The Dark Side of B12 shots
I love a good health trend, but if I have one more client come to me saying they’re going to get a B12 shot for “energy,” I might lose it. Let’s break down why getting unnecessary micronutrients might be doing more harm than good.
If your B12 levels are normal and your genes are functioning well, you’re just paying for expensive pee.
You might be depleting your body of other nutrients.
People often assume that since B12 is water-soluble, any excess is harmless. Which is true in the sense that you probably won’t die, but the body doesn’t sit back and do nothing with it. It activates pathways to process or detoxify that extra B12, and those pathways depend on other nutrients, enzymes, and cofactor systems. If you continue to take B12 without needing it, you’re depleting these nutrient reserves:
Folate (B9): Works w B12 for methylation by converting homocysteine to methionine. When depleted, it lowers DNA repair, increases homocysteine, and causes methylation crashes
Pyridoxine (B6): Helps recycle the homocysteine to cysteine as part of the methylation cycle. When depleted, it leads to high inflammation, poor detox, and anxiety
Magnesium: A cofactor in hundreds of enzymatic reactions, including methylation. When depleted, it leads to fatigue, cramps, poor sleep, and low resilience.
Choline: Another methyl donor used alongside B12, folate, and B6. When depleted, it causes cognitive fog, fatty liver risk, and low neurotransmitter output.
Zinc: A cofactor in B12 metabolism and immune response. When depleted causes skin issues, poor wound healing, and lowered immunity.
SAMe: which is synthesized using B12, and overstimulation just burns through it. When depleted, it causes mood dysregulation & poor hormone metabolism.
Here are some examples of how your body responds to too much B12:
Feeling jitters: due to excess methylation stimulation
Headaches and irritability: due to overwhelming your detox pathways
Acne or skin breakouts: because B12 can disrupt gut flora and increase sebum
Worsening fatigue: due to cofactors getting depleted and can no longer process all the B12
What to Do Instead:
Test your genes first (TCN2, MTRR, MTHFR, GIF, etc.)
Pair it with labs like MMA, homocysteine, and holotranscobalamin
Supplement B12 strategically; based on need, not assumption!
This also goes for those expensive IV drip bags… but I’ll save those for another day ;)
—KB
