NOW Foods Vitamin B12 Methyl B-12 5000mcg - Bioactive Methylated Vitamin B12

What is Now Foods Methyl B-12 5000 mcg?

Now Foods Methyl B-12 5000 mcg is a vitamin B12 supplement in tablets that dissolve under the tongue, providing 5,000 µg per tablet. The sizes listed here: 60 and 120 tablets, that is two or four months at one dose a day.

Two things set this product apart in the vitamin B aisle. The first is the form chosen: methylcobalamin, one of the coenzyme forms of B12, where most supplements on the market use cyanocobalamin, which is cheaper and more stable. The second is the addition of folate in the Quatrefolic® form, namely (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolate — the directly active form of folate, rather than synthetic folic acid.

The rest of the tablet is what gives it its texture and its taste: fructose, sorbitol, hydroxypropylcellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, citric acid, stearic acid and magnesium stearate of plant origin, natural flavourings. The manufacturer states a composition with no artificial preservatives, no synthetic colourings and no sweeteners. Now Foods is an American brand whose range we stock in our Now Foods aisle.

What does one tablet contain?

NRVs within the meaning of Regulation 1169/2011: 2.5 µg for vitamin B12, 200 µg for folate. One labelling discrepancy deserves to be flagged rather than glossed over: the manufacturer, being American, expresses folate as 680 µg of dietary folate equivalents (DFE), a calculation convention specific to United States regulations, for an actual quantity of 400 µg of 5-MTHF. We show the actual quantity. Depending on which value is used, the European percentage would come out at 200% or at 340%: we prefer to give the more conservative figure and explain why.

Now for the number that leaps off the page. 5,000 µg is two thousand times the European reference value. That looks absurd, and it is not quite: B12 is absorbed only in very small amounts at each dose, and massive doses are the usual way of getting round that limit in people who absorb it poorly. What matters here is that this product is not a maintenance dose. For a simple top-up, a multivitamin providing 2.5 or 25 µg does the job.

On safety, two markers. EFSA has set no upper limit for vitamin B12, which is water-soluble and cleared in the urine. It does, however, set 1,000 µg a day as the limit for folic acid in adults: the 400 µg in this tablet stay below that, but if you are already taking a multivitamin or a pregnancy supplement, add it all up.

The applicable regulatory wordings are precise, and they are broad. Vitamin B12 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, to the normal functioning of the nervous system, to normal energy-yielding metabolism, to normal red blood cell formation, to normal homocysteine metabolism, to normal psychological function and to the normal function of the immune system. Folate contributes to normal blood formation, to normal amino acid synthesis, to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to the growth of maternal tissue during pregnancy.

How do you take Methyl B-12?

Dose: 1 tablet. Liquid: none, the tablet dissolves under the tongue. Timing: in the morning, with a meal. Frequency: one dose a day. Duration: the manufacturer sets no course length; where status is deficient, supplementation is generally long-term and is managed with a doctor.

The instructions come down to a single sentence: place the tablet under the tongue and let it dissolve for two to three minutes rather than swallowing it straight away. The manufacturer also advises keeping it away from hot drinks. One honest clarification: we have no ANSES or EFSA source establishing that the sublingual route does better than a swallowed tablet, so we will not write that it is superior. What we can say is that the format is pleasant, naturally flavoured, and calls for no glass of water — which, on a daily dose taken over the long term, counts for more than you might think.

The morning dose is the one the manufacturer settles on. The taste is slightly sweet, the fructose and the sorbitol serving as the base: this is not an unpleasant tablet to let dissolve, unlike a good many vitamins.

One point of common sense to finish with: B12 is measured by a blood test. If you are supplementing at 5,000 µg, a blood test taken afterwards no longer means very much. Have your status checked before you start, not after.

Who is this product for, and who is it not for?

It is aimed at three specific situations, and the manufacturer names them itself. Vegetarians and vegans first: vitamin B12 is almost exclusively of animal origin, and supplementing it is not a convenience but a necessity on a vegan diet. Then older people, whose digestive absorption declines. And diagnosed deficiencies, under medical supervision.

The manufacturer asks you to consult a healthcare professional if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication, and recommends medical supervision for a high dose taken over a prolonged period. That instruction should be taken seriously: this is not a product to take “just in case” for two years without ever having a check-up. The product is declared free from gluten, wheat, soya, milk, egg, fish and nuts, but made in a facility that handles other allergens.

It suits you less well if you eat meat, fish and eggs regularly: in that case there is no reason at all to take 5,000 µg, and a multivitamin already covers the requirement comfortably. It also contains sorbitol, a polyol that can upset a sensitive gut at repeated doses.

What not to expect from it. This is not an energy product. “Contributing to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue” means correcting a shortfall, not giving a lift to someone whose status is normal — the distinction is crucial, and it is the one the aisle glosses over most often. Nor is it a performance product: no sports claim exists for B12.

Methyl B-12 on its own or a multivitamin?

That is the real choice, and it depends entirely on your diet.

A multivitamin generally provides 2.5 to 25 µg of B12, among some twenty other nutrients. It is the better choice if you eat a bit of everything in an irregular way and are looking for a general safety net: one dose, one bottle, everything covered. Its drawback is that it covers nothing in depth, and its B12 content bears no comparison with this one.

Methyl B-12 does the opposite: a single nutrient, dosed very high, plus folate. It is the right choice on a vegan diet or where absorption is impaired — two situations in which a multivitamin will not be enough. If that applies to you, take the problem as a whole: a diet without animal products also calls for keeping an eye on iron and on protein intake, which our plant proteins aisle covers. And avoid the most widespread shortcut: spirulina has many merits, but it is not accepted as a reliable source of vitamin B12. Do not count on it for that.

Frequently asked questions

5,000 µg, isn't that far too much?

It is two thousand times the European reference value, and it is deliberate: B12 is absorbed only in a small proportion at each dose, which high doses make up for. EFSA has set no upper limit for this vitamin, which is water-soluble and cleared in the urine. It remains a corrective dose, not a maintenance dose.

Methylcobalamin or cyanocobalamin?

Methylcobalamin is a coenzyme form, directly usable; cyanocobalamin is a synthetic form, more stable and cheaper, which the body has to convert. The authorised regulatory wordings are identical for both, and we have no official source establishing that one is superior to the other.

What is the difference between 400 and 680 µg of folate?

None in quantity: these are two ways of describing the same thing. The tablet provides 400 µg of (6S)-5-MTHF; the figure of 680 µg corresponds to the conversion into dietary folate equivalents, an American convention. On a European label, it is the 400 µg value that should be compared.

Does it really have to dissolve under the tongue?

That is what the manufacturer asks for, two to three minutes, avoiding hot drinks just afterwards. We have no official source proving that this route does better than a swallowed tablet. The tablet is flavoured, though, and needs no water, which makes a daily dose easier to keep up.

How long does one bottle last?

Two months for the 60-tablet size, four months for the 120, at one tablet a day. The manufacturer sets no time limit: on a vegan diet, supplementation is generally permanent, and that is a point to settle with a doctor.

Can it be taken during pregnancy?

Not without medical advice: that is the manufacturer's explicit statement. Folate has a particular role during pregnancy, but pregnancy supplements already contain it, and the combined total must stay below the limit of 1,000 µg a day set by EFSA for folic acid. This question is one to settle with your doctor or your midwife.

Is the product suitable for vegans?

Yes. No ingredient of animal origin goes into the composition, the stearic acid and the magnesium stearate both being of plant origin. That is logical: vegans are precisely the primary audience for this product, vitamin B12 being almost absent from the plant kingdom.

Where can you buy Now Foods Methyl B-12 5000 mcg?

Both sizes can be ordered from this page, and we ship anywhere in France and in Europe. The 120-tablet bottle makes sense if you are settled into a vegan diet for the long term; the 60-tablet one is enough to start with.

At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is one of the few products where we begin by asking a medical question: have you had your B12 measured? The advice changes entirely depending on the answer, and a measurement taken after supplementation has begun is worth nothing. The rest of the aisle can be browsed in our sports nutrition section.