient for brain health, metabolic function, and energy levels. Unfortunately, many of us do not get enough to maintain optimal levels and optimal health. Supplementing with B12 is an effective way to ensure you are getting enough of this important nutrient. There are a plethora of options – pills, sprays, injections, topical patches, and even vapes.

Yes, you read that right – you can vape your vitamin B12.  Let’s dive a little deeper.

Are You Getting Enough B12?

B12 is essential to several body functions. It helps your body produce red blood cells, which transport oxygen that keeps your heart, brain and other organs healthy.

Vitamin B12 also helps regulate your metabolism, keep your blood sugar stable, increase energy levels, maintain fertility levels and keep your central nervous system healthy. It contains myelin, a substance that protects your nerves from damage.

If you think those are important functions, you’re right. We can’t function well without this vital nutrient.

What Happens If You Don’t Get Enough?

A B12 deficiency can cause serious symptoms including:

  • Tingling in the hands and feet caused by nerve damage.
  • Loss of coordination as muscles get numb.
  • Jaundiced or pale skin.
  • Fatigue.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Fast heart rate.
  • Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Over time, a lack of B12 can lead to serious physical and psychiatric disorders. Fortunately, the right product can deliver steady, potent supplementation when you need it.

When Do You Need B12 Supplementation?

There are times when it’s helpful to add more B12 to your life. B12 has no toxicity, so it’s almost impossible to take too much of it. Here are some situations where you should definitely increase your intake.

You’re Low on Energy

If you’re feeling low on energy and unable to concentrate, you might need a boost of natural energy from B12. You’ll really feel a difference, and you’ll normally notice it right away.

You’re a Vegan or Vegetarian

Vitamin B12 is present in meat, dairy products, fish and eggs. If you follow a strict vegetarian or vegan diet, you might not be eating enough of it. One study found that vitamin B12 deficiency affected 86 percent of all vegans. That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook if you’re a carnivore. It might surprise you to learn that almost half of all meat eaters are also deficient in B12.

You’re Older

Some older adults can’t absorb Vitamin B12 from food. This can happen if you’re 50 or older. In this case, B12 supplements can provide real benefits.

You’re on a Diet

Some nutritionists recommend taking B12 if you’re trying to lose weight. You’ll have enough energy to exercise. It may help regulate your metabolism enough to make losing weight easier.

You Want to Enhance Your Health

Even if you don’t have a specific health condition, a boost of B12 is a good way to enhance your health. You can always use strong red blood cells, better oxygen circulation, more energy and better mental focus.

Your body doesn’t store Vitamin B12, so you need to consume it regularly. When you can’t do that, you should consider using a supplement.

What’s the Best Way to Get Your B12?

Now that you’ve decided B12 supplementation is right for you, you’re probably wondering about the best method for getting it. There are four popular ways to do this:

  • B12 shots.
  • Pills.
  • B12 vape.
  • Patches.

Which is the best method? We discuss each one below.

What You Should Know About B12 Shots

Injections are a time-honored way to get supplements of all kinds. While B12 shots are fast and effective, they are extremely inconvenient. If you have a B12 deficiency, you will need to get an injection daily for several weeks or months.

That’s highly inconvenient, and the costs will be high since you have to visit a doctor or nurse each time you need an injection. You can give yourself the injections, but you may not like getting regular prescriptions, keeping a supply of clean needles around and learning how to inject yourself.

There are better ways.

What About Pills?

Oral vitamins can work, but choose your supplier with care. You must buy supplements that contain guaranteed levels of the vitamins or minerals you need. You can’t be sure what else the formula contains.

There is a lot of certainty about vitamins in pill form. You don’t know the source of the vitamins or anything about the company’s manufacturing process. You really don’t know their true potency.

Some people get upset stomachs after taking vitamins. Like shots, pills are inconvenient to carry around when you travel.

What About the B12 Vape?

Vaping is all the rage among former smokers and people who have never smoked. Vaping involves using a handheld device that heats a flavored liquid into steam. Some liquids contain nicotine at various levels. The user inhales the steam the way they used to inhale the smoke from a cigarette.

Vaping has become an alternative to smoking. Many people report dropping the smoking habit entirely by using vape devices that deliver nicotine. Among young people who don’t like cigarettes, vaping without nicotine is a popular hobby.

People have tried to develop new uses for vape devices that may not be as successful or as safe. Today, cannabis dispensaries sell vape devices that allow users to vape cannabis oils. These devices may cause dangerous lung diseases.

Really… Vaping Vitamins?

Pills and shots are out. Vaping is the hot, new way to get your vitamins in. The theory is that the tiny vitamin particulates are carried into the lungs and absorbed directly into the bloodstream. 

Companies providing vitamin B12 vapes promote them as having “4 times the amount found in a typical B-12 shot”, claiming that “if you would not ingest it, you should never inhale it.” to prove just how safe it is. (1, 2)

But is that really the litmus test for what we should put in our lungs?

Is it Safe?

Research on vaping safety is in its infancy, making long-term data limited, but studies have found a link between vaping and increased risk of heart attacks and COPD. The same effects as long-term exposure to small particulate air pollution. (4, 5, 6)

Heating vape liquid to produce the vapor can cause vape ingredients to become altered by the heat, resulting in new, potentially dangerous, chemicals hitting your lungs. (7)

Dr. Adam Lackey of Staten Island University emphasizes that “The lungs are not designed to breathe in anything other than clean air…why make it even harder by intentionally inhaling vapors and fumes?” (8)

Is it Effective?

The answer is, no one really knows. There is very limited research that supports the theory that vitamins in a bioavailable form enter the lungs through vaping or that they are absorbed by the lungs in any meaningful amount if they are there.

Vitamin B12 is a sensitive heat and/or steam. One study found that exposing milk to high-temperature steam reduced its vitamin B12 content by nearly 20%. This certainly calls into question just how effective vaping is as a delivery method for B12 to support your best health. (9)

The research relied upon by the companies promoting vitamin B12 vaping is questionable and outdated. Quoting studies featuring single-digit sample sizes and dating back over 50 years leaves many questions of safety and efficacy unanswered. (10)

Between serious safety concerns and very limited evidence of efficacy, save your money for something proven safe and effective.

A Proven Approach

For those who struggle to absorb adequate vitamin B12 through diet or oral supplementation, there is another option that has been proven safe and effective. Topical application of vitamin B12, like in our B12 Plus patch, has been shown to effectively reduce symptoms associated with B12 deficiency with no adverse side effects. (11, 12)

Is B12 Vape  Really Just Another Fad?

The B12 vape is part of another fad. Vape vitamins are the latest craze, but health experts are skeptical about their value.

As health writer Chloe Hall reported in Elle magazine, “Should you completely rule out vape vitamin? No, but treat it like a trend. It might work for you, but it’s not a medically sound alternative to meet your B12 demands.”

An article in Science Alert on vitamin vapes noted that, “While some companies claim the benefits are scientifically proven, experts have pointed out that actual studies are meager and extremely outdated.”

What to Know About the B12 Patch Product

Fortunately, there’s a way to get vitamin B12 supplementation that has none of the drawbacks of shots, pills or vaping. Wearing a patch is a safe, proven way to get the dosage you need. It also costs far less than those other methods.

A patch product can give you an even, reliable dose.

According to an article in Health Research Policy, patches are far more convenient than other methods. “Vitamin patches avoid the difficulty of swallowing many large pills each day,” the article notes. “Many people have difficulty in swallowing large supplement pills or in general because of preexisting health conditions. With vitamin patches, these difficulties and inconveniences are irrelevant.”

Using a vitamin patch is the easiest, most convenient way to get the vitamins you need.

  • You don’t have to carry around a bottle of pills.
  • There are no needles.
  • You’re not inhaling anything.
  • Patches are more affordable than pills or shots.
  • It only takes one quick step every morning.

Get the Benefits of B12 With a Convenient, Affordable Product

A patch product gives you a dose of vitamin B12 that remains even all day. You’ll feel the energy, mental clarity and enhanced well-being that only the right level of vitamins can give you. The 30-day patch product contains only pure vitamins with no additives or fillers. You never have to worry about the product’s potency, getting a prescription or carrying your supplements with you.

If you’re interested in the benefits of a safe supplementation product as an alternative to b12 vape, try the PatchMD 30-day energy patch. Get the B12 advantage today and every day.