3 Natural Supplements for Dizziness That Finally Help Women Feel Steady Again
Doctors explain why the room may suddenly feel like it's spinning
Ever bend down to slip on your shoes only to be overcome with an episode of vertigo? Unfortunately, dizziness tends to become more common with age. But that doesn’t mean you’re doomed to suffer in silence. Research shows that there are several natural supplements for dizziness that can help you regain your balance and get back to feeling like yourself. We spoke to doctors to understand exactly why dizziness happens and which proven supplements doctors recommend.
What exactly is dizziness?
Barbara Sparacino, MD, FAPA, a triple board-certified psychiatrist and expert in aging parent care, says that when a person says they’re dizzy, they’re often using it as an umbrella term for several sensations, including:
- Vertigo: a tilting or spinning sensation, like the room is moving
- Lightheadedness/presyncope: feeling woozy, faint or like you might black out
- Disequilibrium: feeling unsteady, like the ground beneath you isn’t solid
- Fuzzy-headedness: a vague sense of being off balance or not quite steady
What causes dizziness?
“The most common cause would be benign paroxysmal positional vertigo—BPPV, wherein an individual experiences sudden, severe and very short bouts of dizziness that are often triggered or worsened by positional changes,” says Jon Stewart Hao Dy, MD, FPNA, a board-certified neurologist with special interest in neuroimmunology, neuromuscular diseases and neuroarts.
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Dr. Sparacino says other common causes of dizziness and vertigo include:
- Inner ear balance problems, like vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis (inner ear inflammation), Ménière’s disease (an inner-ear fluid pressure disorder) and vestibular migraine (migraine that affects balance)
- Heart and blood pressure problems, including low blood pressure, orthostatic hypotension, heart rhythm issues and anemia
- Neurological problems such as stroke or TIA symptoms (a stroke-like episode) and peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage in the legs or feet that affects balance)
- Metabolic or nutrition-related issues, including low blood sugar, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, vitamin B12 deficiency or iron deficiency
- Medications or substances, including certain blood pressure meds, sedatives, antidepressants and alcohol
- Anxiety or panic, which can trigger dizziness and off-balance sensations
“Because the list is so broad, I always emphasize: New, severe or persistent dizziness deserves a medical evaluation—especially if there are red flags like chest pain, shortness of breath, sudden trouble speaking, weakness or vision changes,” says Dr. Sparacino.
When supplements can help with dizziness
“Supplements can be helpful when dizziness is linked to a specific deficiency or condition,” says Dr. Sparacino. “In other words, the supplement itself isn’t magically ‘anti-dizzy,’ it’s correcting an underlying problem that’s putting the brain, blood or balance system at a disadvantage.”
Dr. Sparacino explains that when dizziness comes from low iron, anemia or low vitamin B12, correcting those levels often helps the dizziness improve.
3 supplements for dizziness
To help reduce vertigo and feel steadier on your feet, talk to your doctor about adding these natural supplements to reduce dizziness to your regimen:
Vitamin D
“Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for bone health and calcium absorption,” says Dr. Dy. “In regard to dizziness, it works by improving calcium metabolism and stabilizing [tiny] calcium crystals that are found in the inner ear that maintains one’s balance.”
How to take it: Dr. Sparacino says most adults need about 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D daily as a baseline. But if you’re deficient, your doctor may recommend 1,000 to 2,000 IU a day based on your lab results. (Learn more about how much vitamin D per day women over 50 really need.)
Dr. Dy says vitamin D is best absorbed when taken with healthy fats like fish or dairy. It’s also smart to combine supplements with natural sunlight exposure, ideally before mid-morning or in the late afternoon, since the body makes its own vitamin D when sunlight strikes skin.
Vitamin B12
Dr. Sparacino says vitamin B12 is essential for healthy nerve function, red blood cell production and DNA health, which is why it’s a top supplement for dizziness. “Deficiency can cause anemia, neuropathy [nerve damage], gait instability and cognitive changes, all of which can show up as dizziness, imbalance or ‘brain fog,’” says Dr. Sparacino.
How to take it: Most adults need about 2.4 mcg of vitamin B12 each day, Dr. Sparacino notes. However, if someone is deficient, Dr. Sparacino says doctors may use high-dose vitamin B12 supplements, such as 500 to 1,000 mcg daily, or give periodic injections depending on the cause of the deficiency.
Oral vitamin B12 can be taken with or without food, though many people take it with breakfast to help make it a daily habit, she adds.
Ginkgo biloba
“Ginkgo biloba acts by expanding the blood vessels in the brain and improving blood flow,” says Dr. Dy. “The improved blood flow in the brain is particularly helpful if a person has poor blood flow secondary to plaque build-up in the arteries that supply the brain regions responsible for maintaining balance.”
“Several trials have found that Ginkgo biloba extract can improve subjective vertigo and dizziness and perform similarly to medications like betahistine in chronic vertigo,” says Dr. Sparacino.
How to take it: There’s no standardized recommended daily amount for Ginkgo biloba. But Dr. Sparacino says that in studies she’s seen people typically use 120 to 240 mg of standardized ginkgo biloba extract per day.
The bottom line on taking supplements for dizziness
We know that dizziness can stem from many different health issues, and natural supplements may help when the cause is related to a deficiency. However, both Dr. Dy and Dr. Sparacino stress the importance of talking with your doctor before starting any supplement, especially if you take medications or have a chronic condition. They also warn that new, sudden or severe dizziness can signal a serious problem like a stroke and needs urgent medical attention.
By partnering with your doctor to identify what’s causing your dizziness and using the right supplements, you can finally make the room stop spinning—and get back to feeling like yourself again.
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