There are several points you should know about "B-12 Shots" in weight loss programs. The following information is taken directly from the product brochure. There are other points not described here, and your doctor or a pharmacist can provide a product package insert for your own review if you have further questions.
B-12 is not FDA-approved for weight loss or boosting energy. B-12 has no effect in either circumstance.
There are certain risks to injectable vitamins, including B-12, B-6 and “MIC-lipo” (a mix containing B-12 and B-6). Aluminum contamination occurs during the manufacturing process, and, in 2004, as a result of cases of aluminum toxicity, the companies making these products have been required by the FDA to reveal the aluminum content on the label along with the words:
Warning: This product contains Aluminum that may be toxic.
Toxicity has occurred at doses of 350 mcg (70kg x 5mcg/kg/day) and damage may occur at lower doses. There is no need in the body for any level of Aluminum and there is no injectable amount that has been determined “safe”. A 30 shot vial of B-12 contains 625 mcg/L of aluminum. Shot Clinics may give three injections of vitamins a week. This is a very high dose, as even patients who have a total B-12 deficiency due to malabsorption require only one shot per month. Patients with normal gut absorption can avoid the aluminum risk and get better B-12 levels with oral tablets than with shots, because 98% of injected B-12 is passed in the urine within 48 hrs, the majority in 8 hours. (All this information is in the package insert.)
The injected aluminum, however, can be bound to bone or brain and requires a biopsy for definitive diagnosis. Retained aluminum can cause bone fractures and an Alzheimer’s-like dementia. In fact, Alzheimer’s patients have more brain aluminum than any other type of dementia. While it makes no medical sense and carries risk, some clinics continue to use the shots to increase the frequency of return visits. This is nonsense, as injectable vitamins are legend drugs in Florida and require a prescription by a healthcare provider following standards of medical care. While once commonly used to help patients “feel better” while dieting, frequent B-12 shots are not sound practice since the 2004 Aluminum warning.
Suggested references on the Aluminum warning include the actual Federal Drug Administration Rule 2004 and the recent excellent review article Aluminum Toxicity by Edwards in Emedicine, 6/2006, and two other peer reviewed medical journals on the subject: American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 2007 v.64:730-746 and Journal of the American Society of Nephrology 1992 Feb;2(8): 1318-27.
The only safe reasons for using B-12 shots include: anemia, starvation, mal absorption, tape worm infections, and cancer of the bowel and pancreas. A Weight Loss Diet is not included in the list.
B-12 shots should not be presented in such a way as to encourage return visits with the expectation of a magical or effortless response. The Florida Board of Medicine specifically defines as "fraudulent and deceptive" rapid, effortless, or magical weight loss.
Weight loss is difficult and optimism is important. Be realistic, safe and hopeful. Trust your doctor, but ask questions and read the patient information in the package insert. Remember, there are no approved shots for weight loss, including B-12, mesotherapy and lipo-dissolvers.
