Vegan may need B-12 boost

I currently follow a strict vegetarian diet and consume no animal products at all. Since vitamin B-12 is missing from the vegan diet, I wonder how many micrograms of it I should take. I’ve seen B-12 pills of up to 1,500 micrograms each in my food co-op, but the daily requirement is just 3 micrograms.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency is far more common than most people realize. Vegans (who eat no eggs, dairy or other animal products) are frequently lacking in this essential nutrient. Older people and those who take powerful acid-suppressing drugs also may be low.

Symptoms of a deficiency include numbness or tingling in legs and arms, trouble walking, sore tongue, loss of appetite, constipation, memory loss and disorientation. You will need to ask your physician for a blood test. She should be able to recommend the best B-12 dose based on your blood levels.

Because vitamin B-12 is not well-absorbed from pills, you may need a higher dose than the RDA. A 2005 study of older people with B-12 deficiency found that daily doses of roughly 600 to 1,000 micrograms (0.6 to 1 mg) were needed to reverse deficiency.

I have suffered from plantar warts since high school. I am now 55 years old. I have tried surgery, freezing and salicylic acid. Nothing worked.

Recently I had shingles and was prescribed Valtrex for 10 days. Besides curing my shingles, Valtrex cured my plantar warts. Are there any studies about this?

Although there are no controlled studies of this treatment for plantar warts, we found a report of two cases in the medical literature reinforcing your experience.

Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist, and Teresa Graedon is an expert in medical anthropology and nutrition. https://www.peoplespharmacy.com.