I need to create a concise presentation comparing the forms of Vitamin B12, this is is what I came up with. Is this an accurate synopsis? Anything major I'm missing?
If you are Vitamin B12 deficient, either form will benefit you, however certain forms are more bioavailable than others. Certain molecule shapes are more likely to cross the blood brain barrier or benefit the central nervous system.
Cyanocobalamin is the base model, the benefits it offers are dubious.
Methylcobalamin is significantly more bioavaliable, however the body is a master regulator and if you have sufficient Vitamin B12 levels already it gets flushed,
Hydroxocobalamin is the holy grail of Cobalamin’s and the most expensive, but also the most bioavailable. It releases at a slower pace which actually increases the baseline of the vitamin in the body.
To quote a Dutch human study “...application of hydroxocobalamin in cobalamin-deficient patients results in fast nasal absorption and leads to sustained increase of baseline cobalamin concentrations.”
So for Biohacker’s who already have a highly calibrated diet and want to supplement energy levels and spark neurogenesis for high leverage skill acquisition, Hydroxocobalamin is the clear choice.
Vitamin B12 is a great case study of the general uselessness of of multivitamins, it’s a well known enough vitamin that most laypeople have heard of it and know it’s important to general health. However, the vast majority of multivitamins that include it use the cosmetic grade or less bioavailable, cheaper forms of Vitamin B12. If you’ve ever noticed, while taking a multivitamin, that your pee is really colorful, that’s because the bioavailability of the individual components of the multivitamin are just being flushed out of your system.