Supplementing Vitamin B12

I am not sure if vitamin B12 should be considered a vitamin. After-all, its other name is cobalamin, which is a mineral, cobalt, attached to amine (amine being a derivative of ammonia).

Vitamin B12 is needed by every cell in the human body. A depletion of it causes high homocysteine, impaired cellular division, symptoms of anemia, cardiovascular disease, brain damage, nerve damage, and even cancer. A dead giveaway that you may have a vitamin B12 deficiency is problems with the tongue: over-sized, not healing quickly when bruised, causing difficulty in speech.

Many people are low on vitamin B12 because their chronic low stomach acid had inhibited the release of a protein produced in the stomach wall known as the intrinsic factor. This protein helps protect the vitamin from stomach acid and leads it to the terminal ileum of the small intestine, where it is picked up by another protein called transcobalamin II. From there it is transported to the blood and surrounding tissue as needed, while excess is stored in the liver for recycling.

Vitamin B12 supplements help bypass the intrinsic factor, and are currently available in many forms — methylcobalamin, adenosylcobalamin, hydroxocobalamin and cyanocobalamin — cyanocobalamin being the cheapest and most unnatural, ineffective and dangerous form. This synthetic version contains small amounts of cyanide, a dead giveaway of its foreign assimilation to the body.
Methylcobalamin also is not for everyone. Don’t be surprised if you experience strange symptoms ingesting 1000 or 2000 mcg of methylcobalamin. If you have a methylation defect, it won’t be absorbed properly, if at all.

And why so much — why thousands of mcg? The amount of vitamin B12 that your body will utilize throughout your entire life amounts to the size of ONE grain of rice! The RDA/RDI/DV only recommends about 2.4 mcg of B12. They did this for a reason. The RDA/RDI is more brilliant than we think. We in the holistic world tend to give them very little credit. B12 is the largest of B vitamins — when you consume 1000 mcg of say methylcobalamin, only 1 to 2% of it is actually absorbed. The other 98 to 99% is excreted and worse, stored in the fat cells or other tissue cells, becoming toxins. Toxins can lead to cancer. Contrary to popular belief, water-soluble vitamin does not mean all of it will be excreted from the body. Some of it will be stored just like fat soluble vitamins — in all the wrong places!

If you are taking supplemental B12, such as methylcobalamin, you must also take folate and vitamin B6 in the form of P5P. Methylcobalamin utilizes and depletes said vitamins. For this reason, it may be wise to assume that if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency, you have a deficiency of many other vitamins and minerals as well. Thus a natural multivitamin may be a wise choice to consider.

If you are having trouble absorbing methylcobalamin, the other forms such as hydroxocobalamin and adenosylcobalamin may be a consideration. Adenosylcobalamin is the form that is stored in the mitochondria and is used to fuel the cell. Hydroxocobalamin (produced by bacteria and their activities) is found naturally in food and reduces excess nitric oxide in the body. Hydroxocobalamin also converts into adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin.
It would be a good idea to find a supplement that contains all three forms: hydroxocobalamin, adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin in low dosage, for temporary use. Vitamin B12 in stored and recycled by the liver for up to five to seven years — there is no need for continual supplementation.

Natural foodbase forms of vitamin B12 include tuna, cod, lamb, mussels, oysters, grass-fed butter, grass-fed liver and my favorites: sardine and scallops.

Restless Leg Syndrome: The Cause and the Correction

 

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a condition whereby there is an irresistible urge to move the legs due to dis-ease of the legs and feet. This simple act of moving the legs, or similar body part, effectively causes temporary relief of symptoms — an itch you cannot scratch, the feeling of tiny creatures crawling in your legs. The RLS condition most often occur at rest, and often at night, thereby preventing the person from being able to rest or sleep. Medical science has termed this condition as idiopathic, meaning of unknown cause.

I speculate the origin of this dis-ease may reside in the world of liver and gallbladder malfunction, leading to:

– heavy metal toxicity, mainly unbound iron toxicity disguised as iron anemia, caused by a lack of especially bioavailable copper to regulate the iron

– a lack of vitamins, namely certain B vitamins, especially thiamine (B1) and folate (B9),

– a lack of natural vitamin C that would otherwise maintain collagen, prevent bleeding and balance other minerals, and

– a lack of absorbable magnesium to buffer inflammation and toxicity. (Some people have claimed spraying magnesium on their legs and feet gave them almost instant relief.)

This liver and gallbladder malfunction then lead to neurological effects, and disturbances of the magnetic field of the body. Some people have even reported a relief of symptoms just by rubbing dry soap on their calf area and feet. Could it be the ingredients in soap are acting like a buffer to the magnetic disturbances — could it be a grounding effect to static electricity?

When the body becomes acidic, inflamed and heated, this attracts not only cholesterol (oxidized or otherwise), but also pathogens to the area site. The affected area literally becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses or fungi, caused by said toxicity and chronic lack of nutrients.

If you are having restless leg syndrome, then you are most likely suffering from a liver problem to some degree. The liver is not metabolizing the nutrients out of the foods you eat properly, and the bile from the gallbladder is not properly binding toxins to be expelled out of the body. This then leads to a build up of toxins, and clogging of the gallbladder with stranded toxic bile.

Many of us have liver congestion due to the fact that the gallbladder is filled with gallstones — not allowing bile to flow and recycle properly to digest and metabolize our foods.
There are two ayurvedic herb, namely, kutki and guduchi, that heal most liver problems, gallbladder dysfunctionality and even spleen and pancreatic malfunctions.
A defected liver causes a mineral deficiency of every kind. Vitamin B deficiency is surely partly due to the fact that your liver is not working properly.
I recommend taking natural vitamin B found in either of these two forms:
1. Bee pollen
2. RNA/DNA (RNA/DNA is made from brewer’s yeast, which contains natural B vitamins.)

In addition I recommend taking:
P5P: This is the co-enzyme form of vitamin B6 which is involved in more than 200 metabolic processes. It is the most absorbable form of vitamin B6. It also aids with magnesium absorption.
I also suggest taking:
grass-fed butter, which will provide you with natural vitamin B12.

So in summary, your restless leg syndrome may be caused by a defected liver, clogged gallbladder, heavy metal toxicity, iron build up, mineral deficiency, acidity, inflammation, and pathogenic infection. For these, take:

• Kutki for the liver (1/4 teaspoon), or

– Guduchi for the liver (1/4 teaspoon)

• Ionic or chelated copper to help regulate unbound iron (1.5 mg to 2.5 mg)

• Bee pollen for the B vitamins, or

– RNA/DNA for B vitamins

• P5P for extra absorbable B6 (25 – 50 mg)

• Grassfed butter for B12

• Acerola or amla for natural vitamin C

• Magnesium glycinate or malate (400 mg or more), and

• Natural antibiotics, such as olive leaf extract, pau d’arco and oil of oregano to destroy pathogens.