By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness
There’s a growing energy crisis in America. But it doesn’t have anything to do with high gas prices.
Nope. It’s all about your energy—or more accurately, your lack of it.
Yes I know, there are dozens of reasons you don’t have enough energy. You’re constantly on the go, you work long hours and you’re sleep deprived. But the biggest culprit is one I’ll bet isn’t even on your radar screen: a B12 deficiency.
But what if you’re you being robbed of your vitamin B12?
It’s possible, if you eat a vegetarian diet, take proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec or Nexium, antacids or diabetes medications, have an iron deficiency or digestive disorder (such as malabsorption, Crohn’s disease and celiac disease), or overindulge in alcohol.
You might also be at risk of deficiency if you’ve over 65. Seniors frequently suffer from low stomach acid, and that can interfere with B12 absorption.1
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, about 1 in every 3 Americans isn’t getting enough vitamin B12. Here’s why it matters. Your body depends on vitamin B12 for a host of functions:
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- It helps maintain normal energy levels
- Eases occasional stress and sleeplessness
- Maintains healthy cell growth and repair
- Promotes normal immune function
- Supports normal metabolism of carbohydrates and fats
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Vitamin B12 also:
Guards against cardiovascular disease. More than thirty years ago Dr Kilmer McCully, a pathologist at Harvard Medical School, identified the link between high homocysteine levels and cardiovascular disease. More recently, an analysis done by the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver found vitamin B12 deficiency among people over the age of 60 is a major cause of elevated homocysteine levels in their blood. And that puts them more at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The good news is that, combined with folic acid and other B vitamins, B12 supports normal homocysteine levels.
Protects your genes. If you have low levels of vitamin B12, you may have a high rate of gene damage. And that can speed up cell aging and boost your risk of cancer. Fortunately, taking a B12 supplement along with folic acid can reduce gene damage. But there’s more. One study found that people who took vitamin B12 supplements had longer telomeres (the protective tips on the ends of your chromosomes), compared with people who did not take the vitamin.2
Makes you smarter. Low levels of vitamin B12 can cause fatigue, psychiatric disorders, mental fuzziness and symptoms of dementia.3 Every person with symptoms of senility or Alzheimer’s disease should be tested for vitamin B12 levels. Vitamin B12 may also boost mood. If you’re experiencing a “down day” or the “blues” (something not serious enough to call depression), I recommend taking 500-1,000 mcg of sublingual B12 along with 500 mg of L-tyrosine.
Although the official recommended amount of vitamin B12 for adults is just 2.4 mcg, that’s probably not nearly enough, especially as you get older. That’s why I recommend taking 500 to 1,000 mcg of this exceptionally safe nutrient daily. It’s also smart to eat foods high in vitamin B12. Fortified grains and cereals, meat, dairy and eggs fit the bill perfectly.
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that large amounts of supplemental B12 are often needed to correct a deficiency. The vitamin depends on a molecule called “intrinsic factor” for absorption through the gut. Sublingual (under the tongue) B12 supplements seem to bypass the need for intrinsic factor. If you have a severe deficiency, talk with your doctor to see if B12 shots would be best to combat that deficiency.
References:
- Stabler SP. Vitamin B-12 deficiency in the elderly: current dilemmas. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1997;66:741-749.
- Bull CF. Telomere length in lymphocytes of older South Australian men may be inversely associated with plasma homocysteine. Rejuvenation Research. 2009;12:341-349.
- Herrmann W. Homocysteine: a biomarker in neurodegenerative diseases. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. 2011;49:435-441.
