Know your Vitamin B12. Know your health.
Test your Vitamin B12 and 100+ other biomarkers in a single blood draw.
Normal range: 200 – 900 pg/mL (higher is better)
Vitamin B12 is essential for DNA synthesis, red blood cell production, and the protective coating (myelin) around your nerves. Deficiency develops slowly and can cause fatigue, megaloblastic anemia, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, memory problems, and balance issues. If caught late, some nerve damage can be irreversible, which makes regular testing valuable for people at risk.
A normal Vitamin B12 is 200 – 900 pg/mL. Higher is better.
Vegans and strict vegetarians are at high risk because B12 is found almost exclusively in animal products (meat, fish, eggs, dairy). Older adults often develop malabsorption from reduced stomach acid production (atrophic gastritis) or use of acid-blocking medications like PPIs and H2 blockers.
Pernicious anemia, an autoimmune condition that destroys the cells needed to absorb B12, is a classic cause. Metformin (a common diabetes drug) can lower B12 levels over time and should be monitored. Crohn's disease and gastric bypass surgery impair absorption as well.
If you eat animal products regularly, you likely get enough B12 from diet alone. Vegans should supplement or eat B12-fortified foods (nutritional yeast, fortified plant milks, fortified cereals). Sublingual tablets or injections bypass absorption issues for people who cannot absorb B12 from food. If you take a PPI or metformin long-term, ask your doctor about periodic B12 monitoring.
Vitamin B12 is most highly correlated with Vitamin D and Mean Corpuscular Volume. Here are the top biomarkers correlated with Vitamin B12, based on 500,000 tests done by Empirical Health.
The percentage shows how strongly two biomarkers move together. A higher number means the relationship is stronger. Green = rises and falls together. Orange = one rises as the other falls.
You can test your Vitamin B12 for $190 as part of Empirical's comprehensive health panel, which includes 100 biomarkers.
You can measure your Vitamin B12 for at 2,200+ testing locations across the US. Click below and enter your zip code to browse locations near you.
Test your Vitamin B12 and 100+ other biomarkers in a single blood draw.